Description
Gravitational waves are exciting tools for discovering our Universe. For their measurement, incredibly sensitive Michelson Interferometers have been developed, observing tiny length changes. Key components of these interferometers are highly-reflective coated mirrors. However, thermal noise of the mirror coatings limits our ability to detect gravitational waves.
This talk will start with a very brief introduction to gravitational wave detectors and their mirrors. I will explain the principle of highly-reflective coatings. Finally, I will give an overview of the mirror development within the gravitational-wave community with a focus on the work done at Maastricht University.
