Tapered cylinder antenna for gravitational radiation: Design and tests of a prototype

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Abstract
In an effort to increase the coupling between a gravitational radiation antenna and transducer the ends of a small cylindrical prototype antenna were tapered to magnify the end motion by a factor of 20. Flexural rigidity was maintained by tapering the inside of the cylindrical antenna. The algorithm used to calculate the taper is described. Experimental tests on the prototype antenna confirm the correctness of the algorithm. Results thus obtained indicate that much larger amplification is possible in full-scale antennas. The consequent decrease in the noise temperature is shown to be sufficient to improve the sensitivity of a resonant-mass gravitational radiation detector by at least an order of magnitude. As a result of the stronger coupling, the bandwidth is also increased.