Abstract
Virgo is a kilometer-length interferometer for gravitationnal waves
detection located near Pisa. Its first science run, VSR1, occured from
May to October 2007. The aims of the calibration are to measure the
detector sensitivity and to reconstruct the time series of the
gravitationnal wave strain h(t).
The absolute length calibration is based on an original non-linear
reconstruction of the differential arm length variations in free
swinging Michelson configurations. It uses the laser wavelength as
length standard. This method is used to calibrate the frequency
dependent response of the Virgo mirror actuators and derive the detector
in-loop response and sensitivity within ~ 5%.
The principle of the strain reconstruction is highlighted and the h(t)
systematic errors are estimated. A photon calibrator is used to check
the sign of h(t). The reconstructed h(t) during VSR1 is valid from 10 Hz
up to 10 kHz with systematic errors estimated to 6% in amplitude. The
phase error is estimated to be 70 mrad below 1.9 kHz and 6 μs above.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 012015- |
Journal | Journal of Physics: Conference Series |
Volume | 228 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 May 2010 |