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Abstract:
In 2002, the interferometric gravitational wave detector GEO 600 took part in a coincident science run (S1) with other detectors world-wide. When completed, GEO will employ a dual-recycling scheme which will allow its peak sensitivity to be tuned over a range of frequencies in the detection band. Still in the commissioning phase, GEO was operated as a power-recycled Michelson for the duration of S1. The accurate calibration of the sensitivity of GEO to gravitational waves is a critical step in preparing GEO data for exchange with other detectors forming a world-wide detector network. An online calibration scheme has been developed to perform real-time calibration of the power-recycled GEO detector. This scheme will later be extended to cover the more complex case of the dual-recycled interferometer in which multiple output signals will need to be combined to optimally recover a calibrated strain channel. This report presents an outline of the calibration scheme that was used during S1. Also presented are results of detector characterization work that arises naturally from the calibration work.
