QND and higher order effects for a nonlinear meter in an interferometric gravitational wave antenna

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A new optical topology and signal readout strategy for a laser interferometer gravitational wave detector were proposed recently by Braginsky and Khalili. Their method is based on using a nonlinear medium inside a microwave oscillator to detect the gravitational-wave-induced spatial shift of the interferometer's standing optical wave. This paper proposes a quantum nondemolition (QND) scheme that could be realistically used for such a readout device and discusses a "fundamental" sensitivity limit imposed by a higher order optical effect.