Mapping and Correcting the Wavefront of GQuEST End Mirrors*

GQuEST, or Gravity from the Quantum Entanglement of Space-Time, is an experiment with the goal of measuring fluctuations in space time using an ultra-sensitive tabletop Michelson Interferometer. This experiment requires high precision optics, including extremely thin high-reflectivity mirrors. This makes the optics extremely sensitive to small changes in their radius of curvature which can cause a misalignment in the modes of the light in the system. This can, in part, be mitigated by imaging the mirrors and matching the modes and by applying pressure to the mirror in a custom mount. The goal of this project is to develop a process for imaging and correcting the curvature of the mirror and analyzing how well the modes of different mirrors match.