3,122 research outputs found
Comparison of post-Newtonian templates for compact binary inspiral signals in gravitational-wave detectors
The two-body dynamics in general relativity has been solved perturbatively
using the post-Newtonian (PN) approximation. The evolution of the orbital phase
and the emitted gravitational radiation are now known to a rather high order up
to O(v^8), v being the characteristic velocity of the binary. The orbital
evolution, however, cannot be specified uniquely due to the inherent freedom in
the choice of parameter used in the PN expansion as well as the method pursued
in solving the relevant differential equations. The goal of this paper is to
determine the (dis)agreement between different PN waveform families in the
context of initial and advanced gravitational-wave detectors. The waveforms
employed in our analysis are those that are currently used by Initial
LIGO/Virgo, that is the time-domain PN models TaylorT1, TaylorT2, TaylorT3,
TaylorT4 and TaylorEt, the effective one-body (EOB) model, and the
Fourier-domain representation TaylorF2. We examine the overlaps of these models
with one another and with the prototype effective one-body model (calibrated to
numerical relativity simulations, as currently used by initial LIGO) for a
number of different binaries at 2PN, 3PN and 3.5PN orders to quantify their
differences and to help us decide whether there exist preferred families that
are the most appropriate as search templates. We conclude that as long as the
total mass remains less than a certain upper limit M_crit, all template
families at 3.5PN order (except TaylorT3 and TaylorEt) are equally good for the
purpose of detection. The value of M_crit is found to be ~ 12M_Sun for Initial,
Enhanced and Advanced LIGO. From a purely computational point of view we
recommend that 3.5PN TaylorF2 be used below Mcrit and EOB calibrated to
numerical relativity simulations be used for total binary mass M > Mcrit.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables, submitted to PR
Spectropolarimetry of the 3.4 micron absorption feature in NGC 1068
In order to test the silicate-core/organic-mantle model of galactic
interstellar dust, we have performed spectropolarimetry of the 3.4 micron C-H
bond stretch that is characteristic of aliphatic hydrocarbons, using the
nucleus of the Seyfert 2 galaxy, NGC 1068, as a bright, dusty background
source. Polarization calculations show that, if the grains in NGC 1068 had the
properties assigned by the core-mantle model to dust in the galactic diffuse
ISM, they would cause a detectable rise in polarization over the 3.4 micron
feature. No such increase is observed. We discuss modifications to the basic
core-mantle model, such as changes in grain size or the existence of additional
non-hydrocarbon aligned grain populations, which could better fit the
observational evidence. However, we emphasize that the absence of polarization
over the 3.4 micron band in NGC 1068 - and, indeed, in every line of sight
examined to date - can be readily explained by a population of small, unaligned
carbonaceous grains with no physical connection to the silicates.Comment: ApJ, accepte
Supplemented low-protein diets : are they superior in chronic renal failure?
CITATION: Herselman, M. G. et al 1995. Supplemented low-protein diets : are they superior in chronic renal failure? South African Medical Journal, 85(5):361-365.The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaTwenty-two patients with chronic renal failure were randomly assigned to a conventional low-protein diet containing 0,6g protein/kg/day or a very-low-protein diet containing 0,6g protein/kg/day supplemented with essential amino acids; they were followed up for 9 months. There were no significant changes in body mass index, arm muscle area, percentage body fat, serum albumin and transferrin levels in any of the groups; neither was there any difference between the groups in respect of these parameters. Renal function, as measured by the reciprocal of serum creatinine over time, stabilised in both groups during intervention, with no significant difference between the groups. There was however no correlation between changes in renal function and changes in blood pressure, or dietary intake of protein, phosphorus, cholesterol, polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids. There were also no significant changes and no significant differences between the groups in serum levels of parathyroid hormone and alkaline phosphatase, urine cyclic adenosine monophosphate, tubular reabsorption of phosphate, and the theoretical renal threshold for phosphate. The results of this study suggest that the supplemented very-low-protein diet was not superior to the conventional low-protein diet in terms of its effect on protein-energy status, renal function and biochemical parameters of renal osteodystrophy.Publisher’s versio
Supplemented low-protein diets : are they superior in chronic renal failure?
CITATION: Herselman, M. G. et al 1995. Supplemented low-protein diets : are they superior in chronic renal failure? South African Medical Journal, 85(5):361-365.The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaTwenty-two patients with chronic renal failure were randomly assigned to a conventional low-protein diet containing 0,6g protein/kg/day or a very-low-protein diet containing 0,6g protein/kg/day supplemented with essential amino acids; they were followed up for 9 months. There were no significant changes in body mass index, arm muscle area, percentage body fat, serum albumin and transferrin levels in any of the groups; neither was there any difference between the groups in respect of these parameters. Renal function, as measured by the reciprocal of serum creatinine over time, stabilised in both groups during intervention, with no significant difference between the groups. There was however no correlation between changes in renal function and changes in blood pressure, or dietary intake of protein, phosphorus, cholesterol, polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids. There were also no significant changes and no significant differences between the groups in serum levels of parathyroid hormone and alkaline phosphatase, urine cyclic adenosine monophosphate, tubular reabsorption of phosphate, and the theoretical renal threshold for phosphate. The results of this study suggest that the supplemented very-low-protein diet was not superior to the conventional low-protein diet in terms of its effect on protein-energy status, renal function and biochemical parameters of renal osteodystrophy.Publisher’s versio
Removing non-stationary, non-harmonic external interference from gravitational wave interferometer data
We describe a procedure to identify and remove a class of non-stationary and
non-harmonic interference lines from gravitational wave interferometer data.
