Characterization of the Photon Calibrator data from LIGO’s sixth Science Run

Document #:

LIGO-G1000792-v1

Document type:

G - Presentations (eg Graphics)

Abstract:

In interferometric gravitational wave detectors, Photon Calibrators
generate calibrated displacement modulations via the recoil of photons
reflected from test masses. During LIGO's S6 science run they have been
used to continuously monitor the calibration of the voice coil actuators
in both the H1 and L1 interferometers. We describe the operating principles of the LIGO photon calibrators, their implementation for eLIGO, and data generation during the S6 run. We discuss the statistical characterization of the data and the stability of the actuation coefficients over the entire S6 run to date.

Files in Document:

• slides_caltech.pdf (7.0 MB)

Topics:

• Calibration

Authors:

• Alberto Sottile

Keywords:

photon calibration