Impact of site-dependent noise configurations on Einstein Telescope science at low frequency
Abstract
We investigate how site-dependent Newtonian noise configurations affect the scientific performance of the Einstein Telescope (ET), a third-generation gravitational-wave observatory. We compare the baseline triangular and 2L detector geometries, with arm lengths of 10km and 15km, respectively, under three site-dependent noise scenarios constructed from measurements in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine region, Lausitz, and Sardinia. The differences among the adopted sensitivities are concentrated mainly below 10Hz and thus have the greatest impact on science cases that rely on the early inspiral of light objects, or on massive systems whose characteristic frequencies lie in the low-frequency band. We quantify these effects for four ET science cases: (1) detection and parameter estimation of intermediate-mass black-hole binaries; (2) post-Newtonian tests of General Relativity based on the early inspiral; (3) black-hole ringdown spectroscopy with massive remnants; and (4) early-warning and sky-localization capabilities for binary neutron-star mergers. Using Bayesian parameter estimation, we find that improved low-frequency sensitivity can significantly enhance ET's scientific performance across all four cases. Within the configurations considered here, a 2L network in which at least one of the two L-shaped interferometers attains a noise level comparable to that assumed for the Sardinian site generally provides better performance than the triangular configurations. Conversely, strong degradation of the sensitivity below 10Hz can substantially reduce, and in some regimes offset, the scientific gains expected from increasing the arm length from 10km to 15km. These results highlight the importance of site selection and low-frequency noise mitigation, alongside network geometry, for fully realizing ET's scientific potential in the largely unexplored frequency band below 10Hz.
Related
- Localizing binary neutron stars with the Einstein Telescope: a full Bayesian comparison of the triangular and 2L configurations
- Environmental Noise Challenges for the Einstein Telescope - A Review
- Scalable and sequential inference of the neutron star equation of state with the Einstein Telescope
- High Frequency Wideband Study of FRB 20240114A with the Allen Telescope Array
- Detection of cosmic strings by gravitational wave lensing. Predictions for Einstein Telescope
BibTeX
@misc{crescimbeni2026impact,
title = {{Impact of site-dependent noise configurations on Einstein Telescope science at low frequency}},
author = {Francesco Crescimbeni and Matteo Di Giovanni and Davide Rozza and Andrea Contu and Alessandro Cardini and Domenico D'Urso and Carlo Giunchi and Luca Naticchioni and Marco Olivieri and Mike Lindner and Andreas Rietbrock and Paolo Pani},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.10669},
eprint = {2610.10669},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10669},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Impact of site-dependent noise configurations on Einstein Telescope science at low frequency
AU - Francesco Crescimbeni
AU - Matteo Di Giovanni
AU - Davide Rozza
AU - Andrea Contu
AU - Alessandro Cardini
AU - Domenico D'Urso
AU - Carlo Giunchi
AU - Luca Naticchioni
AU - Marco Olivieri
AU - Mike Lindner
AU - Andreas Rietbrock
AU - Paolo Pani
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.10669
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10669
AB - We investigate how site-dependent Newtonian noise configurations affect the scientific performance of the Einstein Telescope (ET), a third-generation gravitational-wave observatory. We compare the baseline triangular and 2L detector geometries, with arm lengths of 10km and 15km, respectively, under three site-dependent noise scenarios constructed from measurements in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine region, Lausitz, and Sardinia. The differences among the adopted sensitivities are concentrated mainly below 10Hz and thus have the greatest impact on science cases that rely on the early inspiral of light objects, or on massive systems whose characteristic frequencies lie in the low-frequency band. We quantify these effects for four ET science cases: (1) detection and parameter estimation of intermediate-mass black-hole binaries; (2) post-Newtonian tests of General Relativity based on the early inspiral; (3) black-hole ringdown spectroscopy with massive remnants; and (4) early-warning and sky-localization capabilities for binary neutron-star mergers. Using Bayesian parameter estimation, we find that improved low-frequency sensitivity can significantly enhance ET's scientific performance across all four cases. Within the configurations considered here, a 2L network in which at least one of the two L-shaped interferometers attains a noise level comparable to that assumed for the Sardinian site generally provides better performance than the triangular configurations. Conversely, strong degradation of the sensitivity below 10Hz can substantially reduce, and in some regimes offset, the scientific gains expected from increasing the arm length from 10km to 15km. These results highlight the importance of site selection and low-frequency noise mitigation, alongside network geometry, for fully realizing ET's scientific potential in the largely unexplored frequency band below 10Hz.
ER -