8,345 research outputs found
Accurate and efficient waveforms for compact binaries on eccentric orbits
Compact binaries that emit gravitational waves in the sensitivity band of
ground-based detectors can have non-negligible eccentricities just prior to
merger, depending on the formation scenario. We develop a purely analytic,
frequency-domain model for gravitational waves emitted by compact binaries on
orbits with small eccentricity, which reduces to the quasi-circular
post-Newtonian approximant TaylorF2 at zero eccentricity and to the
post-circular approximation of Yunes et al. (2009) at small eccentricity. Our
model uses a spectral approximation to the (post-Newtonian) Kepler problem to
model the orbital phase as a function of frequency, accounting for eccentricity
effects up to at each post-Newtonian order. Our approach
accurately reproduces an alternative time-domain eccentric waveform model for
eccentricities and binaries with total mass less than 12 solar
masses. As an application, we evaluate the signal amplitude that eccentric
binaries produce in different networks of existing and forthcoming
gravitational waves detectors. Assuming a population of eccentric systems
containing black holes and neutron stars that is uniformly distributed in
co-moving volume, we estimate that second generation detectors like Advanced
LIGO could detect approximately 0.1-10 events per year out to redshift , while an array of Einstein Telescope detectors could detect hundreds of
events per year to redshift .Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 1 appendix. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D. v2:
affiliations updated, one reference corrected. Accepted to Phys. Rev.
EU pension reform - An overview of the debate and an empirical assessment of the main policy reform options
This paper on European Union (EU) pension reform provides an overview of the debate and, on the basis of a series of model simulations, makes an empirical assessment of the main pension policy reform options at the EU, not the Member State, level. It estimates what it would take to bring the public PAYG pension system back into equilibrium and assesses the case for a shift to funding. The main conclusion of this paper is that the EU pension system should in the very long run (i.e. over more than one generation) be fully funded, with this being achieved using a two-stage optimal transition path. Stage one of this transition process should concentrate on stabilising the PAYG system and achieving a partial shift to funding, with stage two only occurring once circumstances permit. The fully funded system, once established, should have public and private pillars, with the public system in effect replacing the old PAYG system with a similar compulsory, defined benefit, system and with the private pillar being a voluntary, defined contribution, system.pension reform, policy reform options, ageing model, Mc Morrow, Rïżœger,
Decision-support method for profitable residential energy retrofitting based on energy-related occupant behaviour
Low-carbon energy retrofitting in buildings plays an important role because 75% of European buildings
are considered inefficient and more than 40% are currently over 50 years old. The economic reinvestment
of energy retrofit actions through reduced energy bills, as energy directives promote, greatly depends
upon the energy consumption patterns. In support of the decision-making process towards a low-carbon
energy transition in multi-family buildings, this paper introduces a novel assessment method that
evaluates the profitability of energy efficiency measures, according to standard operating conditions
derived from energy performance certificate procedures and real occupant energy consumption scenarios, through a parametric analysis. The aim is to assess the real energy and economic savings of
retrofitting actions, depending on different energy-related occupant scenarios, and to enable comparisons with other buildings, providing a valuable model to identify the most feasible and low-carbon
energy strategies in residential energy retrofitting. A Spanish multi-family building from 1942 is taken
as the reference case study. The results show that energy savings for dwellings vary up to 80%, and the
net present value per dwelling differs by up to 20,000V between different energy consumption patterns.
The most appropriate energy efficiency measures according to low, medium or high consumption scenarios are highlighted
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