Estimation of the needed accuracy for the calibration of the VIRGO interferometer in relation to the detection of coalescing binaries

In this paper we report a study – based on simulated data – performed to assess the level of accuracy needed in the process of calibrating the output of the VIRGO gravitational wave detector. A simple algorithm searching for signals from coalescing binaries is applied on data containing simulated signals and noise. Two kinds of calibration errors are then assumed to affect the data. The sensitivity of the algorithm to these errors is evaluated, both in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio and the estimation of the signal arrival time.