GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS ARE DRIVEN AWAY FROM THERMODYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM, WHY SHOULD WE CARE

Ground based gravitational wave detectors show extremely high displacement sensitivity which approaches the level set by the quantum limit. However a detection will likely be achieved at a low signal-to-noise ratio, making it mandatory to know the noise budget and statistics. The RareNoise project has pointed out a few mechanisms that cause the instruments to operate at non-equilibrium states. We argue that this aspect has not been given appropriate consideration and that it could alter the overall predicted performance of the detector. The large fluctuations of a non-equilibrium object often differ statistically from those studied at thermodynamic equilibrium. We present experimental and theoretical activity devised to further investigate this question.