Core-Collapse Supernovae Overview with Swift Collaboration

The Core-Collapse supernovae (CCSNe) mark the dynamic and explosive end of the lives of massive stars. The mysterious mechanism, primarily focused with the shock revival phase, behind CCSNe explosions could be explained by detecting the corresponding gravitational wave (GW) emissions by the laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory, LIGO. GWs are extremely hard to detect because they are weak signals in a floor of instrument noise. Optical observations of CCSNe are already used in coincidence with LIGO data, as a hint of the times where to search for the emission of GWs. More of these hints would be very helpful. For the first time in history a Harvard group has observed X-ray transients in coincidence with optical CCSNe. This discovery has proven that even if a supernova had its light absorbed with dust, X-ray transients that are more penetrating, and thus could be used as a hint on where to search for GWs. The SWIFT satellite can monitor galaxies with an X-ray probe. The main goal of this project will be to quantify the benefits for LIGO by using the SWIFT satellite to monitor galaxies within 20 Mega parsecs from Earth

Gravitational Waves in Advanced LIGO Supernova Science

By specializing the rate toward gravitational wave detection, we improve the estimated rate of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) happening within the Local Universe. Using the Gravitational Wave Galaxy Catalog, a collection of galaxies containing electromagnetic counterparts within a volume of 20 Mpc were identified. Recognizing that the CCSNe galaxy hosts are morphologically dependent, the estimation of the rate of CCSNe took into the account the production of CCSNe happening within the Local Field at 10 Mpc, as well as the Virgo Cluster situated at 15 Mpc, by using both blue light luminosity and far-infrared luminosity to trace star formation. The improved estimation of the CCSNe rate within 20 Mpc is 432.1 ± 20.78 CCSNe Century- 1 Mpc-1. Overall, when taking the existence of major biases against CCSNe discoveries such as progenitor misclassification, the assumed mix of faint and bright supernova types, as well as the uncertainties in obscuration provided by factors such as absorption due to sources of dust and stellar remnants, light pollution from galaxy nuclei and the limited sky coverage of ground-based telescopes, our measurements provide an improvement in comparison to previously published rate standards within shorter CCSNe distance estimations. Poster Presentation Invited Oral Presentation IGNITE GRANT AWAR

LIGO-Virgo-SWIFT Collaboration on the Emission of Gravitational Waves from Supernovas

In continuation of a two-year project, a team of 14 undergraduate engineering students completed design and fabrication of a simulated lunar vehicle for the 2015 NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge. The objective of the project was to give students hands-on engineering experience early in their undergraduate education. The project was divided into five subsystems, each completed using a collaborative team effort: structure, steering, drivetrain, suspension, and wheels, tires and axel. The structure design consists of a 6 x 2.5-foot rectangular chassis of aluminum tubing that is able to hinge at the middle per the competition requirements and endure up to 600 pounds of instantaneous load. In order to absorb the forces of the competition’s terrain, an independent suspension design was chosen to withstand 2.5 g. Additionally, Britek energy return wheels were chosen to meet the non-pneumatic and non-rubber requirements and aid in the suspension of the rover with the use of their spring-like tire design. The drivetrain consists of a free wheel and differential design to enable independent wheel rotation throughout the course. This design will enable our team to successfully compete with other top academic institutions in the world. Eagle Prize Award Poster Presentation and Demonstratio

LIGO-Virgo-SWIFT Collaboration on the Emission of Gravitational Waves from Supernovas

The Core-Collapse supernovae (CCSNe) mark the explosive end of the lives of massive stars. The mysterious mechanism behind CCSNe explosions could be explained by detecting the corresponding gravitational wave (GW) emissions by the laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory, LIGO. GWs are extremely hard to detect because they are weak signals in a floor of instrument noise. Optical observations of CCSNe are already used in coincidence with LIGO data. Using the SWIFT satellite, there can be a monitoring of galaxies using the X-ray probe by observing X-ray transients in coincidence with optical CCSNe. And so, even if a supernova had its light absorbed with dust, X-ray transients that are more penetrating, and thus could be used as a hint on where to search for GWs. The main goal of this research will be to quantify the benefits for LIGO by using the SWIFT satellite to monitor galaxies within 20 Mega parsecs from Earth. The project will consist of two phases: a training phase where global knowledge of the properties of CCSNe would be achieved, as well as a research phase where the survey database and literature will be used to conduct independent evaluation and estimations of how many CCSNe could be detected by SWIFT by looking for X-ray flashes. The result will be used at a LIGO-Virgo-SWIFT conference that will be based in Italy in June to produce a memorandum of understanding between the two collaborations. Oral and Poster Presentation Ignite Grant Awar

Improving intersection safety: Reducing casualties at high-risk intersections in Surrey, Richmond and Vancouver

In British Columbia (BC), over 20,000 injuries and 400 fatalities occurred each year at intersections between 2000 and 2004. Using Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis, the objective of this study is to identify which of the 12 intersection characteristics play a role in predicting intersection safety. Using data from 19 intersections from Surrey, Richmond and Vancouver from the years 2000 to 2004, the findings reveal that traffic volume, restricted left-turns, permissive left-turns and right-turn lanes are positive predictors of intersection casualties. Five policy alternatives are proposed: 1) status quo, 2) reducing traffic volume, 3) eliminating the use of restricted left-turns, 4) using protected over permissive left-turns and 5) prohibiting right-turn on red. The policies are evaluated using three criteria 1) cost; 2) reduced casualty and 3) time delay. Based on the evaluation, status quo emerges as the most effective recommendation for reducing intersection casualties and improving intersection safety

Gravitational Waves in Advanced LIGO Supernova Science

By specializing the rate toward gravitational wave detection, we improve the estimated rate of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) happening within the Local Universe. Using the Gravitational Wave Galaxy Catalog, a collection of galaxies containing electromagnetic counterparts within a volume of 20 Mpc were identified. Recognizing that the CCSNe galaxy hosts are morphologically dependent, the estimation of the rate of CCSNe took into the account the production of CCSNe happening within the Local Field at 10 Mpc, as well as the Virgo Cluster situated at 15 Mpc, by using both blue light luminosity and far-infrared luminosity to trace star formation. The improved estimation of the CCSNe rate within 20 Mpc is 432.1 ± 20.78 CCSNe Century- 1 Mpc-1. Overall, when taking the existence of major biases against CCSNe discoveries such as progenitor misclassification, the assumed mix of faint and bright supernova types, as well as the uncertainties in obscuration provided by factors such as absorption due to sources of dust and stellar remnants, light pollution from galaxy nuclei and the limited sky coverage of ground-based telescopes, our measurements provide an improvement in comparison to previously published rate standards within shorter CCSNe distance estimations. Poster Presentation Invited Oral Presentation IGNITE GRANT AWAR

Search for intermediate mass black hole binaries in the first observing run of Advanced LIGO

International audienceDuring their first observational run, the two Advanced LIGO detectors attained an unprecedented sensitivity, resulting in the first direct detections of gravitational-wave signals produced by stellar-mass binary black hole systems. This paper reports on an all-sky search for gravitational waves (GWs) from merging intermediate mass black hole binaries (IMBHBs). The combined results from two independent search techniques were used in this study: the first employs a matched-filter algorithm that uses a bank of filters covering the GW signal parameter space, while the second is a generic search for GW transients (bursts). No GWs from IMBHBs were detected; therefore, we constrain the rate of several classes of IMBHB mergers. The most stringent limit is obtained for black holes of individual mass 100  M⊙, with spins aligned with the binary orbital angular momentum. For such systems, the merger rate is constrained to be less than 0.93  Gpc−3 yr−1 in comoving units at the 90% confidence level, an improvement of nearly 2 orders of magnitude over previous upper limits