Delensing Gravitational Wave Standard Sirens with Shear and Flexion Maps

Supermassive black hole binary systems (SMBHB) are standard sirens -- the gravitational wave analogue of standard candles -- and if discovered by gravitational wave detectors, they could be used as precise distance indicators. Unfortunately, gravitational lensing will randomly magnify SMBHB signals, seriously degrading any distance measurements. Using a weak lensing map of the SMBHB line of sight, we can estimate its magnification and thereby remove some uncertainty in its distance, a procedure we call "delensing." We find that delensing is significantly improved when galaxy shears are combined with flexion measurements, which reduce small-scale noise in reconstructed magnification maps. Under a Gaussian approximation, we estimate that delensing with a 2D mosaic image from an Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) could reduce distance errors by about 30-40% for a SMBHB at z=2. Including an additional wide shear map from a space survey telescope could reduce distance errors by 50%. Such improvement would make SMBHBs considerably more valuable as cosmological distance probes or as a fully independent check on existing probes.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, submitted to MNRA

Supernova cosmology: legacy and future

The discovery of dark energy by the first generation of high-redshift supernova surveys has generated enormous interest beyond cosmology and has dramatic implications for fundamental physics. Distance measurements using supernova explosions are the most direct probes of the expansion history of the Universe, making them extremely useful tools to study the cosmic fabric and the properties of gravity at the largest scales. The past decade has seen the confirmation of the original results. Type Ia supernovae are among the leading techniques to obtain high-precision measurements of the dark energy equation of state parameter, and in the near future, its time dependence. The success of these efforts depends on our ability to understand a large number of effects, mostly of astrophysical nature, influencing the observed flux at Earth. The frontier now lies in understanding if the observed phenomenon is due to vacuum energy, albeit its unnatural density, or some exotic new physics. Future surveys will address the systematic effects with improved calibration procedures and provide thousands of supernovae for detailed studies.Comment: Invited review, Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science (submitted version

Extended Calculations of Spectroscopic Data: Energy Levels, Lifetimes and Transition rates for O-like ions from Cr XVII to Zn XXIII

Employing two state-of-the-art methods, multiconfiguration Dirac--Hartree--Fock and second-order many-body perturbation theory, the excitation energies and lifetimes for the lowest 200 states of the $2s^2 2p^4$, $2s 2p^5$, $2p^6$, $2s^2 2p^3 3s$, $2s^2 2p^3 3p$, $2s^2 2p^3 3d$, $2s 2p^4 3s$, $2s 2p^4 3p$, and $2s 2p^4 3d$ configurations, and multipole (electric dipole (E1), magnetic dipole (M1), and electric quadrupole (E2)) transition rates, line strengths, and oscillator strengths among these states are calculated for each O-like ion from Cr XVII to Zn XXIII. Our two data sets are compared with the NIST and CHIANTI compiled values, and previous calculations. The data are accurate enough for identification and deblending of new emission lines from the sun and other astrophysical sources. The amount of data of high accuracy is significantly increased for the $n = 3$ states of several O-like ions of astrophysics interest, where experimental data are very scarce

The Swedish Spine Register: development, design and utility

The Swedish Spine Register enables monitoring of surgical activities focusing on changes in trends over time, techniques utilized and outcome, when implemented in general clinical practice. Basic requirements for a prosperous register are unity within the profession, mainly patient-based documentation and a well functioning support system. This presentation focuses on the development and design of the register protocol, problems encountered and solutions found underway. Various examples on how the results can be presented and utilized are given as well as validation. Register data demonstrate significant gender differences in lumbar disc herniation surgery with females having more pain, lower quality of life and more pronounced disability preoperatively while improvement after surgery is similar between genders. Quality of life after surgery for degenerative disorders is significantly improved for disc herniation, stenosis, spondylolisthesis and disc degenerative disorders. Over the last 10 years, surgical treatment for spinal stenosis has increased gradually while disc herniation surgery decreases regarding yearly number of procedures. An added function to the register enables more complex prospective clinical studies to include register data together with data suitable for the individual study. A common core set of demographic, surgical and outcome parameters would enable comparisons of clinical studies within and between nations

