GW240925 and GW250207: Astrophysical Calibration of Gravitational-wave Detectors

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the first astrophysical calibration of gravitational-wave detectors using loud binary black hole signals, enhancing the accuracy of source parameter estimation and tests of general relativity.

Contribution

It introduces a method to calibrate gravitational-wave detectors directly from astrophysical signals, providing a new tool to improve calibration accuracy beyond in-situ measurements.

Findings

Verified Hanford calibration through astrophysical inference for GW240925.

Highlighted the importance of astrophysical calibration when in-situ calibration is uncertain.

Showed that high SNR detections can improve source localization and fundamental tests.

Abstract

GW240925 and GW250207 are two loud gravitational-wave signals from binary black hole coalescences observed with network signal-to-noise ratios $\sim 32$ and $\sim 69$, respectively, by the LIGO Hanford--LIGO Livingston--Virgo network. Gravitational-wave signals from coalescing binaries have characteristic phase and amplitude evolution predicted by general relativity. These signal waveforms, together with measured instrumental calibration uncertainties, are used to infer source parameters. However, for sufficiently loud detections it is possible to constrain the calibration of the detectors directly using the signals themselves. We present the first informative astrophysical measurements of gravitational-wave detector calibration. For GW240925, we verify the inference of Hanford calibration from the astrophysical signal through cross-checks with known calibration errors obtained from in-situ measurements. At the time of GW250207, the Hanford detector was not fully stabilized, leading to elevated calibration uncertainties; thus, astrophysical calibration is essential to obtain accurate data and to enable source localization. These well-localized, high signal-to-noise observations have the potential to offer precise measurements of source properties, stringent tests of general relativity, and informative dark siren measurements, provided that calibration uncertainties are properly incorporated. As detector sensitivity improves, astrophysical calibration will become an increasingly valuable complement to in-situ calibration measurements. Obtaining accurate calibration will be essential for precision gravitational-wave science.