GW Data Plotter

What does it do?

GW Data Plotter is a desktop application that simplifies access to Gravitational Wave (GW) data and facilitates basic visualization and analysis.

The app allows users to download public gravitational wave data from the LIGO, Virgo, KAGRA, and GEO detectors via the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center.

• Source Code @ GitHub

• Issue Tracker

Who is it for?

Accessing and visualizing GW data can be challenging for non-experts. Even though the data is publicly available and the software tools to analyze it are open-source, the learning curve can be steep.

GW Data Plotter aims to lower this barrier by providing a graphical user interface to improve GW data accessibility. Users do not need to be experts in programming to use the app or know the details of the specific software packages used in GW data analysis.

Initially developed for scientists outside the GW community wishing to access GW data for their research, the app is also intended for students and educators that first enter the field of GW astronomy.

Serving as a stepping stone, the app helps to achieve familiarization with GW data, allowing even novice users to interact with actual GW events putting aside the technical details.

Installing the app

• The easiest way to install the app is to download and run the executable file suitable for your operating system from the Zenodo repository.

• Executable files are available for Windows, Linux, and macOS.

• For further details on how to install the app, please refer to the Installation page.

Citing the app

If you have used GW Data Plotter in a project, please acknowledge this by citing the DOI of the specific version of the app you have used. You can find the DOI in the Zenodo repository. See the Citation section on the Zenodo page for different citation formats.

Report an issue

If you encounter any bugs or issues while using the app, or you would like to share your feedback please create a New issue on the Issue Tracker.

Contents

• Home
• Installation
  • Running the executable
  • Running from source
• Description
  • GUI overview
  • Technical details
• Get Data
  • By time interval
  • By selecting a known GW event
  • By selecting a known glitch
  • Data handling
  • Whitening
• Plot Data
  • Strain and Q scan
  • Plot settings
  • Notes on plotting
• Explore Data
  • Event parameters
  • Parameters distributions
• Useful Links
• Acknowledgments
  • Funding
  • LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration
  • Contributors

License

This software is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3 or later (GPL-3+). Please read the license text for full details.