Calibration and sensitivity of the Virgo detector during its second science run

The Virgo detector is a kilometer-length interferometer for gravitational wave detection located near Pisa (Italy). During its second science run (VSR2) in 2009, 6 months of data were accumulated with a sensitivity close to its design. In this paper, the methods used to determine the parameters for sensitivity estimation and gravitational wave reconstruction are described. The main quantities to be calibrated are the frequency response of the mirror actuation and the sensing of the output power. Focus is also put on their absolute timing. The monitoring of the calibration data and the parameter estimation with independent techniques are discussed to provide an estimation of the calibration uncertainties. Finally, the estimation of the Virgo sensitivity in the frequency domain is described and typical sensitivities measured during VSR2 are shown. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd.