30,250 research outputs found
The PyCBC search for gravitational waves from compact binary coalescence
We describe the PyCBC search for gravitational waves from compact-object
binary coalescences in advanced gravitational-wave detector data. The search
was used in the first Advanced LIGO observing run and unambiguously identified
two black hole binary mergers, GW150914 and GW151226. At its core, the PyCBC
search performs a matched-filter search for binary merger signals using a bank
of gravitational-wave template waveforms. We provide a complete description of
the search pipeline including the steps used to mitigate the effects of noise
transients in the data, identify candidate events and measure their statistical
significance. The analysis is able to measure false-alarm rates as low as one
per million years, required for confident detection of signals. Using data from
initial LIGO's sixth science run, we show that the new analysis reduces the
background noise in the search, giving a 30% increase in sensitive volume for
binary neutron star systems over previous searches.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Classical and Quantum Gravit
The RRAT Trap: Interferometric Localization of Radio Pulses from J0628+0909
We present the first blind interferometric detection and imaging of a
millisecond radio transient with an observation of transient pulsar J0628+0909.
We developed a special observing mode of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array
(VLA) to produce correlated data products (i.e., visibilities and images) on a
time scale of 10 ms. Correlated data effectively produce thousands of beams on
the sky that can localize sources anywhere over a wide field of view. We used
this new observing mode to find and image pulses from the rotating radio
transient (RRAT) J0628+0909, improving its localization by two orders of
magnitude. Since the location of the RRAT was only approximately known when
first observed, we searched for transients using a wide-field detection
algorithm based on the bispectrum, an interferometric closure quantity. Over 16
minutes of observing, this algorithm detected one transient offset roughly 1'
from its nominal location; this allowed us to image the RRAT to localize it
with an accuracy of 1.6". With a priori knowledge of the RRAT location, a
traditional beamforming search of the same data found two, lower significance
pulses. The refined RRAT position excludes all potential multiwavelength
counterparts, limiting its optical luminosity to L_i'<1.1x10^31 erg/s and
excluding its association with a young, luminous neutron star.Comment: Submitted to ApJ, 7 pages, 5 figure
On the Evaluation of the PIPB Effect within SRAM-based FPGAs
SRAM-based FPGAs are widely used in mission critical applications. Due to the increasing working frequency and technology scaling of ultra-nanometer technology, Single Event Transients (SETs) are becoming a major source of errors for these devices. In this paper, we propose an approach for evaluating the Propagation-induced Pulse Broadening (PIPB) effect introduced by the logic resources traversed by transient pulses. The proposed methodology is applicable to any recent technology to provide SET analysis, necessary for an efficient mitigation technology. Experimental results achieved from a set of benchmarks are compared with fault injection experiments executed on a 28 nm SRAM-based FPGA to demonstrate the effectiveness of our technique
Optical Synoptic Telescopes: New Science Frontiers
Over the past decade, sky surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey have
proven the power of large data sets for answering fundamental astrophysical
questions. This observational progress, based on a synergy of advances in
telescope construction, detectors, and information technology, has had a
dramatic impact on nearly all fields of astronomy, and areas of fundamental
physics. The next-generation instruments, and the surveys that will be made
with them, will maintain this revolutionary progress. The hardware and
computational technical challenges and the exciting science opportunities are
attracting scientists and engineers from astronomy, optics, low-light-level
detectors, high-energy physics, statistics, and computer science. The history
of astronomy has taught us repeatedly that there are surprises whenever we view
the sky in a new way. This will be particularly true of discoveries emerging
from a new generation of sky surveys. Imaging data from large ground-based
active optics telescopes with sufficient etendue can address many scientific
missions simultaneously. These new investigations will rely on the statistical
precision obtainable with billions of objects. For the first time, the full sky
will be surveyed deep and fast, opening a new window on a universe of faint
moving and distant exploding objects as well as unraveling the mystery of dark
energy.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
Tile or Stare? Cadence and Sky Monitoring Observing Strategies that Maximize the Number of Discovered Transients
To maximize the number of transients discovered on the sky, should
sky-monitoring projects stare at one location or continually jump from location
to location, tiling the sky? If tiling is preferred, what cadence maximizes the
discovery rate? As sky monitoring is a growing part of astronomical observing,
utilized to find such phenomena as supernovae, microlensing, and planet
transits, well thought out answers to these questions are increasingly
important. Answers are sky, source, and telescope dependent and should include
information about the source luminosity distribution near the observation
limit, the duration of variability, the nature of the dominant noise, and the
magnitude of down and slew times. Usually, a critical slope of the effective
cumulative transient apparent luminosity distribution (Log N - Log S) at the
limiting magnitude will define when "tile" or "stare" is superior. For
shallower slopes, when "tile" is superior, optimal cadences and pointing
algorithms are discussed. For transients discovered on a single exposure or
time-contiguous series of exposures, when down and slew times are small and the
character of the noise is unchanged, the most productive cadence for isotropic
power-law luminosity distributions is the duration of the transient -- faster
cadences waste time re-discovering known transients, while slower cadences
neglect transients occurring in other fields. A "cadence creep" strategy might
find an optimal discovery cadence experimentally when one is not uniquely
predetermined theoretically. Guest investigator programs might diversify
previously dedicated sky monitoring telescopes by implementing bandpasses and
cadences chosen to optimize the discovery of different types of transients.
