A fixed false alarm probability figure of merit for gravitational wave detectors
Abstract
Performance of gravitational wave (GW) detectors can be characterized by several figures of merit (FOMs) which are used to guide the detector's commissioning and operations, and to gauge astrophysical sensitivity. One key FOM is the range in Mpc, averaged over orientation and sky location, at which a GW signal from binary neutron star inspiral and coalescence would have a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 8 in a single detector. This fixed-SNR approach does not accurately reflect the effects of transient noise (glitches), which can severely limit the detectability of transient GW signals expected from a variety of astrophysical sources. We propose a FOM based instead on a fixed false-alarm probability (FAP). This is intended to give a more realistic estimate of the detectable GW transient range including the effect of glitches. Our approach applies equally to individual interferometers or a network of interferometers. We discuss the advantages of the fixed-FAP approach, present examples from a prototype implementation, and discuss the impact it has had on the recent commissioning of the GW detector GEO 600.
Additional Information
© 2014 Institute of Physics. Received 4 November 2013, revised 24 January 2014. Accepted for publication 25 February 2014. Published 21 March 2014. We would like to thank the LIGO scientific and Virgo collaborations for providing a medium where stimulating discussions took place which ultimately were the motivating factors for this work. These collaborations have also allowed the use of GEO 600 GW data in the prototype FOMs displayed here. The Max Planck Society, Leibniz Universitt Hannover, the Science and Technology Facilities Council in the UK, the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung and the state of Lower Saxony in Germany, and the Volkswagen Foundation all made generous contributions which helped to make GEO600 a reality. Many people over many years have also worked hard on the design and construction, as well as upgrades to GEO600 that make it what it is today. We also acknowledge the institutes out of which the authors work, in particular the support provided to MW and JRL by the Max Plank Society. PK is a member of the LIGO Laboratory, supported by funding from the National Science Foundation. LIGO was constructed by the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with funding from the National Science Foundation and operates under cooperative agreement PHY-0757058. TA and DMM were supported by a studentship from the Science and Technology Facilities Council, in particular TA by the STFC Long Term Attachment ST/I505621/1. CP was supported by the NSF grant PHY0970074 and the UWM Research Growth Initiative.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 46041
- DOI
- 10.1088/0264-9381/31/8/085004
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20140603-084352649
- Max Planck Society
- Leibniz Universitt Hannover
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) (Germany)
- State of Lower Saxony (Germany)
- Volkswagen Foundation
- PHY-0757058
- NSF cooperative agreement
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Studentship
- ST/I505621/1
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Long Term Attachment
- PHY0970074
- NSF
- UWM Research Growth Initiative
- Created
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2014-06-03Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2022-07-12Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- TAPIR