LOOC UP: Locating and observing optical counterparts to gravitational wave bursts

Gravitational wave (GW) bursts (short duration signals) are expected to be associated with highly energetic astrophysical processes. With such high energies present, it is likely these astrophysical events will have signatures in the EM spectrum as well as in gravitational radiation. We have initiated a program, "Locating and Observing Optical Counterparts to Unmodeled Pulses in Gravitational Waves" (LOOC UP) to promptly search for counterparts to GW burst candidates. The proposed method analyzes near real-time data from the LIGO-Virgo network, and then uses a telescope network to seek optical-transient counterparts to candidate GW signals. We carried out a pilot study using S5/VSR1 data from the LIGO-Virgo network to develop methods and software tools for such a search. We will present the method, with an emphasis on the potential for such a search to be carried out during the next science run of LIGO and Virgo, expected to begin in 2009.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures; v2) added acknowledgments, additional references, and minor text changes v3) added 1 figure, additional references, and minor text changes. v4) Updated references and acknowledgments. To be published in the GWDAW 12 Conf. Proc. by Classical and Quantum Gravit

Prospects for joint radio telescope and gravitational wave searches for astrophysical transients

The radio skies remain mostly unobserved when it comes to transient phenomena. The direct detection of gravitational waves will mark a major milestone of modern astronomy, as an entirely new window will open on the universe. Two apparently independent phenomena can be brought together in a coincident effort that has the potential to boost both searches. In this paper we will outline the scientific case that stands behind these future joint observations and will describe the methods that might be used to conduct the searches and analyze the data. The targeted sources are binary systems of compact objects, known to be strong candidate sources for gravitational waves. Detection of transients coincident in these two channels would be a significant smoking gun for first direct detection of gravitational waves, and would open up a new field for characterization of astrophysical transients involving massive compact objects.Comment: 12 pages, Amaldi 8 Conference (New York, 2009) proceedings pape

Характеристика пациентов с активным онкологическим процессом и венозными тромбоэмболическими осложнениями, получающих курс химиотерапии (по данным реальной клинической практики ГБУЗ «МГОБ №62 ДЗМ»)

Introduction. Pulmonary embolism (PE) accounts for about 10% in the mortality pattern among cancer patients, which is the second most frequent cause of death.Aim. To identify and characterize patients with active cancer and VTEC receiving chemotherapy (CT) based on the retrospective review of medical records provided by Moscow City Oncology Hospital No. 62 (MCOH No. 62) for the period from 01.2018 to 04.2020.Materials and methods. Medical records of 3,912 patients receiving chemotherapy treatment cycles in the departments of MCOH No. 62 were reviewed. 227 (5.8%) patients in whom the underlying disease course was complicated by VTEC were selected. Sites of primary tumours, n (%): stomach – 37 (16.3); colon and rectum – 36 (15.9); uterus, cervix, ovaries – 31 (13.7); lungs – 23 (10.1); kidneys, ureters and bladder, testicles – 19 (8.4); pancreas – 18 (7.9); soft tissues – 14 (6.2); mammary gland – 13 (5.7); lymphoma, myeloma – 8 (3.5); Ear Nose Throat (ENT) tumours – 7 (3); others – 21 (9.3).Results. The majority of patients (176 (77.5%)) had a sum Khorana score <3, 51 (22.5%) patients had Khorana scores ≥ 3, which corresponds to a high thrombotic risk. 29 (12.7%) patients died. The hospital physicians assessed the causes of death as follows: 16 patients died from pulmonary embolism, of which 13 (81%) had a sum Khorana score <3; 13 patients died due to progression of cancer.Conclusions. VTEC most commonly occurred in patients with gastrointestinal cancer (32.2%) and genito-urinary system cancer (22.1%). Half (54.5%) of VTEC occurred in the first 3 months of chemotherapy treatment. The Khorana scale is non-perfect in ‘real-life’ clinical practice (only 22.5% of patients with verified VTEC had a high thrombotic risk, and 81% of patients who died due to PE had a low and medium risk of VTEC).Введение. В структуре смертности онкобольных на тромбоэмболию легочной артерии (ТЭЛА) приходится около 10%, что является второй по частоте причиной смерти. Цель исследования. На основе ретроспективного анализа медицинской документации МГОБ №62 за период с 01.2018 по 04.2020 г. найти и охарактеризовать пациентов с активным раком и ВТЭО, получающих химиотерапию (ХТ). Материалы и методы. Были проанализированы случаи лечения 3 912 пациентов, получавших циклические курсы ХТ в отделениях МГОБ №62. Были отобраны 227 (5,8%) пациентов, у которых течение основного заболевания осложнилось ВТЭО. Локализация первичной опухоли, n (%): желудок – 37 (16,3); толстая и прямая кишка – 36 (15,9); матка, шейка матки, яичники – 31 (13,7); легкие – 23 (10,1); почки, мочеточники и мочевой пузырь, яички – 19 (8,4); поджелудочная железа – 18 (7,9); мягкие ткани – 14 (6,2); молочная железа – 13 (5,7); лимфома, миелома – 8 (3,5); опухоли лор-органов – 7 (3); другие – 21 (9,3). Результаты. Сумма баллов по шкале Khorana < 3 отмечалась у большинства пациентов – 176 (77,5%), ≥ 3 баллов по шкале Khorana – у 51 (22,5%) пациента, что соответствует высокому тромботическому риску. Умерли 29 (12,7%) пациентов. Оценка причин смерти, по мнению лечащих врачей: 16 пациентов – от ТЭЛА, из них у 13 (81%) сумма баллов по шкале Khorana < 3 баллов; у 13 пациентов причина смерти – прогрессирование онкологического заболевания. Выводы. Чаще всего ВТЭО возникали у больных раком ЖКТ (32,2%) и раком МПС (22,1%). Половина (54,5%) ВТЭО возникали в первые 3 мес. ХТ. Шкала Khoranа несовершенна в реальной клинической практике (только 22,5% больных с верифицированным ВТЭО имели высокий тромботический риск, а 81% больных, умерших от ТЭЛА, имели низкий и средний риск ВТЭО)