Example analyses are given for SuperMACHO, LSST, and GLAST.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figures. Accepted to Astronomical Journal. Mission
specific correspondence welcome (to [email protected]
All Transients, All the Time: Real-Time Radio Transient Detection with Interferometric Closure Quantities
We demonstrate a new technique for detecting radio transients based on
interferometric closure quantities. The technique uses the bispectrum, the
product of visibilities around a closed-loop of baselines of an interferometer.
The bispectrum is calibration independent, resistant to interference, and
computationally efficient, so it can be built into correlators for real-time
transient detection. Our technique could find celestial transients anywhere in
the field of view and localize them to arcsecond precision. At the Karl G.
Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), such a system would have a high survey speed and
a 5-sigma sensitivity of 38 mJy on 10 ms timescales with 1 GHz of bandwidth.
The ability to localize dispersed millisecond pulses to arcsecond precision in
large volumes of interferometer data has several unique science applications.
Localizing individual pulses from Galactic pulsars will help find X-ray
counterparts that define their physical properties, while finding host galaxies
of extragalactic transients will measure the electron density of the
intergalactic medium with a single dispersed pulse. Exoplanets and active stars
have distinct millisecond variability that can be used to identify them and
probe their magnetospheres. We use millisecond time scale visibilities from the
Allen Telescope Array (ATA) and VLA to show that the bispectrum can detect
dispersed pulses and reject local interference. The computational and data
efficiency of the bispectrum will help find transients on a range of time
scales with next-generation radio interferometers.Comment: Accepted to ApJ. 8 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. Revised to include
discussion of non-Gaussian statistics of techniqu
Searches for radio transients
Exploration of the transient Universe is an exciting and fast-emerging area
within radio astronomy. Known transient phenomena range in time scales from
sub-nanoseconds to years or longer, thus spanning a huge range in time domain
and hinting a rich diversity in their underlying physical processes. Transient
phenomena are likely locations of explosive or dynamic events and they offer
tremendous potential to uncover new physics and astrophysics. A number of
upcoming next-generation radio facilities and recent advances in computing and
instrumentation have provided a much needed impetus for this field which has
remained a relatively uncharted territory for the past several decades. In this
paper we focus mainly on the class of phenomena that occur on very short time
scales (i.e. from milliseconds to nanoseconds), known as {\it
fast transients}, the detections of which involve considerable signal
processing and data management challenges, given the high time and frequency
resolutions required in their explorations, the role of propagation effects to
be considered and a multitude of deleterious effects due to radio frequency
interference. We will describe the techniques, strategies and challenges
involved in their detections and review the world-wide efforts currently under
way, both through scientific discoveries enabled by the ongoing large-scale
surveys at Parkes and Arecibo, as well as technical developments involving the
exploratory use of multi-element array instruments such as VLBA and GMRT. Such
developments will undoubtedly provide valuable inputs as next-generation arrays
such as LOFAR and ASKAP are designed and commissioned. With their wider fields
of view and higher sensitivities, these instruments, and eventually the SKA,
hold great potential to revolutionise this relatively nascent field, thereby
opening up exciting new science avenues in astrophysics.Comment: To appear in the special issue of the Bulletin of the Astronomical
Society of India on Transients at different wavelengths, eds D.J. Saikia and
D.A. Green. 21 pages, 5 figures. http://www.ncra.tifr.res.in/~bas
Exploring the Time Domain With Synoptic Sky Surveys
Synoptic sky surveys are becoming the largest data generators in astronomy,
and they are opening a new research frontier, that touches essentially every
field of astronomy. Opening of the time domain to a systematic exploration will
strengthen our understanding of a number of interesting known phenomena, and
may lead to the discoveries of as yet unknown ones. We describe some lessons
learned over the past decade, and offer some ideas that may guide strategic
considerations in planning and execution of the future synoptic sky surveys.Comment: Invited talk, to appear in proc. IAU SYmp. 285, "New Horizons in Time
Domain Astronomy", eds. E. Griffin et al., Cambridge Univ. Press (2012).
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