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Tinto, Massimo

Publications and source records attributed to Tinto, Massimo.

14 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2019

The Case for Probe-Class NASA Astrophysics Missions

Astrophysics spans an enormous range of questions on scales from individual planets to the entire cosmos. To address the richness of 21st century astrophysics requires a corresponding richness of telescopes spanning all bands and all messengers. Much scientific benefit comes from having the multi-wavelength capability available at the same time. Most of these bands, or measurement sensitivities, require space-based missions. Historically, NASA has addressed this need for breadth with a small number of flagship-class missions and a larger number of Explorer missions. While the Explorer program continues to flourish, there is a large gap between Explorers and strategic missions.

Elvis, Martin↗
NASA NTRS2011

Gravitational Wave Detection with Single-Laser Atom Interferometers

A new design for a broadband detector of gravitational radiation relies on two atom interferometers separated by a distance L. In this scheme, only one arm and one laser are used for operating the two atom interferometers. The innovation here involves the fact that the atoms in the atom interferometers are not only considered as perfect test masses, but also as highly stable clocks. Atomic coherence is intrinsically stable, and can be many orders of magnitude more stable than a laser.

Yu, Nan↗
NASA NTRS2005

Unequal-Arm Interferometry and Ranging in Space

Space-borne interferometric gravitational wave detectors, sensitive in the low-frequency (millihertz) band, will fly in the next decade. In these detectors the spacecraft-to-spacecraft light-traveltimes will necessarily be unequal, time-varying, and (due to aberration) have different time delays on up- and down-links. By using knowledge of the inter-spacecraft light-travel-times and their time evolution it is possible to cancel in post-processing the otherwise dominant laser phase noise and obtain a variety of interferometric data combinations sensitive to gravitational radiation. This technique, which has been named Time-Delay Interferometry (TDI), can be implemented with constellations of three or more formation-flying spacecraft that coherently track each other. As an example application we consider the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission and show that TDI combinations can be synthesized by properly time-shifting and linearly combining the phase measurements performed on board the three spacecraft. Since TDI exactly suppresses the laser noises when the delays coincide with the light-travel-times, we then show that TDI can also be used for estimating the time-delays needed for its implementation. This is done by performing a post-processing non-linear minimization procedure, which provides an effective, powerful, and simple way for making measurements of the inter-spacecraft light-travel-times. This processing technique, named Time-Delay Interferometric Ranging (TDIR), is highly accurate in estimating the time-delays and allows TDI to be successfully implemented without the need of a dedicated ranging subsystem.

gravitational waves↗
NASA NTRS2000

Unequal-Arms Michelson Interferometers

Michelson interferometers allow phase measurements many orders of magnitude below the phase stability of the laser light injected into their two almost equal-length arms. If, however, the two arms are unequal, the laser fluctuations can not be removed by simply recombining the two beams. This is because the laser jitters experience different time delays in the two arms, and therefore can not cancel at the photo detector. We present here a method for achieving exact laser noise cancellation, even in an unequal-arm interferometer. The method presented in this paper requires a separate readout of the relative phase in each arm, made by interfering the returning beam in each arm with a fraction of the outgoing beam. By linearly combining the two data sets with themselves, after they have been properly time shifted, we show that it is possible to construct a new data set that is free of laser fluctuations. An application of this technique to future planned space-based laser interferometer detector3 of gravitational radiation is discussed.

Tinto, Massimo↗
NASA NTRS1999

Cancellation of Laser Noise in Space-Based Interferometer Detectors of Gravitational Radiation

We presented a time-domain procedure for accurately cancelling laser noise fluctuations in an unequal-arm Michelson interferometer. The method involves separately measuring the phase of the returning light relative to the phase of the transmitted light in each arm. By suitable offsetting and differencing of these two time series, the common laser noise is cancelled exactly. The technique presented in this paper is general, in such that it can be implemented with any (Earth as well as space-based) unequal-arms Michelson interferometers,

Tinto, Massimo↗
NASA NTRS1999

Unequal-Arms Michelson Interferometers

Michelson interferometers allow phase measurements many orders of magnitude below the phase stability of the laser light injected into their two almost equal-length arms. If, however, the two arms are unequal, the laser fluctuations can not be removed by simply recombining the two beams. This is because the laser jitters experience different time delays in the two arms, and therefore can not cancel at the photo detector. We present here a method for achieving exact laser noise cancellation, even in an unequal-arm interferometer. The method presented in this paper requires a separate readout of the relative phase in each arm, made by interfering the returning beam in each arm with a fraction of the outgoing beam. By linearly combining the two data sets with themselves, after they have been properly time-shifted, we show that it is possible to construct a new data set that is free of laser fluctuations. An application of this technique to future planned space-based laser interferometer detectors of gravitational radiation is discussed.

