A low-frequency torsion pendulum with interferometric readout.

Rev Sci Instrum

Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.

Published: May 2021

We describe a torsion pendulum with a large mass-quadrupole moment and a resonant frequency of 2.8 mHz, whose angle is measured using a Michelson interferometer. The system achieved noise levels of ∼200prad/Hz between 0.2 and 30 Hz and ∼10prad/Hz above 100 Hz. Such a system can be applied to a broad range of fields from the study of rotational seismic motion and elastogravity signals to gravitational wave observation and tests of gravity.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0043098DOI Listing

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