Active compensation of tilt-to-pathlength coupling in precision interferometry for LISA

Coupling of angular jitter to apparent path length noise, also dubbed tilt-to-length coupling, is among the key noise sources for space-based gravitational wave observatories such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Here, we simulate and measure to what extent a lateral displacement of an aperture clipping the beam received from a distant spacecraft affects linear tilt-to-length coupling. Additionally, we discuss the impact of different definitions of the interferometric phase on the additional linear tilt-to-length coupling introduced.