Search for non-Gaussian events in the data of the VIRGO E4 engineering run

This work is a first attempt to search for glitch events in the data of the VIRGO Central Interferometer (CITF). In the first step, using simple algorithms, we searched for strong glitches in the interferometer's output photodiodes signals over the three days of data of the last engineering run. In the second step, we focused on 10 hours of data taken when the interferometer was locked and stable. The events found in the dark-fringe signal during this period are all within 3 rms of the mean output value of each algorithm and are, in some cases, linked to a beat between the powerline 50 Hz contamination and a 43.7 Hz line that comes from injection-system components. The main conclusions are that, at this level of analysis, the algorithms used have found no strong glitch-like events in the dark-fringe signal of VIRGO and that removing spectral lines like the 50 Hz is essential to further investigation.