Melody and pitch processing in five musical savants with congenital blindness

Abstract. We examined absolute-pitch (AP) and short-term musical memory abilities of five musical savants with congenital blindness, seven musicians, and seven non-musicians with good vision and normal intelligence in two experiments. In the first, short-term memory for musical phrases was tested and the savants and musicians performed statistically indistinguishably, both signifi- cantly outperforming the non-musicians and remembering more material from the C major scale sequences than random trials. In the second experiment, participants learnt associations between four pitches and four objects using a non-verbal paradigm. This experiment approximates to testing AP ability. Low statistical power meant the savants were not statistically better than the musicians, although only the savants scored statistically higher than the non-musicians. The results are evidence for a musical module, separate from general intelligence; they also support the anecdotal reporting of AP in musical savants, which is thought to be necessary for the development of musical-savant skill

First LIGO search for gravitational wave bursts from cosmic (super)strings

We report on a matched-filter search for gravitational wave bursts from cosmic string cusps using LIGO data from the fourth science run (S4) which took place in February and March 2005. No gravitational waves were detected in 14.9 days of data from times when all three LIGO detectors were operating. We interpret the result in terms of a frequentist upper limit on the rate of gravitational wave bursts and use the limits on the rate to constrain the parameter space (string tension, reconnection probability, and loop sizes) of cosmic string models.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Replaced with version submitted to PR

