Demonstration of a Tunable-Bandwidth White Light Interferometer using Anomalous Dispersion in Atomic Vapor

Abstract

Recently, the design of a white-light-cavity has been proposed using negative dispersion in an intra-cavity medium to make the cavity resonate over a large range of frequencies and still maintain a high cavity build-up. This paper presents the demonstration of this effect in a free-space cavity. The negative dispersion of the intra-cavity medium is caused by bi-frequency Raman gain in an atomic vapor cell. A significantly broad cavity response over a bandwidth greater than 20 MHz has been observed. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical model, taking into account effects of residual absorption. A key application of this device would be in enhancing the sensitivity-bandwidth product of the next generation gravitational wave detectors that make use of the so-called signal-recycling mirror.