Random template banks and relaxed lattice coverings

Template-based searches for gravitational waves are often limited by the computational cost associated with searching large parameter spaces. The study of efficient template banks, in the sense of using the smallest number of templates, is therefore of great practical interest. The "traditional" approach to template-bank construction requires every point in parameter space to be covered by at least one template, which rapidly becomes inefficient at higher dimensions. Here we study an alternative approach, where any point in parameter space is covered only with a given probability < 1. We find that by giving up complete coverage in this way, large reductions in the number of templates are possible, especially at higher dimensions. The prime examples studied here are "random template banks", in which templates are placed randomly with uniform probability over the parameter space. In addition to its obvious simplicity, this method turns out to be surprisingly efficient. We analyze the statistical properties of such random template banks, and compare their efficiency to traditional lattice coverings. We further study "relaxed" lattice coverings (using Zn and An* lattices), which similarly cover any signal location only with probability < 1. The relaxed An* lattice is found to yield the most efficient template banks at low dimensions (n < 10), while random template banks increasingly outperform any other method at higher dimensions.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, submitted to PR

Decent working time: New trends, new issues.

Includes selected papers from the 9th International Symposium on Working Time, Paris (2004), looking at the increasing use of results-based employment relationships for managers and professionals, and the increasing fragmentation of time to more closely tailor staffing needs to customer requirements (e.g., short-hours, part-time work). Moreover, as operating/opening hours rapidly expand toward a 24-hour and 7-day economy, the book considers how this has resulted in a growing diversification, decentralization, and individualization of working hours, as well as an increasing tension between enterprises' business requirements and workers' needs and preferences regarding their hours. It addresses issues such as increasing employment insecurity and instability, time-related social inequalities, particularly in relation to gender, workers' ability to balance their paid work with their personal lives, and the synchronization of working hours with social times, such as community activities. In addition, the book offers suggestions on how policy-makers, academics, and the social partners can together help further develop effective policies for advancing "decent working timeRéduction du temps de travail; Aménagement du temps de travail; Horaires de travail; Labor laws and legislation; Developed countries; Trend; Arrangement of working time; Flexible hours of work; Hours of work;

MObile Technology for Improved Family Planning: update to randomised controlled trial protocol.

BACKGROUND: This update outlines changes to the MObile Technology for Improved Family Planning study statistical analysis plan and plans for long-term follow-up. These changes result from obtaining additional funding and the decision to restrict the primary analysis to participants with available follow-up data. The changes were agreed prior to finalising the statistical analysis plan and sealing the dataset. METHODS/DESIGN: The primary analysis will now be restricted to subjects with data on the primary outcome at 4-month follow-up. The extreme-case scenario, where all those lost to follow-up are counted as non-adherent, will be used in a sensitivity analysis. In addition to the secondary outcomes outlined in the protocol, we will assess the effect of the intervention on long-acting contraception (implant, intra-uterine device and permanent methods).To assess the long-term effect of the intervention, we plan to conduct additional 12-month follow-up by telephone self-report for all the primary and secondary outcomes used at 4 months. All participants provided informed consent for this additional follow-up when recruited to the trial. Outcome measures and analysis at 12 months will be similar to those at the 4-month follow-up. The primary outcomes of the trial will be the use of an effective modern contraceptive method at 4 months and at 12 months post-abortion. Secondary outcomes will include long-acting contraception use, self-reported pregnancy, repeat abortion and contraception use over the 12-month post-abortion period. DISCUSSION: Restricting the primary analysis to those with follow-up data is the standard approach for trial analysis and will facilitate comparison with other trials of interventions designed to increase contraception uptake or use. Undertaking 12-month trial follow-up will allow us to evaluate the long-term effect of the intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01823861

GLADE: A galaxy catalogue for multimessenger searches in the advanced gravitational-wave detector era

We introduce a value-added full-sky catalogue of galaxies, named as Galaxy List for the Advanced Detector Era, or GLADE. The purpose of this catalogue is to (i) help identifications of host candidates for gravitational-wave events, (ii) support target selections for electromagnetic follow-up observations of gravitational-wave candidates, (iii) provide input data on the matter distribution of the local Universe for astrophysical or cosmological simulations, and (iv) help identifications of host candidates for poorly localized electromagnetic transients, such as gamma-ray bursts observed with the InterPlanetary Network. Both being potential hosts of astrophysical sources of gravitational waves, GLADE includes inactive and active galaxies as well. GLADE was constructed by cross-matching and combining data from five separate (but not independent) astronomical catalogues: GWGC, 2MPZ, 2MASS XSC, HyperLEDA, and SDSS-DR12Q. GLADE is complete up to dL=37+3−4Mpc in terms of the cumulative B-band luminosity of galaxies within luminosity distance dL, and contains all of the brightest galaxies giving half of the total B-band luminosity up to dL=91Mpc. As B-band luminosity is expected to be a tracer of binary neutron star mergers (currently the prime targets of joint GW+EM detections), our completeness measures can be used as estimations of completeness for containing all binary neutron star merger hosts in the local Universe

