Can LIGO Detect Daylight Savings Time?

Reed Essick

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arXiv · 2509.11849

Can LIGO Detect Daylight Savings Time?

Reed Essick

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Abstract

Yes, it can. Catalogs produced by networks of Gravitational-wave interferometers are subject to complicated selection effects, and the gold-standard remains direct measurements of the detection probability through large injection campaigns. I leverage public data products from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaborations' 3rd and 4th observing runs to show that there are non-trivial temporal variations within the detection probability that are well-described by a weekly cycle. There are clear differences between weekends and weekdays, between day and night (at the sites), and even between daylight-savings and standard time. I discuss possible causes for this behavior and implications.

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BibTeX RIS

Reed Essick. 2025-09-15. Can LIGO Detect Daylight Savings Time?. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.11849

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