These lines appear to be associated with the external electricity main
supply, but their amplitudes are non-stationary and they do not appear at
harmonics of the fundamental supply frequency. We find an empirical model able
to represent coherently all the non-harmonic lines we have found in the power
spectrum, in terms of an assumed reference signal of the primary supply input
signal. If this signal is not available then it can be reconstructed from the
same data by making use of the coherent line removal algorithm that we have
described elsewhere. All these lines are broadened by frequency changes of the
supply signal, and they corrupt significant frequency ranges of the power
spectrum. The physical process that generates this interference is so far
unknown, but it is highly non-linear and non-stationary. Using our model, we
cancel the interference in the time domain by an adaptive procedure that should
work regardless of the source of the primary interference. We have applied the
method to laser interferometer data from the Glasgow prototype detector, where
all the features we describe in this paper were observed. The algorithm has
been tuned in such a way that the entire series of wide lines corresponding to
the electrical interference are removed, leaving the spectrum clean enough to
detect signals previously masked by them. Single-line signals buried in the
interference can be recovered with at least 75 % of their original signal
amplitude.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, Revtex, psfi
Exploring Spirituality in Teaching Within a Christian School Context Through Collaborative Action Research
This article reports on a collaborative action research project conducted in New Zealand, during 2012, exploring spirituality in teaching within a Christian school context. The experienced primary school teacher participant chose to take action around the issue of personal fear and insecurity which were believed to be hindering professional growth and relationships. Through self-directed inquiry, critical reflective journaling, Bible study, fellowship and prayer with trusted friends, the teacher experienced a renewed sense of peace and freedom in Christ. This personal transformation was believed to be influential on subsequent professional practice, assisting the teacher to become more relational, responsive and compassionate. The findings provide a rich description of the participant’s spirituality, the lived reality of a person’s spiritual life. This report will be of interest to teachers, teacher-leaders and teacher-educators who desire to explore Christian spirituality through practitioner-led inquiry
Thermal Emission as a Test for Hidden Nuclei in Nearby Radio Galaxies
The clear sign of a hidden quasar inside a radio galaxy is the appearance of
quasar spectral features in its polarized (scattered) light. However that
observational test requires suitably placed scattering material to act as a
mirror, allowing us to see the nuclear light. A rather robust and more general
test for a hidden quasar is to look for the predicted high mid-IR luminosity
from the nuclear obscuring matter. The nuclear waste heat is detected and well
isolated in the nearest narrow line radio galaxy, Cen A. This confirms other
indications that Cen A does contain a modest quasar-like nucleus. However we
show here that M87 does not: at high spatial resolution, the mid-IR nucleus is
seen to be very weak, and consistent with simple synchrotron emission from the
base of the radio jet. This fairly robustly establishes that there are "real"
narrow line radio galaxies, without the putative accretion power, and with
essentially all the luminosity in kinetic form. Next we show the intriguing
mid-IR morphology of Cygnus A, reported previously by us and later discussed in
detail by Radomski et al. (2002). All of this mid-IR emission is consistent
with reprocessing by a hidden quasar, known to exist from spectropolarimetry by
Ogle et al. (1997) and other evidence.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure
Photon pressure induced test mass deformation in gravitational-wave detectors
A widely used assumption within the gravitational-wave community has so far
been that a test mass acts like a rigid body for frequencies in the detection
band, i.e. for frequencies far below the first internal resonance. In this
article we demonstrate that localized forces, applied for example by a photon
pressure actuator, can result in a non-negligible elastic deformation of the
test masses. For a photon pressure actuator setup used in the gravitational
wave detector GEO600 we measured that this effect modifies the standard
response function by 10% at 1 kHz and about 100% at 2.5 kHz
GMRT detection of HI 21 cm associated absorption towards the z=1.2 red quasar 3C 190
We report the GMRT detection of associated HI 21 cm-line absorption in the
z=1.1946 red quasar 3C 190. Most of the absorption is blue-shifted with respect
to the systemic redshift. The absorption, at 647.7 MHz, is broad and
complex, spanning a velocity width of 600 \kms. Since the core is
self-absorbed at this frequency, the absorption is most likely towards the
hotspots. Comparison of the radio and deep optical images reveal linear
filaments in the optical which overlap with the brighter radio jet towards the
south-west. We therefore suggest that most of the HI 21 cm-line absorption
could be occurring in the atomic gas shocked by the south-west jet.Comment: 8 pages, 1 fugure. To appear in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronom
Gravitational wave astronomy
The first decade of the new millenium should see the first direct detections
of gravitational waves. This will be a milestone for fundamental physics and it
will open the new observational science of gravitational wave astronomy. But
gravitational waves already play an important role in the modeling of
astrophysical systems. I review here the present state of gravitational
radiation theory in relativity and astrophysics, and I then look at the
development of detector sensitivity over the next decade, both on the ground
(such as LIGO) and in space (LISA). I review the sources of gravitational waves
that are likely to play an important role in observations by first- and
second-generation interferometers, including the astrophysical information that
will come from these observations. The review covers some 10 decades of
gravitational wave frequency, from the high-frequency normal modes of neutron
stars down to the lowest frequencies observable from space. The discussion of
sources includes recent developments regarding binary black holes, spinning
neutron stars, and the stochastic background.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figures, as submitted for special millenium issue of
Classical and Quantum Gravit
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