Osiris-REx Spacecraft Current Status and Forward Plans

The NASA New Frontiers OSIRIS-REx spacecraft executed a flawless launch on September 8, 2016 to begin its 23-month journey to near-Earth asteroid (101955). The primary objective of the OSIRIS-REx mission is to collect and return to Earth a pristine sample of regolith from the asteroid surface. The sampling event will occur after a two-year period of remote sensing that will ensure a high probability of successful sampling of a region on the asteroid surface having high science value and within well-defined geological context. The OSIRIS-REx instrument payload includes three high-resolution cameras (OCAMS), a visible and near-infrared spectrometer (OVIRS), a thermal imaging spectrometer (OTES), an X-ray imaging spectrometer (REXIS), and a laser altimeter (OLA). As the spacecraft follows its nominal outbound-cruise trajectory, the propulsion, power, communications, and science instruments have undergone basic functional tests, with no major issues. Outbound cruise science investigations include a search for Earth Trojan asteroids as the spacecraft approaches the Sun-Earth L4 Lagrangian point in February 2017. Additional instrument checkouts and calibrations will be carried out during the Earth gravity assist maneuver in September 2017. During the Earth-moon flyby, visual and spectral images will be acquired to validate instrument command sequences planned for Bennu remote sensing. The asteroid Bennu remote sensing campaign will yield high resolution maps of the temperature and thermal inertia, distributions of major minerals and concentrations of organic matter across the asteroid surface. A high resolution 3d shape model including local surface slopes and a high-resolution gravity field will also be determined. Together, these data will be used to generate four separate maps that will be used to select the sampling site(s). The Safety map will identify hazardous and safe operational regions on the asteroid surface. The Deliverability map will quantify the accuracy with which the navigation team can deliver the spacecraft to and from specific sites on the asteroid surface. The Sampleability map quantifies the regolith properties, providing an estimation of how much material would be sampled at different points on the surface. The final Science Value map synthesizes the chemical, mineralogical, and geological, observations to identify the areas of the asteroid surface with the highest science value. Here, priority is given to organic, water-rich regions that have been minimally altered by surface processes. Asteroid surface samples will be acquired with a touch-and-go sample acquisition system (TAGSAM) that uses high purity pressurized N2 gas to mobilize regolith into a stainless steel canister. Although the mission requirement is to collect at least 60 g of material, tests of the TAGSAM routinely exceeded 300 g of simulant in micro-gravity tests. After acquiring the sample, the spacecraft will depart Bennu in 2021 to begin its return journey, with the sample return capsule landing at the Utah Test and Training Range on September 23, 2023. The OSIRIS-REx science team will carry out a series of detailed chemical, mineralogical, isotopic, and spectral studies that will be used to determine the origin and history of Bennu and to relate high spatial resolution sample studies to the global geological context from remote sensing. The outline of the sample analysis plan is described in a companion abstract

The very faint X-ray binary IGR J17062-6143: a truncated disc, no pulsations, and a possible outflow

We present a comprehensive X-ray study of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary IGR J17062-6143, which has been accreting at low luminosities since its discovery in 2006. Analysing NuSTAR, XMM–Newton, and Swift observations, we investigate the very faint nature of this source through three approaches: modelling the relativistic reflection spectrum to constrain the accretion geometry, performing high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy to search for an outflow, and searching for the recently reported millisecond X-ray pulsations. We find a strongly truncated accretion disc at 77+22−18 gravitational radii (∼164 km) assuming a high inclination, although a low inclination and a disc extending to the neutron star cannot be excluded. The high-resolution spectroscopy reveals evidence for oxygen-rich circumbinary material, possibly resulting from a blueshifted, collisionally ionized outflow. Finally, we do not detect any pulsations. We discuss these results in the broader context of possible explanations for the persistent faint nature of weakly accreting neutron stars. The results are consistent with both an ultra-compact binary orbit and a magnetically truncated accretion flow, although both cannot be unambiguously inferred. We also discuss the nature of the donor star and conclude that it is likely a CO or O–Ne–Mg white dwarf, consistent with recent multiwavelength modelling

Mineralogy and Oxygen Isotope Compositions of Two C-Rich Hydrated Interplanetary Dust Particles

Oxygen isotopic compositions of chondrites reflect mixing between a O-16-rich reservoir and a O-17,O-18-rich reservoir produced via mass-independent fractionation. The composition of the O-16-rich reservoir is reasonably well constrained, but material representing the O-17,O-18-rich end-member is rare. Self-shielding models predict that cometary water, presumed to represent this reservoir, should be enriched in O-17 and O-18 18O by > 200%. Hydrated interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) rich in carbonaceous matter may be derived from comets; such particles likely contain the products of reaction between O-16-poor water and anhydrous silicates that formed in the inner solar system. Here we present mineralogy and oxygen isotope compositions of two C-rich hydrated IDPs, L2083E47 and L2071E35

Advances in Small Particle Handling of Astromaterials in Preparation for OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2: Initial Developments

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation office at NASA Johnson Space Center has established an Advanced Curation program that is tasked with developing procedures, technologies, and data sets necessary for the curation of future astromaterials collections as envisioned by NASA exploration goals. One particular objective of the Advanced Curation program is the development of new methods for the collection, storage, handling and characterization of small (less than 100 micrometer) particles. Astromaterials Curation currently maintains four small particle collections: Cosmic Dust that has been collected in Earth's stratosphere by ER2 and WB-57 aircraft, Comet 81P/Wild 2 dust returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft, interstellar dust that was returned by Stardust, and asteroid Itokawa particles that were returned by the JAXA's Hayabusa spacecraft. NASA Curation is currently preparing for the anticipated return of two new astromaterials collections - asteroid Ryugu regolith to be collected by Hayabusa2 spacecraft in 2021 (samples will be provided by JAXA as part of an international agreement), and asteroid Bennu regolith to be collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and returned in 2023. A substantial portion of these returned samples are expected to consist of small particle components, and mission requirements necessitate the development of new processing tools and methods in order to maximize the scientific yield from these valuable acquisitions. Here we describe initial progress towards the development of applicable sample handling methods for the successful curation of future small particle collections