Unambiguous determination of gravitational waveforms from binary black hole mergers

Gravitational radiation is properly defined only at future null infinity (\scri), but in practice it is estimated from data calculated at a finite radius. We have used characteristic extraction to calculate gravitational radiation at \scri for the inspiral and merger of two equal mass non-spinning black holes. Thus we have determined the first unambiguous merger waveforms for this problem. The implementation is general purpose, and can be applied to calculate the gravitational radiation, at \scri, given data at a finite radius calculated in another computation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, published versio

Strategies for the characteristic extraction of gravitational waveforms

We develop, test, and compare new numerical and geometrical methods for improving the accuracy of extracting waveforms using characteristic evolution. The new numerical method involves use of circular boundaries to the stereographic grid patches which cover the spherical cross sections of the outgoing null cones. We show how an angular version of numerical dissipation can be introduced into the characteristic code to damp the high frequency error arising form the irregular way the circular patch boundary cuts through the grid. The new geometric method involves use of the Weyl tensor component Psi4 to extract the waveform as opposed to the original approach via the Bondi news function. We develop the necessary analytic and computational formula to compute the O(1/r) radiative part of Psi4 in terms of a conformally compactified treatment of null infinity. These methods are compared and calibrated in test problems based upon linearized waves

General relativistic null-cone evolutions with a high-order scheme

We present a high-order scheme for solving the full non-linear Einstein equations on characteristic null hypersurfaces using the framework established by Bondi and Sachs. This formalism allows asymptotically flat spaces to be represented on a finite, compactified grid, and is thus ideal for far-field studies of gravitational radiation. We have designed an algorithm based on 4th-order radial integration and finite differencing, and a spectral representation of angular components. The scheme can offer significantly more accuracy with relatively low computational cost compared to previous methods as a result of the higher-order discretization. Based on a newly implemented code, we show that the new numerical scheme remains stable and is convergent at the expected order of accuracy.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figure

“Small steps, or giant leaps?” Comparing game demands of U23, U18, and U16 English academy soccer and their associations with speed and endurance

The current study aimed to compare locomotive outputs across English U16, U18 and U23 academy soccer and investigate possible relationships with neuromuscular and aerobic capacities. Participants included 46 outfield players from an English Category Two soccer academy. Global positioning system (18Hz) data were utilised to analyse locomotive outputs across twenty eleven-a-side matches in each age group. Maximal sprinting speed (MSS) and aerobic speed (MAS) were assessed at the beginning of the season. Absolute total distance (TD), high-speed running (HSR), acceleration and deceleration workloads were higher in U18’s and U23’s vs. U16’s (g = 1.09-2.58; p < 0.05), and absolute sprinting distances were higher in U23’s vs. U16’s (g = 0.96; p < 0.05). In addition, relative HSR outputs were higher in U23’s vs. U18’s (g = 1.84-2.07; p < 0.05). Across the whole cohort, players’ MSS was positively associated with absolute HSR and sprinting distances (ρ = 0.53-0.79; p < 0.05) but not with relative parameters. MAS was positively associated with total distance, decelerations, and both absolute and relative HSR outputs (ρ = 0.33-0.56; p < 0.05). Overall, absolute locomotive outputs were significantly higher in U23’s and U18’s vs. U16’s. Locomotive outputs were also associated with maximal sprinting and aerobic speeds. Thus, training programmes should be tailored to competition demands to optimally prepare each age group for competition and reflect the increasing demands of each level of competition. Further, improving physical fitness (speed and endurance) is likely to drive greater outputs in competition

Lake Michigan Salmonid Stocking Costs in Wisconsin

The costs of stocking salmonids in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan are estimated for 1985. Estimation procedures and costs per stocked and captured fish are presented. Fingerlings of a species were found in most cases to cost more per captured fish than yearlings. However chinook salmon fingerlings were least expensive at an average cost of only $0.35 per captured fish. Most expensive were brook yearlings and fingerlings at$12.67 and $10.14 respectively. While a full policy evaluation awaits additional research on species specific benefits, three tentative conclusions can be drawn for the Wisconsin fishery. First, the role of brook trout in the fishery should be reviewed. Second, despite difficulties with lake trout rehabilitation, the role of lake trout in the sport fishery is encouraging and may justify continued stocking. Finally, increased stocking of the popular chinook salmon may be justified if the recent problems of low capture-per-release rates can be solved.restocking costs, benefit-cost methodology, sport fisheries, salmonids, Lake Michigan, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Advanced manned space flight simulation and training: An investigation of simulation host computer system concepts

The findings of a preliminary investigation by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in simulation host computer concepts is presented. It is designed to aid NASA in evaluating simulation technologies for use in spaceflight training. The focus of the investigation is on the next generation of space simulation systems that will be utilized in training personnel for Space Station Freedom operations. SwRI concludes that NASA should pursue a distributed simulation host computer system architecture for the Space Station Training Facility (SSTF) rather than a centralized mainframe based arrangement. A distributed system offers many advantages and is seen by SwRI as the only architecture that will allow NASA to achieve established functional goals and operational objectives over the life of the Space Station Freedom program. Several distributed, parallel computing systems are available today that offer real-time capabilities for time critical, man-in-the-loop simulation. These systems are flexible in terms of connectivity and configurability, and are easily scaled to meet increasing demands for more computing power

Dynamic Poisson Factorization

Models for recommender systems use latent factors to explain the preferences and behaviors of users with respect to a set of items (e.g., movies, books, academic papers). Typically, the latent factors are assumed to be static and, given these factors, the observed preferences and behaviors of users are assumed to be generated without order. These assumptions limit the explorative and predictive capabilities of such models, since users' interests and item popularity may evolve over time. To address this, we propose dPF, a dynamic matrix factorization model based on the recent Poisson factorization model for recommendations. dPF models the time evolving latent factors with a Kalman filter and the actions with Poisson distributions. We derive a scalable variational inference algorithm to infer the latent factors. Finally, we demonstrate dPF on 10 years of user click data from arXiv.org, one of the largest repository of scientific papers and a formidable source of information about the behavior of scientists. Empirically we show performance improvement over both static and, more recently proposed, dynamic recommendation models. We also provide a thorough exploration of the inferred posteriors over the latent variables.Comment: RecSys 201

Initial data transients in binary black hole evolutions

We describe a method for initializing characteristic evolutions of the Einstein equations using a linearized solution corresponding to purely outgoing radiation. This allows for a more consistent application of the characteristic (null cone) techniques for invariantly determining the gravitational radiation content of numerical simulations. In addition, we are able to identify the {\em ingoing} radiation contained in the characteristic initial data, as well as in the initial data of the 3+1 simulation. We find that each component leads to a small but long lasting (several hundred mass scales) transient in the measured outgoing gravitational waves.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure