An overview of recycling in laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors

Recycling refers to optical techniques used in laser interferometers to enhance their signal response for a given input power. Driven by the quest to detect gravitational waves using interferometers, a host of configurations have been proposed over the last ten years. Here, these techniques are summarised, and their tolerance to wavefront distortion considered along with their applicability to long and mid baseline laser interferometers. 48 refs., 13 figs