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    "story_id": "mp-2026-09-22-011",
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    "headline": "LIGO Put Its Stray-Light Model to a Test",
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    "dek": "Beam-tube baffle measurements agreed with noise models within a factor of three to ten.",
    "summary": "Beam-tube baffle measurements agreed with noise models within a factor of three to ten.",
    "body_text": "A LIGO Livingston testing campaign measured how mid-arm beam-tube baffles move and contribute stray-light noise, then compared the observations with simulations. The authors report model-to-strain agreement within a factor of three to ten and identify motion around 35 and 90 hertz visible as broadband strain features. Additional peaks between 70 and 100 hertz are attributed in their model to diffraction noise. This is a validation and refinement of instrument-noise modeling, not a newly detected gravitational-wave event.",
    "why_it_matters": "Beam-tube baffle measurements agreed with noise models within a factor of three to ten.",
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      "This is a validation and refinement of instrument-noise modeling, not a newly detected gravitational-wave event."
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        "text": "Beam-tube baffle measurements agreed with noise models within a factor of three to ten.",
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        "qualification": "This is a validation and refinement of instrument-noise modeling, not a newly detected gravitational-wave event."
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    "tags": [
      "LIGO",
      "instrumentation",
      "stray light"
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    "image_url": null,
    "corrections": []
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  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-09-22-011",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2609.24743",
      "publisher": "arXiv",
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      "published_at": "2026-09-21T11:12:29.000-04:00",
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    "title": "LIGO Put Its Stray-Light Model to a Test",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
    "published_at": "2026-09-22T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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