Physicists reported the first experimental evidence that they can use the pressure of laser light to reduce thermal-noise effects that slightly deform a mirror’s surface.

Cohadon, P.F., A. Heidmann, and M. Pinard. 1999. Cooling of a mirror by radiation pressure. Physical Review Letters 83(Oct. 18):3174.

Mancini, S., D. Vitali, and P. Tombesi. 1998. Optomechanical cooling of a macroscopic oscillator by homodyne feedback. Physical Review Letters 80(Jan. 26):688.

Peterson, I. 1993. The last three minutes. Science News 143(June 26):408.

Information about the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project is available at http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/ and http://space.mit.edu/LIGO/Welcome.html.

The VIRGO project's Web page is at http://www.virgo.infn.it/

Antoine Heidmann
Laboratoire Kastler Brossel
Case 74
4 Place Jussieu
F75252 Paris Cedex 05
France
Web site: http://www.spectro.jussieu.fr/Equipes/Optique_quantique_Eng.html

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 17, October 23, 1999, p. 263. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.