Room temperature gravitational wave bar detector with optomechanical readout

We present the full implementation of a room-temperature gravitational wave bar detector equipped with an optomechanical readout. The bar mechanical vibrations are read by a Fabry-Perot interferometer whose length changes are compared with a stable reference optical cavity by means of a resonant laser. The detector performance is completely characterized in terms of spectral sensitivity and statistical properties of the fluctuations in the system output signal. This kind of readout technique allows for wide-band detection sensitivity and we can accurately test the model of the coupled oscillators for thermal noise. Our results are very promising for cryogenic operation and represent an important step towards significant improvements in the performance of massive gravitational wave detectors. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.