Search for Gravitational Wave Bursts from Six Magnetars

Soft gamma repeaters (SGRs) and anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) are thought to be magnetars: neutron stars powered by extreme magnetic fields. These rare objects are characterized by repeated and sometimes spectacular gamma-ray bursts. The burst mechanism might involve crustal fractures and excitation of non-radial modes which would emit gravitational waves (GWs). We present the results of a search for GW bursts from six galactic magnetars that is sensitive to neutron star f-modes, thought to be the most efficient GW emitting oscillatory modes in compact stars. One of them, SGR 0501+4516, is likely similar to 1 kpc from Earth, an order of magnitude closer than magnetars targeted in previous GW searches. A second, AXP 1E 1547.0-5408, gave a burst with an estimated isotropic energy >10(44) erg which is comparable to the giant flares. We find no evidence of GWs associated with a sample of 1279 electromagnetic triggers from six magnetars occurring between 2006 November and 2009 June, in GW data from the LIGO, Virgo, and GEO600 detectors. Our lowest model-dependent GW emission energy upper limits for band-and time-limited white noise bursts in the detector sensitive band, and for f-mode ringdowns (at 1090 Hz), are 3.0 x 10(44)d(1)(2) erg and 1.4 x 10(47)d(1)(2) erg, respectively, where d(1) = d(0501)/1 kpc and d(0501) is the distance to SGR 0501+4516. These limits on GW emission from f-modes are an order of magnitude lower than any previous, and approach the range of electromagnetic energies seen in SGR giant flares for the first time.United States National Science FoundationScience and Technology Facilities Council of the United KingdomMax-Planck-SocietyState of Niedersachsen/GermanyItalian Istituto Nazionale di Fisica NucleareFrench Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueAustralian Research CouncilCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research of IndiaIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare of ItalySpanish Ministerio de Educacion y CienciaConselleria d'Economia Hisenda i Innovacio of the Govern de les Illes BalearsFoundation for Fundamental Research on Matter supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific ResearchPolish Ministry of Science and Higher EducationFoundation for Polish ScienceRoyal SocietyScottish Funding CouncilScottish Universities Physics AllianceNational Aeronautics and Space Administration NNH07ZDA001-GLASTCarnegie TrustLeverhulme TrustDavid and Lucile Packard FoundationResearch CorporationAlfred P. Sloan FoundationRussian Space AgencyRFBR 09-02-00166aIPN JPL Y503559 (Odyssey), NASA NNG06GH00G, NASA NNX07AM42G, NASA NNX08AC89G (INTEGRAL), NASA NNG06GI896, NASA NNX07AJ65G, NASA NNX08AN23G (Swift), NASA NNX07AR71G (MESSENGER), NASA NNX06AI36G, NASA NNX08AB84G, NASA NNX08AZ85G (Suzaku), NASA NNX09AU03G (Fermi)Astronom

Application of a Hough Search for Continuous Gravitational Waves on Data from the Fifth LIGO Science Run

We report on an all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves in the frequency range 50-1000 Hertz with the first derivative of frequency in the range 8.9 10(exp 10) Hertz per second to zero in two years of data collected during LIGO's fifth science run. Our results employ a Hough transform technique, introducing a chi(sup 2) test and analysis of coincidences between the signal levels in years 1 and 2 of observations that offers a significant improvement in the product of strain sensitivity with compute cycles per data sample compared to previously published searches. Since our search yields no surviving candidates, we present results taking the form of frequency dependent, 95% confidence upper limits on the strain amplitude h(sub 0). The most stringent upper limit from year 1 is 1.0 10(exp 24) in the 158.00-158.25 Hertz band. In year 2, the most stringent upper limit is 8.9 10(exp 25) in the 146.50-146.75 Hertz band. This improved detection pipeline, which is computationally efficient by at least two orders of magnitude better than our flagship Einstein@Home search, will be important for 'quicklook' searches in the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detector era

Implementation and testing of the first prompt search for gravitational wave transients with electromagnetic counterparts

Aims. A transient astrophysical event observed in both gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM) channels would yield rich scientific rewards. A first program initiating EM follow-ups to possible transient GW events has been developed and exercised by the LIGO and Virgo community in association with several partners. In this paper, we describe and evaluate the methods used to promptly identify and localize GW event candidates and to request images of targeted sky locations. Methods. During two observing periods (Dec 17 2009 to Jan 8 2010 and Sep 2 to Oct 20 2010), a low-latency analysis pipeline was used to identify GW event candidates and to reconstruct maps of possible sky locations. A catalog of nearby galaxies and Milky Way globular clusters was used to select the most promising sky positions to be imaged, and this directional information was delivered to EM observatories with time lags of about thirty minutes. A Monte Carlo simulation has been used to evaluate the low-latency GW pipeline's ability to reconstruct source positions correctly. Results. For signals near the detection threshold, our low-latency algorithms often localized simulated GW burst signals to tens of square degrees, while neutron star/neutron star inspirals and neutron star/black hole inspirals were localized to a few hundred square degrees. Localization precision improves for moderately stronger signals. The correct sky location of signals well above threshold and originating from nearby galaxies may be observed with ~50% or better probability with a few pointings of wide-field telescopes.Comment: 17 pages. This version (v2) includes two tables and 1 section not included in v1. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic