4,740 research outputs found
Effects of pulse width and coding on radar returns from clear air
In atmospheric radar studies it is desired to obtain maximum information about the atmosphere and to use efficiently the radar transmitter and processing hardware. Large pulse widths are used to increase the signal to noise ratio since clear air returns are generally weak and maximum height coverage is desired. Yet since good height resolution is equally important, pulse compression techniques such as phase coding are employed to optimize the average power of the transmitter. Considerations in implementing a coding scheme and subsequent effects of an impinging pulse on the atmosphere are investigated
Mapping the gravitational wave background
The gravitational wave sky is expected to have isolated bright sources
superimposed on a diffuse gravitational wave background. The background
radiation has two components: a confusion limited background from unresolved
astrophysical sources; and a cosmological component formed during the birth of
the universe. A map of the gravitational wave background can be made by
sweeping a gravitational wave detector across the sky. The detector output is a
complicated convolution of the sky luminosity distribution, the detector
response function and the scan pattern. Here we study the general
de-convolution problem, and show how LIGO (Laser Interferometric Gravitational
Observatory) and LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) can be used to
detect anisotropies in the gravitational wave background.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to CQ
Use of the VAD technique and measurements of momentum flux in the stratosphere at Aercibo, part 4.3A
The Arecibo 430-MHz radar was used in the velocity-azimuth display (VAD) mode to obtain radial velocity measurements at 16 azimuth directions from which the three-dimensional wind field and momentum flux can be calculated. The radar was operated on a nearly continuous basis for a seven-day period in May of 1982 and the elapsed time between start and finish of a VAD scan was approximately 35 minutes. Radial velocities were measured in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (6-24 km) with at height resolution of 150 meters at a zenith angle of 15 deg. Vertical and horizontal velocities are calculated from the sums and differences, respectively, of radial velocity pairs, i.e., at azimuth directions AZ and AZ + 180 degrees. Momentum flux at a particular azimuth is calculated by taking the difference between the square of radial velocities at AZ and AZ + 180 degrees. It should be noted that measurements of radial velocity pairs are not simultaneous but are time delayed by approximately 15-25 minutes. This period, the time required to rotate the antenna feed and take measurements at AZ and AZ + 180 deg, effectively limits sampling of velocities and momentum fluxes to longer period gravity waves and planetary waves
Facing the LISA Data Analysis Challenge
By being the first observatory to survey the source rich low frequency region
of the gravitational wave spectrum, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
(LISA) will revolutionize our understanding of the Cosmos. For the first time
we will be able to detect the gravitational radiation from millions of galactic
binaries, the coalescence of two massive black holes, and the inspirals of
compact objects into massive black holes. The signals from multiple sources in
each class, and possibly others as well, will be simultaneously present in the
data. To achieve the enormous scientific return possible with LISA,
sophisticated data analysis techniques must be developed which can mine the
complex data in an effort to isolate and characterize individual signals. This
proceedings paper very briefly summarizes the challenges associated with
analyzing the LISA data, the current state of affairs, and the necessary next
steps to move forward in addressing the imminent challenges.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, Proceedings paper for the TeV Particle
Astrophysics II conference held Aug 28-31 at the Univ. of Wisconsi
Forward Modeling of Space-borne Gravitational Wave Detectors
Planning is underway for several space-borne gravitational wave observatories
to be built in the next ten to twenty years. Realistic and efficient forward
modeling will play a key role in the design and operation of these
observatories. Space-borne interferometric gravitational wave detectors operate
very differently from their ground based counterparts. Complex orbital motion,
virtual interferometry, and finite size effects complicate the description of
space-based systems, while nonlinear control systems complicate the description
of ground based systems. Here we explore the forward modeling of space-based
gravitational wave detectors and introduce an adiabatic approximation to the
detector response that significantly extends the range of the standard low
frequency approximation. The adiabatic approximation will aid in the
development of data analysis techniques, and improve the modeling of
astrophysical parameter extraction.Comment: 14 Pages, 14 Figures, RevTex
Time-frequency analysis of extreme-mass-ratio inspiral signals in mock LISA data
Extreme-mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs) of ~ 1-10 solar-mass compact objects
into ~ million solar-mass massive black holes can serve as excellent probes of
strong-field general relativity. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA)
is expected to detect gravitational wave signals from apprxomiately one hundred
EMRIs per year, but the data analysis of EMRI signals poses a unique set of
challenges due to their long duration and the extensive parameter space of
possible signals. One possible approach is to carry out a search for EMRI
tracks in the time-frequency domain. We have applied a time-frequency search to
the data from the Mock LISA Data Challenge (MLDC) with promising results. Our
analysis used the Hierarchical Algorithm for Clusters and Ridges to identify
tracks in the time-frequency spectrogram corresponding to EMRI sources. We then
estimated the EMRI source parameters from these tracks. In these proceedings,
we discuss the results of this analysis of the MLDC round 1.3 data.Comment: Amaldi-7 conference proceedings; requires jpconf style file
Catching Super Massive Black Hole Binaries Without a Net
The gravitational wave signals from coalescing Supermassive Black Hole
Binaries are prime targets for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA).
With optimal data processing techniques, the LISA observatory should be able to
detect black hole mergers anywhere in the Universe. The challenge is to find
ways to dig the signals out of a combination of instrument noise and the large
foreground from stellar mass binaries in our own galaxy. The standard procedure
of matched filtering against a grid of templates can be computationally
prohibitive, especially when the black holes are spinning or the mass ratio is
large. Here we develop an alternative approach based on Metropolis-Hastings
sampling and simulated annealing that is orders of magnitude cheaper than a
grid search. We demonstrate our approach on simulated LISA data streams that
contain the signals from binary systems of Schwarzschild Black Holes, embedded
in instrument noise and a foreground containing 26 million galactic binaries.
The search algorithm is able to accurately recover the 9 parameters that
describe the black hole binary without first having to remove any of the bright
foreground sources, even when the black hole system has low signal-to-noise.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Refined search algorithm, added low SNR exampl
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