This federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program provides $247,157 to Northeastern University to conduct research on developing improved mirror coatings for gravitational wave detectors. The key objectives are to understand and reduce mechanical loss in amorphous metal-oxide coatings, and to develop and test crystalline coatings with lower thermal noise. This research aims to reduce a major barrier limiting the sensitivity of gravitational wave astronomy - the thermal noise of the mirror coatings on the test masses. The award supports a collaborative effort integrating computational modeling, coating deposition, and materials characterization to accelerate progress in this critical area for next-generation gravitational wave detectors.
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