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¶

Each detector object is a mapping:

* 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:

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. Bilby measures arm azimuths in degrees North of East (counter-clockwise from East), whereas the YAML format follows LAL and measures them clockwise from North. 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. Bilby measures arm azimuths in degrees North of East, whereas the YAML format follows LAL and measures them clockwise from North, so convert each azimuth as (90 - azimuth) mod 360. A legacy file with xarm_azimuth = 70.0 and yarm_azimuth = 160.0 becomes:

name: Migrated Site
detectors:
    - name: LEGACY1
      latitude_deg: 40.0
      longitude_deg: 9.0
      elevation_m: 50.0
      xarm_azimuth_deg: 20.0
      yarm_azimuth_deg: 290.0

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¶

• Network API reference
• Custom detectors
• Detector projection examples
• Command-line interface
• User guide overview