Omicron: a tool to characterize transient noise in gravitational-wave detectors

TL;DR

Omicron is a multi-resolution time-frequency analysis tool for gravitational-wave detector data, aiding in noise characterization and event validation by generating spectrograms and parameterizing transient signals.

Contribution

It introduces a software tool that efficiently analyzes and visualizes transient noise and gravitational-wave events in real-time multi-detector data streams.

Findings

Enables offline noise characterization and event validation.

Processes thousands of data streams in parallel.

Assists in vetting gravitational-wave detection candidates.

Abstract

The Omicron software is a tool developed to perform a multi-resolution time-frequency analysis of data from gravitational-wave detectors: the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA detectors. Omicron generates spectrograms from whitened data streams, offering a visual representation of transient detector noises and gravitational-wave events. In addition, these events can be parameterized with an optimized resolution. They can be written to disk to conduct offline noise characterization and gravitational-wave event validation studies. Omicron is optimized to process, in parallel, thousands of data streams recorded by gravitational-wave detectors. The Omicron software plays an important role in vetting gravitational-wave detection candidates and characterization of transient noise.