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Network configuration files

Network.from_file reads a YAML or JSON file that defines a detector network. The file format supports both simple detector-code lists (when every detector is pre-defined in LAL) and full custom-detector geometries for non-standard observatories.

This page shows the file schema and working examples. For programmatic construction without a file, use Network.from_detectors directly.

File schema

Key Type Required Description
name string Yes Human-readable network label.
detectors list[detector] Yes Non-empty list of detector objects.

Each detector object is a mapping:

Key Type Required Description
name string Yes Detector identifier (e.g. "H1", "ET1").
prefix string No Two-character LAL prefix (auto-generated).
latitude_deg float * Geodetic latitude in degrees.
latitude_rad float * Geodetic latitude in radians.
longitude_deg float * Geodetic longitude in degrees.
longitude_rad float * Geodetic longitude in radians.
elevation_m float * Elevation above WGS-84 ellipsoid in metres.
xarm_azimuth_deg float * X-arm azimuth in degrees.
xarm_azimuth_rad float * X-arm azimuth in radians.
yarm_azimuth_deg float * Y-arm azimuth in degrees.
yarm_azimuth_rad float * Y-arm azimuth in radians.
xarm_tilt_deg float No X-arm tilt in degrees (default 0.0).
xarm_tilt_rad float No X-arm tilt in radians (default 0.0).
yarm_tilt_deg float No Y-arm tilt in degrees (default 0.0).
yarm_tilt_rad float No Y-arm tilt in radians (default 0.0).

* Required only when defining a custom geometry. If none of the geometry keys are present the entry is treated as a built-in LAL detector code and the name must match a code returned by Network.list_lal_detectors.

!!! warning "Angle conventions" For each angle parameter, provide either the _deg or the _rad variant — never both. Providing both raises a ValueError.

Example 1 — Built-in detector codes only

For standard LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA configurations, every detector name is a known LAL code. The file is minimal:

# hlvk.yaml — LIGO Hanford + Livingston + Virgo + KAGRA
name: HLVK
detectors:
    - name: H1
    - name: L1
    - name: V1
    - name: K1

Load it:

from gwmock_signal.network import Network

net = Network.from_file("hlvk.yaml")
print(net.name)           # HLVK
print(net.detector_names) # ('H1', 'L1', 'V1', 'K1')

You can also use --network hlvk.yaml in the CLI (see Command-line interface).

Example 2 — A single custom detector (degrees)

Define a fabricated site with full geometry in degrees:

# custom_observatory.yaml
name: Custom Observatory
detectors:
    - name: CUST1
      latitude_deg: 45.0
      longitude_deg: 10.0
      elevation_m: 100.0
      xarm_azimuth_deg: 90.0
      yarm_azimuth_deg: 0.0

Load it:

from gwmock_signal.network import Network

net = Network.from_file("custom_observatory.yaml")
# net.detector_names[0] is a CustomDetector instance
det = net.detector_names[0]
print(det.name, det.latitude_rad)

Example 3 — Full custom detector with radians and tilt

For precision work, supply angles in radians directly:

# triangle_site.yaml
name: Triangle Site
detectors:
    - name: TD1
      prefix: 'T1'
      latitude_rad: 0.698
      longitude_rad: 0.209
      elevation_m: 200.0
      xarm_azimuth_rad: 1.234
      yarm_azimuth_rad: 2.345
      xarm_tilt_deg: 0.01
      yarm_tilt_rad: 0.0005
    - name: TD2
      latitude_rad: 0.699
      longitude_rad: 0.210
      elevation_m: 195.0
      xarm_azimuth_rad: 3.456
      yarm_azimuth_rad: 4.567

You can mix _deg and _rad variants across parameters (but not for the same parameter in the same entry).

Example 4 — Mixed built-in and custom detectors

Combine known LAL codes with custom sites in the same network:

# mixed_network.yaml
name: HLVK + Custom
detectors:
    - name: H1
    - name: L1
    - name: V1
    - name: K1
    - name: CD1
      latitude_deg: 35.0
      longitude_deg: 140.0
      elevation_m: 300.0
      xarm_azimuth_deg: 45.0
      yarm_azimuth_deg: 135.0

Bundled presets

Several detector networks are bundled with the package under gwmock_signal.data.detectors:

Preset name File
ET-Triangle-Sardinia et-triangle-sardinia.yaml
ET-Sardinia (alias of ET-Triangle-Sardinia)
ET-Triangle-EMR et-triangle-emr.yaml
ET-EMR (alias of ET-Triangle-EMR)
ET-2L-Aligned et-2l-aligned.yaml
ET-2L-Misaligned et-2l-misaligned.yaml

Load a bundled preset programmatically:

from gwmock_signal.network import Network

net = Network.from_preset("ET-Triangle-Sardinia")

.interferometer migration

Legacy Bilby .interferometer files are deprecated and will be removed in a future major release. Use interferometer_config_to_custom_detector to migrate:

from gwmock_signal.io import interferometer_config_to_custom_detector
from gwmock_signal.network import Network

detector = interferometer_config_to_custom_detector("legacy_site.interferometer")
net = Network.from_detectors([detector], name="Migrated Site")

Then save the equivalent YAML with Network.from_file so you can drop the .interferometer file:

name: Migrated Site
detectors:
    - name: LEGACY1
      latitude_deg: 40.0
      longitude_deg: 9.0
      elevation_m: 50.0
      xarm_azimuth_deg: 70.0
      yarm_azimuth_deg: 130.0

Runtime detector codes

To see every detector code known to your installed LAL:

from gwmock_signal.network import Network

print(Network.list_lal_detectors())

These are the codes you can use as bare name entries in a network file.

See also