Investigation of crackling noise in the vibration isolation systems of the KAGRA gravitational wave detector

•We investigated the crackling noise in the vibration isolation system of KAGRA.•We built a crackling noise measurement system with a miniature isolation system.•We analyzed the scaling law of the crackling noise of systems of different sizes.•The crackling noise was found not to limit the sensitivity of KAGRA above 60 Hz. Gravitational wave detectors, such as KAGRA, require complex mirror suspension systems to reach high sensitivity. One particular concern in these suspensions is the presence of crackling noise, where motion of the steel crystal structure disturbs material defects, causing impulse force release and exciting mirror motion. Crackling in the Geometric Anti Spring filters (GAS) in KAGRA's suspension system could introduce noise in the gravitational wave detection band. We investigate crackling noise in a miniature GAS with a low-frequency cyclical stress. We developed a scaling law between miniature and KAGRA GAS. Applying experimental results to the scaling law allows us to estimate the upper limit of crackling noise in KAGRA. It is found that crackling noise should be below the target sensitivity for gravitational waves above 60 Hz.