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We perform detailed studies of state-of-the-art laser stabilization to high finesse optical cavities, revealing fundamental mechanical thermal noise-related length fluctuations. We compare the frequency noise of lasers tightly locked to the resonances of a variety of rigid Fabry-Perot cavities of differing lengths and mirror substrate materials. The results are in agreement with the theoretical model proposed in K. Numata, A. Kemery, and J. Camp Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 250602 (2004). The results presented here on the fundamental limits of FP references will impact planning and construction of next generation ultrastable optical cavities.
Notcutt et al. (Tue,) studied this question.