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Register a new userEffects of the space plasma density oscillation on the inter-spacecraft laser ranging for TianQin gravitational wave observatory
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The TianQin space Gravitational Waves (GW) observatory will contain 3 geocentric and circularly orbiting spacecraft with an orbital radius of 10^5 km, to detect the GW in the milli-hertz frequency band. Each spacecraft pair will establish a 1.7*10^5 km-long laser interferometer immersed in the solar wind and the magnetospheric plasmas to measure the phase deviations induced by the GW. GW detection requires a high-precision measurement of the laser phase. The cumulative effects of the long distance and the periodic oscillations of the plasma density may induce an additional phase noise. This paper aims to model the plasma induced phase deviation of the inter-spacecraft laser signals, using a realistic orbit simulator and the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF) model. Preliminary results show that the plasma density oscillation can induce the phase deviations close to 2*10^-6 rad/Hz^1/2 or 0.3pm/Hz^1/2 in the milli-hertz frequency band and it is within the error budget assigned to the displacement noise of the interferometry. The amplitude spectrum density of phases along three arms become more separated when the orbital plane is parallel to the Sun-Earth line or during a magnetic storm. Finally, the dependence of the phase deviations on the orbital radius is examined.
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TianQin is a proposed space-borne gravitational wave (GW) observatory composed of three identical satellites orbiting around the geocenter with a radius of $10^5$ km. It aims at detecting GWs in the frequency range of 0.1 mHz -- 1 Hz. The detection of GW relies on the high precision measurement of optical path length at $10^{-12}$~m level. The dispersion of space plasma can lead to the optical path difference (OPD, $Delta l$) along the propagation of laser beams between any pair of satellites. Here, we study the OPD noises for TianQin. The Space Weather Modeling Framework is used to simulate the interaction between the Earth magnetosphere and solar wind. From the simulations, we extract the magnetic field and plasma parameters on the orbits of TianQin at four relative positions of the satellite constellation in the Earth magnetosphere. We calculate the OPD noise for single link, Michelson combination, and Time-Delay Interferometry (TDI) combinations ($alpha$ and $X$). For single link and Michelson interferometer, the maxima of $|Delta l|$ are on the order of 1 pm. For the TDI combinations, these can be suppressed to about 0.004 and 0.008 pm for $alpha$ and $X$. The OPD noise of the Michelson combination is colored in the concerned frequency range; while the ones for the TDI combinations are approximately white. Furthermore, we calculate the ratio of the equivalent strain of the OPD noise to that of TQ, and find that the OPD noises for the TDI combinations can be neglected in the most sensitive frequency range of TQ.
Space debris has been posing a serious threat to human space activities and is needed to be measured and cataloged. As a new technology of space target surveillance, the measurement accuracy of DRLR (Diffuse Reflection Laser Ranging) is much higher than that of microwave radar and electro-optical measurement. Based on laser ranging data of space debris from DRLR system collected at SHAO (Shanghai Astronomical Observatory) in March-April 2013, the characteristics and precision of the laser ranging data are analyzed and its applications in OD (Orbit Determination) of space debris are discussed in this paper, which is implemented for the first time in China. The experiment indicates that the precision of laser ranging data can reach 39cm-228cm. When the data is sufficient enough (4 arcs of 3 days), the orbit accuracy of space debris can be up to 50m.
We consider the problem of joint analysis of two-way laser range and one-way frequency measurements in high-precision tests of general relativity with spacecrafts. Of main interest to such tests is the accuracy of the computed values of the one-way frequency observables. We identify the principal sources of error in these observables to be the errors in the modeled corrections due to various `small effects, such as that of the troposphere, the error in the reflection time of the laser pulse from the spacecraft, and the error of fitting the spacecraft trajectory to the laser data. We suggest ways to evaluating these errors.
The first terrestrial gravitational wave interferometers have dramatically underscored the scientific value of observing the Universe through an entirely different window, and of folding this new channel of information with traditional astronomical data for a multimessenger view. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will broaden the reach of gravitational wave astronomy by conducting the first survey of the millihertz gravitational wave sky, detecting tens of thousands of individual astrophysical sources ranging from white-dwarf binaries in our own galaxy to mergers of massive black holes at redshifts extending beyond the epoch of reionization. These observations will inform - and transform - our understanding of the end state of stellar evolution, massive black hole birth, and the co-evolution of galaxies and black holes through cosmic time. LISA also has the potential to detect gravitational wave emission from elusive astrophysical sources such as intermediate-mass black holes as well as exotic cosmological sources such as inflationary fields and cosmic string cusps.
Lunar laser ranging (LLR) has made major contributions to our understanding of the Moons internal structure and the dynamics of the Earth-Moon system. Because of the recent improvements of the ground-based laser ranging facilities, the present LLR measurement accuracy is limited by the retro-reflectors currently on the lunar surface, which are arrays of small corner-cubes. Because of lunar librations, the surfaces of these arrays do not, in general, point directly at the Earth. This effect results in a spread of arrival times, because each cube that comprises the retroreflector is at a slightly different distance from the Earth, leading to the reduced ranging accuracy. Thus, a single, wide aperture corner-cube could have a clear advantage. In addition, after nearly four decades of successful operations the retro-reflectors arrays currently on the Moon started to show performance degradation; as a result, they yield still useful, but much weaker return signals. Thus, fresh and bright instruments on the lunar surface are needed to continue precision LLR measurements. We have developed a new retro-reflector design to enable advanced LLR operations. It is based on a single, hollow corner cube with a large aperture for which preliminary thermal, mechanical, and optical design and analysis have been performed. The new instrument will be able to reach an Earth-Moon range precision of 1-mm in a single pulse while being subjected to significant thermal variations present on the lunar surface, and will have low mass to allow robotic deployment. Here we report on our design results and instrument development effort.
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