title: Design and initial characterization of a compact, ultra high vacuum compatible, low frequency, tilt accelerometer.
abstract: A compact tilt accelerometer with high sensitivity at low frequency was designed to provide low frequency corrections for the feedback signal of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory active seismic attenuation system. It has been developed using a Tungsten Carbide ceramic knife-edge hinge designed to avoid the mechanical 1/f noise believed to be intrinsic in polycrystalline metallic flexures. Design and construction details are presented; prototype data acquisition and control limitations are discussed. The instrument's characterization reported here shows that the hinge is compatible with being metal-hysteresis-free, and therefore also free of the 1/f noise generated by the dislocation Self-Organized Criticality in the metal. A tiltmeter of this kind will be effective to separate the ground tilt component from the signal of horizontal low frequency seismometers, and to correct the ill effects of microseismic tilt in advanced seismic attenuation systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Ave, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: O'Toole
authors.affiliation: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan.
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Peña Arellano
authors.affiliation: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Rodionov
authors.affiliation: Mayfield Senior School, 500 Bellefontaine Street Pasadena, California 91105, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shaner
authors.affiliation: Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sobacchi
authors.affiliation: LIGO Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, MS 100-36, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dergachev
authors.affiliation: LIGO Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, MS 100-36, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: DeSalvo
authors.affiliation: Mayfield Senior School, 500 Bellefontaine Street Pasadena, California 91105, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asadoor
authors.affiliation: Arcadia High School, 180 Campus Drive, Arcadia, California 91007, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhawal
authors.affiliation: Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, University of Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lottarini
authors.affiliation: Sezione INFN Tor Vergata, via della Ricerca Scientfica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Minenkov
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Murphy