Probing Stellar Dynamics in Galactic Nuclei

Electromagnetic observations over the last 15 years have yielded a growing appreciation for the importance of supermassive black holes (SMBH) to the evolution of galaxies, and for the intricacies of dynamical interactions in our own Galactic center. Here we show that future low-frequency gravitational wave observations, alone or in combination with electromagnetic data, will open up unique windows to these processes. In particular, gravitational wave detections in the 10^{-5}-10^{-1} Hz range will yield SMBH masses and spins to unprecedented precision and will provide clues to the properties of the otherwise undetectable stellar remnants expected to populate the centers of galaxies. Such observations are therefore keys to understanding the interplay between SMBHs and their environments.Comment: 8 pages, Science white paper for the Astro2010 Decadal Surve

Adaptive State Estimation for Nonminimum-Phase Systems with Uncertain Harmonic Inputs

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90727/1/AIAA-2011-6315-484.pd

Restoration of the Nisqually River Delta and increased rearing opportunities for salmonids

Estuarine wetlands in the Salish Sea provide important rearing habitat for migrating juvenile Pacific salmon, contributing to their overall productivity and ocean survival. Substantial loss of historical estuarine habitat in the Salish Sea due to diking, draining and development has contributed to the decline of Pacific salmon populations (Oncorhynchus spp.). The return of tidal inundation through a series of dike removals to 364 hectares of the Nisqually River Delta (Olympia, Washington, USA) represents one of the most significant advances to date towards the recovery of the threatened Nisqually Fall Chinook stock. Our objective was to assess the collective Nisqually Delta restorations in terms of increased rearing opportunity for juvenile salmon. Metrics consisted of physical conditions that allow juvenile salmon to access the estuarine restorations such as delta connectivity, full tidal inundation and channel development. Unlike most studies, we put these physical metrics in terms of juvenile Chinook by constraining our inundation model to outmigration season (Mar – Aug) and those tidal depths supporting juvenile Chinook (\u3e 0.4 m). We used these criteria, verified by presence of juvenile salmonids in three restored and two reference tidal channels, to measure the change in opportunity potential from pre-restoration to post-restoration condition for juvenile Chinook to access and rear in the Nisqually estuary. We found landscape connectivity to be strongly tied to tidal height and increased throughout the estuary with dike removal. Tidal channel development was most rapid in the first and second year post-restoration; with channel outlets widening and deepening to accommodate restored tidal prisms. Chum salmon, natural origin Chinook and hatchery origin Chinook salmon accessed all three restored marshes within two years post-restoration, although responses varied among years, marshes and salmon species. These results suggest that the Nisqually Delta restorations are providing increased rearing opportunity for juvenile salmon

Optimal statistic for detecting gravitational wave signals from binary inspirals with LISA

A binary compact object early in its inspiral phase will be picked up by its nearly monochromatic gravitational radiation by LISA. But even this innocuous appearing candidate poses interesting detection challenges. The data that will be scanned for such sources will be a set of three functions of LISA's twelve data streams obtained through time-delay interferometry, which is necessary to cancel the noise contributions from laser-frequency fluctuations and optical-bench motions to these data streams. We call these three functions pseudo-detectors. The sensitivity of any pseudo-detector to a given sky position is a function of LISA's orbital position. Moreover, at a given point in LISA's orbit, each pseudo-detector has a different sensitivity to the same sky position. In this work, we obtain the optimal statistic for detecting gravitational wave signals, such as from compact binaries early in their inspiral stage, in LISA data. We also present how the sensitivity of LISA, defined by this optimal statistic, varies as a function of sky position and LISA's orbital location. Finally, we show how a real-time search for inspiral signals can be implemented on the LISA data by constructing a bank of templates in the sky positions.Comment: 22 pages, 15 eps figures, Latex, uses iopart style/class files. Based on talk given at the 8th Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop, Milwaukee, USA, December 17-20, 2003. Accepted for publication in Class. Quant. Gra

Decadal Survey White Paper: Probing Stellar Dynamics in Galactic Nuclei

Electromagnetic observations over the last 15 years have yielded a growing appreciation for the importance of supermassive black holes (SMBH) to the evolution of galaxies, and for the intricacies of dynamical interactions in our own Galactic center. Here we show that future low-frequency gravitational wave observations, alone or in combination with electromagnetic data, will open up unique windows to these processes. In particular, gravitational wave detections in the 10^{-5}-10^{-1} Hz range will yield SMBH masses and spins to unprecedented precision and will provide clues to the properties of the otherwise undetectable stellar remnants expected to populate the centers of galaxies. Such observations are therefore keys to understanding the interplay between SMBHs and their environments

2001-2002 North American Music Festival - Youth Concert

Program Shyscrapers (World Premiere) / Gregory J. Hutter A Haunted Landscape / George Crumb The Rite of Spring / Igor Stravinsky North American Music Festival April 10, 2002 - Chamber Music Concert April 12, 2002 - Music of George Crumb (*No program) April 13, 2002 - Lynn University Philharmonia April 14, 2002 - Youth Concert Composers performed in the festival George Crumb Warren Gooch Gregory J. Hunter Timothy Melbinger Kurt Sander Greg A. Steinkehttps://spiral.lynn.edu/conservatory_otherseasonalconcerts/1098/thumbnail.jp

Medical innovation and social externality

Healthcare expenditure in the United States has grown and will continue to increase. The increasing healthcare expenditure is to reduce real income as well as to diminish total utility and increase financial stresses. This study argues that the most critical factor that increases healthcare expenditures during last 50 years has been the advent, adoption and diffusion of new medical technologies that include new drugs, equipment and healthcare delivery systems. This study introduces various examples how medical innovations influence to increase healthcare expenditures. In company with the advanced medical technology, this study suggests a free market in medical technology that means less regulation and less subsidization to healthcare market participants, such as healthcare providers, insurers, and healthcare consumers to reduce healthcare expenditures

Rentabilitätsvergleiche im Umlage- und Kapitaldeckungsverfahren : Konzepte, empirische Ergebnisse, sozialpolitische Konsequenzen

Die demographischen Veränderungen sind Auslöser einer grundsätzlicheren Debatte über Alterssicherungsverfahren, nämlich der Wahl eines effizienten Finanzierungsverfahrens der Altersvorsorge. Im Zentrum der Debatte steht immer wieder der Renditevergleich zwischen dem Umlage- und dem Kapitaldeckungsverfahren. Ihm gilt dieses Papier. Er ist keineswegs so einfach, wie es oft suggeriert wird, da Versicherungs- und Risikoaspekte, vor allem aber das Übergangsproblem berücksichtigt werden müssen. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt den wirtschaftstheoretischen Hintergrund mit den wichtigsten relevanten Konzepten dar und präsentiert empirische Schätzungen zur heutigen und Simulationsergebnisse zur zukünftigen Entwicklung der relevanten Renditen. Wir schließen mit den sozialpolitischen Konsequenzen für eine reformierte Altersvorsorge

Scoring System Prognostic of Outcome in Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Myelodysplastic Syndrome

To develop a system prognostic of outcome in those undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo HCT) for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)