Check of the Virgo gravitational wave signal reconstruction with a calibration system based on laser radiation pressure

Gravitational waves are solutions to equations governing the dynamics of gravitation predicted from Einstein's theory of General Relativity in 1918. Gravitational waves describe ripples of space-time producing weak variations of distance between free masses along their propagation. Over the past two decades, an international array of ground-based, kilometer-scale Michelson interferometers has been developed to detect gravitational waves going through Earth and is now in operation. The gravitational wave signature is sought in a calibrated stream obtained from detector output measurements and giving the absolute signal of a gravitational waves going through it. A check of the procedure is required to avoid potential systematic calibration errors leading to an incorrect data stream and bias in its use by data analysis. Since several years, a new calibration technique is developed for that purpose for each network's interferometer and uses the radiation pressure of a power-modulated laser to induce calibrated displacements of their mirrors. The associated setup, called Photon Calibrator, allows one to mimic a gravitational waves passing the detector in order to verify its reconstruction in the detection channel. The scope of this thesis is the implementation of this technique for the French-Italian interferometer Virgo to check its gravitational wave signal reconstruction procedure. The operating principle of the setup installed is first described and its calibration is then detailed with measurement campaigns performed. Finally verifications performed for the two Virgo Science runs performed between 2010 and 2011 are presented. The conclusion of this study allowed the validation of the Virgo gravitational wave signal reconstruction with its uncertainties and has confirmed their negligible impact on data analysis. (author)