Finite-size effects in amorphous Fe90Zr10/Al75Zr25 multilayers

The thickness dependence of the magnetic properties of amorphous Fe90Zr10 layers has been explored using Fe90Zr10/Al75Zr25 multilayers. The Al75Zr25 layer thickness is kept at 40 \AA, while the thickness of the Fe90Zr10 layers is varied between 5 and 20 \AA. The thickness of the Al75Zr25 layers is sufficiently large to suppress any significant interlayer coupling. Both the Curie temperature and the spontaneous magnetization decrease non-linearly with decreasing thickness of the Fe90Zr10 layers. No ferromagnetic order is observed in the multilayer with 5 {\AA} Fe90Zr10 layers. The variation of the Curie temperature $T_c$ with the Fe90Zr10 layer thickness $t$ is fitted with a finite-size scaling formula [1-\Tc(t)/\Tc(\infty)]=[(t-t')/t_0]^{-\lambda}, yielding $\lambda=1.2$, and a critical thickness $t'=6.5$ \AA, below which the Curie temperature is zero.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Extended calculations of energy levels, radiative properties, AJA_{J}, BJB_{J} hyperfine interaction constants, and Land\'e gJg_{J}-factors for nitrogen-like \mbox{Ge XXVI}

Employing two state-of-the-art methods, multiconfiguration Dirac--Hartree--Fock and second-order many-body perturbation theory, highly accurate calculations are performed for the lowest 272 fine-structure levels arising from the $2s^{2} 2p^{3}$, $2s 2p^{4}$, $2p^{5}$, $2s^{2} 2p^{2} 3l$~($l=s,p,d$), $2s 2p^{3}3l$ ($l=s,p,d$), and $2p^{4} 3l$ ($l=s,p,d$) configurations in nitrogen-like Ge XXVI. Complete and consistent atomic data, including excitation energies, lifetimes, wavelengths, hyperfine structures, Land\'e $g_{J}$-factors, and E1, E2, M1, M2 line strengths, oscillator strengths, and transition rates among these 272 levels are provided. Comparisons are made between the present two data sets, as well as with other available experimental and theoretical values. The present data are accurate enough for identification and deblending of emission lines involving the $n=3$ levels, and are also useful for modeling and diagnosing fusion plasmas

Pinholes May Mimic Tunneling

Interest in magnetic-tunnel junctions has prompted a re-examination of tunneling measurements through thin insulating films. In any study of metal-insulator-metal trilayers, one tries to eliminate the possibility of pinholes (small areas over which the thickness of the insulator goes to zero so that the upper and lower metals of the trilayer make direct contact). Recently, we have presented experimental evidence that ferromagnet-insulator-normal trilayers that appear from current-voltage plots to be pinhole-free may nonetheless in some cases harbor pinholes. Here, we show how pinholes may arise in a simple but realistic model of film deposition and that purely classical conduction through pinholes may mimic one aspect of tunneling, the exponential decay in current with insulating thickness.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, plain TeX; submitted to Journal of Applied Physic

Advanced therapy medicinal products and health technology assessment principles and practices for value-based and sustainable healthcare

Background Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are beginning to reach European markets, and questions are being asked about their value for patients and how healthcare systems should pay for them. Objectives To identify and discuss potential challenges of ATMPs in view of current health technology assessment (HTA) methodology—specifically economic evaluation methods—in Europe as it relates to ATMPs, and to suggest potential solutions to these challenges. Methods An Expert Panel reviewed current HTA principles and practices in relation to the specific characteristics of ATMPs. Results Three key topics were identified and prioritised for discussion—uncertainty, discounting, and health outcomes and value. The panel discussed that evidence challenges linked to increased uncertainty may be mitigated by collection of follow-on data, use of value of information analysis, and/or outcomes-based contracts. For discount rates, an international, multi-disciplinary forum should be established to consider the economic, social and ethical implications of the choice of rate. Finally, consideration of the feasibility of assessing the value of ATMPs beyond health gain may also be key for decision-making. Conclusions ATMPs face a challenge in demonstrating their value within current HTA frameworks. Consideration of current HTA principles and practices with regards to the specific characteristics of ATMPs and continued dialogue will be key to ensuring appropriate market access. Classification code I

Oxidation states and magnetism of Fe nanoparticles prepared by a laser evaporation technique

Nanoparticles of iron and iron oxide have been prepared in a thermal diffusion cloud chamber using pulsed laser evaporation. SEM/TEM studies of these particles reveal a size distribution with a mean diameter of about 60 Å. This is consistent with the mean particle size estimated from the magnetic data. The oxidation levels of these nanoparticles prepared at different partial oxygen pressures were investigated using FTIR. All the samples are found to exhibit superparamagnetism with blocking temperatures ranging from 50 K to above room temperature. Magnetic anisotropy constants are calculated from the frequency dependence of the blocking temperatures are found to be one quarter of magnitude higher than is known for the bulk