IWNET12
IWNET12
Experimental ndings on 'thermal noise' of oscillators in non-equilibrium
steady-states
L. Conti1, M. Bonaldi2, P. De Gregorio3, G. Karapetyan1, C. Lazzaro1, L.
Rondoni1
1 INFN Sezione di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, I-35141 Padova, Italy
2 Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism, Nanoscience-Trento-FBK Division, and INFN,
Gruppo Collegato di Trento, Sezione di Padova, 38123 Povo (Trento), Italy
3 Dip. di Matematica, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy and INFN,
Sezione di Torino, Via P. Giura 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
Abstract
The thermal noise is often a limit to high sensitivity experimental apparatus such as ground-based gravitational
wave (GW) detectors: these are macroscopic instruments with displacement sensitivity approaching the limit
set by the uncertainty principle. From the thermodynamic viewpoint, GW experiments are usually modeled as
equilibrium systems, but it is doubtful that this description is justied. To assess this issue, we have conducted
a systematic experimental campaign to investigate the spontaneous vibration uctuations of low-loss mechanical
oscillators in non-equilibrium steady-states. We show the experimental ndings and discuss the conclusions we
can infer for the gravitational wave detectors and in general for the statistical mechanics of non-equilibrium
systems.
E-mail: Livia.Conti@lnl.infn.it

---