The Use of Cryogenic Techniques to Achieve High Sensitivity in Gravitational Wave Detectors

Abstract
Cryogenic detectors for gravitational wave astronomy promise greatly improved sensitivity over room temperature detectors. The 3 mK detector which we have under construction should give an improvement of 106 over existing detectors. The cryogenic antennae are described and the calculated low temperature performance is detailed. New superconducting instrumentation is described.