Space gravitational wave detection is performed via a laser interferometry system across hundreds of thousands to millions of kilometers for picometer-level displacement measurement, using phasemeters to read gravitational wave-induced displacement changes. A critical yet unresolved challenge is the coupling of Doppler frequency shift—resulting from relative satellite motion—into the phase measurements, as well as its consequent impact. To address this, we analyzed the Doppler effect principle, built a laser interferometry signal model, and obtained signal frequency ranges via orbit simulation. We then conducted time- and frequency-domain analyses of the phasemeter, theoretically deriving steady-state phase errors to clarify how Doppler shift affects phasemeter noise. A hardware system was constructed for verification, showing that phase noise curves rise significantly at a 100 Hz/s Doppler shift rate, and increasing phasemeter bandwidth increases low-frequency phase noise. This study provides a theoretical and experimental basis for phasemeter parameter optimization and ground experiments of phasemeters in space gravitational wave detection.
Xie et al. (2026) studied this question.