Measurement of geophysical effects on the large-scale gravitational-wave interferometer

摘要

Geophysical application of large free-mass laser interferometers, which had been designed merely for the detection of gravitational radiation of an astrophysical nature, are considered. Despite the suspended mass-mirrors, these interferometers can be considered as two coordinate meters even at very low frequency (f < 10(-3) Hz) are rather accurate two-coordinate distance meters. In this case, the measurement of geodynamic deformations looks like a parallel product of long-term observations dictated by the task of the blind search for gravitational waves (GW) of extraterrestrial origin. Compared to conventional laser strain meters, gravitational interferometers have the advantage of an increased absolute value of the deformation signal due to the 3-4 km baseline. The magnitude of the tidal variations of the baseline is 150-200 microns, leading to conceive the observation of the fine structure of geodynamic disturbances. This paper presents the results of processing geophysical measurements made on a Virgo interferometer during test (technical) series of observations in 2007-2009.