Accurate calibration of test mass displacement in the LIGO interferometers

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Abstract:: We describe three fundamentally different methods we have applied to calibrate
the test mass displacement actuators to search for systematic errors in the calibration of the
LIGO gravitational-wave detectors. The actuation frequencies tested range from 90 Hz to 1
kHz and the sinusoidal actuation amplitudes range from 10−6 m to 10−18 m. For each of the
four test mass actuators measured, the weighted mean coefficient over all frequencies for each
technique deviates from the average actuation coefficient for all three techniques by less than
4%. This result indicates that systematic errors in the calibration of the responses of the LIGO
detectors to differential length variations are within the stated uncertainties.

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LIGO Document P0900155-v6