title: Very high Q measurements on a fused silica monolithic pendulum for use in enhanced gravity wave detectors
abstract: We present for the first time the results of very high Q factor measurements for a 2.8 kg fused silica mass suspended by two fused quartz fibers attached by a novel technique for joining fused silica or quartz. The Q for the pendulum mode at 0.93 Hz was (2.3+/-0. 2)x10(7), the highest value demonstrated to date for a mass of this size. By employing such a new suspension system the sensitivity of the gravitational wave detectors currently under construction can be increased up to 1 order of magnitude.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Perugia, I-06100 Perugia, Italy and GEO600 Project, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cagnoli
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gammaitoni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hough
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kovalik
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Punturo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rowan