2,015 research outputs found
Testing post-Newtonian theory with gravitational wave observations
The Laser Interferometric Space Antenna (LISA) will observe supermassive
black hole binary mergers with amplitude signal-to-noise ratio of several
thousands. We investigate the extent to which such observations afford
high-precision tests of Einstein's gravity. We show that LISA provides a unique
opportunity to probe the non-linear structure of post-Newtonian theory both in
the context of general relativity and its alternatives.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure
Health systems analysis of eye care services in Zambia: evaluating progress towards VISION 2020 goals.
BACKGROUND: VISION 2020 is a global initiative launched in 1999 to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020. The objective of this study was to undertake a situation analysis of the Zambian eye health system and assess VISION 2020 process indicators on human resources, equipment and infrastructure. METHODS: All eye health care providers were surveyed to determine location, financing sources, human resources and equipment. Key informants were interviewed regarding levels of service provision, management and leadership in the sector. Policy papers were reviewed. A health system dynamics framework was used to analyse findings. RESULTS: During 2011, 74 facilities provided eye care in Zambia; 39% were public, 37% private for-profit and 24% owned by Non-Governmental Organizations. Private facilities were solely located in major cities. A total of 191 people worked in eye care; 18 of these were ophthalmologists and eight cataract surgeons, equivalent to 0.34 and 0.15 per 250,000 population, respectively. VISION 2020 targets for inpatient beds and surgical theatres were met in six out of nine provinces, but human resources and spectacles manufacturing workshops were below target in every province. Inequalities in service provision between urban and rural areas were substantial. CONCLUSION: Shortage and maldistribution of human resources, lack of routine monitoring and inadequate financing mechanisms are the root causes of underperformance in the Zambian eye health system, which hinder the ability to achieve the VISION 2020 goals. We recommend that all VISION 2020 process indicators are evaluated simultaneously as these are not individually useful for monitoring progress
Inspiralling compact binaries in quasi-elliptical orbits: The complete third post-Newtonian energy flux
The instantaneous contributions to the 3PN gravitational wave luminosity from
the inspiral phase of a binary system of compact objects moving in a quasi
elliptical orbit is computed using the multipolar post-Minkowskian wave
generation formalism. The necessary inputs for this calculation include the 3PN
accurate mass quadrupole moment for general orbits and the mass octupole and
current quadrupole moments at 2PN. Using the recently obtained 3PN
quasi-Keplerian representation of elliptical orbits the flux is averaged over
the binary's orbit. Supplementing this by the important hereditary
contributions arising from tails, tails-of-tails and tails squared terms
calculated in a previous paper, the complete 3PN energy flux is obtained. The
final result presented in this paper would be needed for the construction of
ready-to-use templates for binaries moving on non-circular orbits, a plausible
class of sources not only for the space based detectors like LISA but also for
the ground based ones.Comment: 40 pages. Minor changes in text throughout. Minor typos in Eqs.
(3.3b), (7.7f), (8.19d) and (8.20) corrected. Matches the published versio
Complete adiabatic waveform templates for a test-mass in the Schwarzschild spacetime: VIRGO and Advanced LIGO studies
Post-Newtonian expansions of the binding energy and gravitational wave flux
truncated at the {\it same relative} post-Newtonian order form the basis of the
{\it standard adiabatic} approximation to the phasing of gravitational waves
from inspiralling compact binaries. Viewed in terms of the dynamics of the
binary, the standard approximation is equivalent to neglecting certain
conservative post-Newtonian terms in the acceleration. In an earlier work, we
had proposed a new {\it complete adiabatic} approximant constructed from the
energy and flux functions. At the leading order it employs the 2PN energy
function rather than the 0PN one in the standard approximation, so that,
effectively the approximation corresponds to the dynamics where there are no
missing post-Newtonian terms in the acceleration. In this paper, we compare the
overlaps of the standard and complete adiabatic templates with the exact
waveform in the adiabatic approximation of a test-mass motion in the
Schwarzschild spacetime, for the VIRGO and the Advanced LIGO noise spectra. It
is found that the complete adiabatic approximants lead to a remarkable
improvement in the {\it effectualness} at lower PN ( 3PN) orders, while
standard approximants of order 3PN provide a good lower-bound to the
complete approximants for the construction of effectual templates. {\it
Faithfulness} of complete approximants is better than that of standard
approximants except for a few post-Newtonian orders. Standard and complete
approximants beyond the adiabatic approximation are also studied using the
Lagrangian templates of Buonanno, Chen and Vallisneri.Comment: Proceedings of the GWDAW-9, Accepted for publication in Class. Quant.
Gra
Binary black hole detection rates in inspiral gravitational wave searches
The signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) for quasi-circular binary black hole
inspirals computed from restricted post-Newtonian waveforms are compared with
those attained by more complete post-Newtonian signals, which are
superpositions of amplitude-corrected harmonics of the orbital phase. It is
shown that if one were to use the best available amplitude-corrected waveforms
for detection templates, one should expect SNRs in actual searches to be
significantly lower than those suggested by simulations based purely on
restricted waveforms.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur
Gravitational waveforms for spinning compact binaries
The rotation of the bodies and the eccentricity of the orbit have significant
effects on the emitted gravitational radiation of binary systems. This work
focuses on the evaluation of the gravitational wave polarization states for
spinning compact binaries. We consider binaries on eccentric orbits and the
spin-orbit interaction up to the 1.5 post-Newtonian order in a way which is
independent of the parameterization of the orbit. The equations of motion for
angular variables are included. The formal expressions of the polarization
states are given with the inclusion of higher order corrections to the
waveform
Time-symmetric initial data for binary black holes in numerical relativity
We look for physically realistic initial data in numerical relativity which
are in agreement with post-Newtonian approximations. We propose a particular
solution of the time-symmetric constraint equation, appropriate to two
momentarily static black holes, in the form of a conformal decomposition of the
spatial metric. This solution is isometric to the post-Newtonian metric up to
the 2PN order. It represents a non-linear deformation of the solution of Brill
and Lindquist, i.e. an asymptotically flat region is connected to two
asymptotically flat (in a certain weak sense) sheets, that are the images of
the two singularities through appropriate inversion transformations. The total
ADM mass M as well as the individual masses m_1 and m_2 (when they exist) are
computed by surface integrals performed at infinity. Using second order
perturbation theory on the Brill-Lindquist background, we prove that the
binary's interacting mass-energy M-m_1-m_2 is well-defined at the 2PN order and
in agreement with the known post-Newtonian result.Comment: 27 pages, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Propagation of gravitational waves from slow motion sources in a Coulomb type potential
We consider the propagation of gravitational waves generated by slow motion
sources in Coulomb type potential due to the mass of the source. Then, the
formula for gravitational waveform including tail is obtained in a
straightforward manner by using the spherical Coulomb function. We discuss its
relation with the formula in the previous work.Comment: 13 pages, no figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Nature and origin of fine laminated sediments from the western Nile Delta: high resolution elemental content and lithology
Radiation reaction in the 2.5PN waveform from inspiralling binaries in circular orbits
In this Comment we compute the contributions of the radiation reaction force
in the 2.5 post-Newtonian (PN) gravitational wave polarizations for compact
binaries in circular orbits. (i) We point out and correct an inconsistency in
the derivation of Arun, Blanchet, Iyer, and Qusailah. (ii) We prove that all
contributions from radiation reaction in the 2.5PN waveform are actually
negligible since they can be absorbed into a modification of the orbital phase
at the 5PN order.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, submitted to CQ
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