Abstract

We are performing an experiment on the effects of radiation pressure in a high-finesse optical cavity. Radiation pressure exerted by light plays an important role in quantum limits of high precision optical measurements. Indeed, quantum noise in interferometers has two fundamental sources, the photon noise of the laser beam and the fluctuations of the mirrors position due to radiation pressure. Both noises lead to a quantum limit for the sensitivity of the measurement.

© 1998 IEEE