Towards dual recycling with the aid of time and frequency domain simulations

Abstract Dual recycling, the combination of the interferometric techniques of power and signal recycling, allows the improvement of the shot noise limited sensitivity of interferometric gravitational wave detectors. GEO 600 is the first km-scale gravitational wave detector using dual recycling. The hardware installation is completed and dual recycling has become a great challenge in terms of commissioning of GEO 600. Simulations show that lock acquisition of the optical system can only be achieved in certain detector states. Thus as we need to start with a locked detector in such a specific state, an appropriate strategy is needed to change the state of detector operation without losing lock. The basic concepts and first results based on time and frequency domain simulations will be presented in this paper.