Making h(t) for LIGO

TL;DR

This paper introduces a time-domain method for converting LIGO interferometer read-outs into gravitational strain, providing an alternative to the traditional frequency-domain approach, demonstrated with data from the Hanford detector during LIGO's second science run.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel time-domain conversion technique for LIGO data, adapting GEO's method, offering potential advantages over existing frequency-domain methods.

Findings

Successful implementation on Hanford data from LIGO S2.

Demonstrates feasibility of time-domain conversion for gravitational wave analysis.

Provides a foundation for real-time gravitational strain computation.

Abstract

The conversion of the read-out from the anti-symmetric port of the LIGO interferometers into gravitational strain has thus far been performed in the frequency domain. Here we describe a conversion in the time domain which is based on the method developed by GEO. We illustrate the method using the Hanford 4km interferometer during the second LIGO science run (S2).