Applying gating to stochastic searches in O3

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Abstract:: Due to a high rate of loud glitches in the LIGO detectors in O3, the stochastic and continuous-wave
searches pre-processed the strain data by applying an inverse Tukey window to times where the
whitened strain RMS was large in the 25-50 Hz or 70-110 Hz frequency bands. In this short technical
document, we detail the results of several tests that show this procedure does not introduce any bias
into the stochastic search. First, we present the results of a mock data challenge to demonstrate the
analysis of gated data are consistent with the analysis of data without gating, running on simulated
data with and without a signal present. We then consider the effect on window factors that appear
in the analysis. Finally, we show that spectral artifacts introduced by the analysis are minimal,
and that compact binary signals are not systematically removed by the gating procedure applied.
Collectively, these results give us confidence that it is safe to apply the stochastic search to gated
data in O3.

Files in Document:

LIGO Document P2000546-v2