Laser interferometer as a gravitational wave detector

An analysis is made of the effect of a gravitational wave on coherently pumped Michelson and Fabry – Perot optical interferometers. Allowance is made for the complex structure of the response associated with the triplet character of the photon frequency perturbation in the interferometer. As a result, the response of the interferometer depends strongly on the angle of incidence of the gravitational wave not only in respect of intensity but also in terms of its profile. In the long-wavelength limit, these characteristics are only reflected in the angular structure of the phase of the response. For gravitational wave bursts shorter than the photon round trip time between the mirrors, the temporal and angular structure of the response is extremely specific so that the signal can be isolated from nongravitational perturbations. An analysis is made of the case of a Michelson interferometer with multiple reflections and the case of a gravitational optical resonance for a Fabry – Perot interferometer is also studied. Estimates are given of the sensitivity of such an interferometer "antenna" subject to the condition that the main noise is due to quantum fluctuations of the optical pumping.