Tinto, Massimo↗
NASA NTRS1997

A Xylophone Detector of Gravitational Radiation

We discuss spacecraft Doppler tracking searches for gravitational waves in which Doppler data recorded on the ground are linearly combined with Doppler measurements made on board a spacecraft. By using the four-link radio system first proposed by Vessot and Levine, we describe a new method for removing from the combined data the frequency fluctuations due to the Earth troposphere, ionosphere, and mechanical vibrations of the antenna on the ground. This technique provides also a way for reducing by several orders of magnitude, at selected Fourier components, the frequency fluctuations due to other noise sources, such as the clock on board the spacecraft or the antenna and buffeting of the probe by nongravitational forces. In this respect spacecraft Doppler tracking can be regarded as a xylophone detector of gravitational radiation. In the assumption of calibrating the frequency fluctuations induced by the interplanetary plasma, a strain sensitivity equal to 4.7 x 10(exp -18) at 10(exp -3) Hz is estimated. This experimental technique could be extended to other tests of the theory of relativity, and to radio science experiments that rely on high-precision Doppler measurements.

Tinto, Massimo↗
NASA NTRS1997

Spacecraft Doppler Tracking as a Narrow-Band Detector of Gravitational Waves

We discuss spacecraft Doppler tracking for detecting gravitational waves in which Doppler data recorded on the ground are linearly combined with Doppler measurements made on board a spacecraft. By using the four-link radio system first proposed by Vessot and Levine, we derive a new method for removing from the combined data the frequency fluctuations due to the Earth troposphere, ionosphere, and mechanical vibrations of the antenna on the ground.

Spacecraft Doppler↗
NASA NTRS1996

Spacecraft Doppler Tracking as a Xylophone Detector

We discuss spacecraft Doppler tracking in which Doppler data recorded on the ground are linearly combined with Doppler measurements made on board a spacecraft. By using the four-link radio system first proposed by Vessot and Levine, we derive a new method for removing from the combined data the frequency fluctuations due to the Earth troposphere, ionosphere, and mechanical vibrations of the antenna on the ground. Our method provides also for reducing by several orders of magnitude, at selected Fourier components, the frequency fluctuations due to other noise sources, such as the clock on board the spacecraft or the antenna and buffeting of the probe by non-gravitational forces. In this respect spacecraft Doppler tracking can be regarded as a xylophone detector. Estimates of the sensitivities achievable by this xylophone are presented for two tests of Einstein's theory of relativity: searches for gravitational waves and measurements of the gravitational red shift. This experimental technique could be extended to other tests of the theory of relativity, and to radio science experiments that rely on high-precision Doppler measurements.

Tinto, Massimo↗
NASA NTRS1994

Algorithms for Unequal-Arm Michelson Interferometers

A method of data acquisition and data analysis is described in which the performance of Michelson-type interferometers with unequal arms can be made nearly the same as interferometers with equal arms. The method requires a separate readout of the relative phase in each arm, made by interfering the returning beam in each arm with a fraction of the outgoing beam.

Michelson Interferometer↗
NASA NTRS1991

Coincidence probabilities for spacecraft gravitational wave experiments - Massive coalescing binaries

Massive coalescing binary systems are candidate sources of gravitational radiation in the millihertz frequency band accessible to spacecraft Doppler tracking experiments. This paper discusses signal processing and detection probability for waves from coalescing binaries in the regime where the signal frequency increases linearly with time, i.e., 'chirp' signals. Using known noise statistics, thresholds with given false alarm probabilities are established for one- and two-spacecraft experiments. Given the threshold, the detection probability is calculated as a function of gravitational wave amplitude for both one- and two-spacecraft experiments, assuming random polarization states and under various assumptions about wave directions. This allows quantitative statements about the detection efficiency of these experiments and the utility of coincidence experiments. In particular, coincidence probabilities for two-spacecraft experiments are insensitive to the angle between the directions to the two spacecraft, indicating that near-optical experiments can be done without constraints on spacecraft trajectories.

Tinto, Massimo↗