885 research outputs found
A First Comparison Between LIGO and Virgo Inspiral Search Pipelines
This article reports on a project that is the first step the LIGO Scientific
Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration have taken to prepare for the mutual
search for inspiral signals. The project involved comparing the analysis
pipelines of the two collaborations on data sets prepared by both sides,
containing simulated noise and injected events. The ability of the pipelines to
detect the injected events was checked, and a first comparison of how the
parameters of the events were recovered has been completed.Comment: GWDAW-9 proceeding
A first comparison of search methods for gravitational wave bursts using LIGO and Virgo simulated data
We present a comparative study of 6 search methods for gravitational wave
bursts using simulated LIGO and Virgo noise data. The data's spectra were
chosen to follow the design sensitivity of the two 4km LIGO interferometers and
the 3km Virgo interferometer. The searches were applied on replicas of the data
sets to which 8 different signals were injected. Three figures of merit were
employed in this analysis: (a) Receiver Operator Characteristic curves, (b)
necessary signal to noise ratios for the searches to achieve 50 percent and 90
percent efficiencies, and (c) variance and bias for the estimation of the
arrival time of a gravitational wave burst.Comment: GWDAW9 proceeding
Methods for Reducing False Alarms in Searches for Compact Binary Coalescences in LIGO Data
The LIGO detectors are sensitive to a variety of noise transients of
non-astrophysical origin. Instrumental glitches and environmental disturbances
increase the false alarm rate in the searches for gravitational waves. Using
times already identified when the interferometers produced data of questionable
quality, or when the channels that monitor the interferometer indicated
non-stationarity, we have developed techniques to safely and effectively veto
false triggers from the compact binary coalescences (CBCs) search pipeline
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
Searching for prompt signatures of nearby core-collapse supernovae by a joint analysis of neutrino and gravitational-wave data
We discuss the science motivations and prospects for a joint analysis of
gravitational-wave (GW) and low-energy neutrino data to search for prompt
signals from nearby supernovae (SNe). Both gravitational-wave and low-energy
neutrinos are expected to be produced in the innermost region of a
core-collapse supernova, and a search for coincident signals would probe the
processes which power a supernova explosion. It is estimated that the current
generation of neutrino and gravitational-wave detectors would be sensitive to
Galactic core-collapse supernovae, and would also be able to detect
electromagnetically dark SNe. A joint GW-neutrino search would enable
improvements to searches by way of lower detection thresholds, larger distance
range, better live-time coverage by a network of GW and neutrino detectors, and
increased significance of candidate detections. A close collaboration between
the GW and neutrino communities for such a search will thus go far toward
realizing a much sought-after astrophysics goal of detecting the next nearby
supernova.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Class. Quantum Gra
A comparison of methods for gravitational wave burst searches from LIGO and Virgo
The search procedure for burst gravitational waves has been studied using 24
hours of simulated data in a network of three interferometers (Hanford 4-km,
Livingston 4-km and Virgo 3-km are the example interferometers). Several
methods to detect burst events developed in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration
(LSC) and Virgo collaboration have been studied and compared. We have performed
coincidence analysis of the triggers obtained in the different interferometers
with and without simulated signals added to the data. The benefits of having
multiple interferometers of similar sensitivity are demonstrated by comparing
the detection performance of the joint coincidence analysis with LSC and Virgo
only burst searches. Adding Virgo to the LIGO detector network can increase by
50% the detection efficiency for this search. Another advantage of a joint
LIGO-Virgo network is the ability to reconstruct the source sky position. The
reconstruction accuracy depends on the timing measurement accuracy of the
events in each interferometer, and is displayed in this paper with a fixed
source position example.Comment: LIGO-Virgo working group submitted to PR
A combined analysis technique for the search for fast magnetic monopoles with the MACRO detector
We describe a search method for fast moving ()
magnetic monopoles using simultaneously the scintillator, streamer tube and
track-etch subdetectors of the MACRO apparatus. The first two subdetectors are
used primarily for the identification of candidates while the track-etch one is
used as the final tool for their rejection or confirmation. Using this
technique, a first sample of more than two years of data has been analyzed
without any evidence of a magnetic monopole. We set a 90% CL upper limit to the
local monopole flux of in the
velocity range and for nucleon decay
catalysis cross section smaller than .Comment: 29 pages (12 figures). Accepted by Astroparticle Physic
Final results of magnetic monopole searches with the MACRO experiment
We present the final results obtained by the MACRO experiment in the search
for GUT magnetic monopoles in the penetrating cosmic radiation, for the range
. Several searches with all the MACRO sub-detectors
(i.e. scintillation counters, limited streamer tubes and nuclear track
detectors) were performed, both in stand alone and combined ways. No candidates
were detected and a 90% Confidence Level (C.L.) upper limit to the local
magnetic monopole flux was set at the level of cm
s sr. This result is the first experimental limit obtained in
direct searches which is well below the Parker bound in the whole range
in which GUT magnetic monopoles are expected.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, 9 figures and 2 Table
Muon Energy Estimate Through Multiple Scattering with the Macro Detector
Muon energy measurement represents an important issue for any experiment
addressing neutrino induced upgoing muon studies. Since the neutrino
oscillation probability depends on the neutrino energy, a measurement of the
muon energy adds an important piece of information concerning the neutrino
system. We show in this paper how the MACRO limited streamer tube system can be
operated in drift mode by using the TDC's included in the QTPs, an electronics
designed for magnetic monopole search. An improvement of the space resolution
is obtained, through an analysis of the multiple scattering of muon tracks as
they pass through our detector. This information can be used further to obtain
an estimate of the energy of muons crossing the detector. Here we present the
results of two dedicated tests, performed at CERN PS-T9 and SPS-X7 beam lines,
to provide a full check of the electronics and to exploit the feasibility of
such a multiple scattering analysis. We show that by using a neural network
approach, we are able to reconstruct the muon energy for 40 GeV. The
test beam data provide an absolute energy calibration, which allows us to apply
this method to MACRO data.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, Submitted to Nucl. Instr. & Meth.
Search for massive rare particles with MACRO
Massive rare particles have been searched for in the penetrating cosmic
radiation using the MACRO apparatus at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories.
Liquid scintillators, streamer tubes and nuclear track detectors have been used
to search for magnetic monopoles (MMs).
Based on no observation of such signals, stringent flux limits are
established for MMs as slow as a few 10^(-5)c. The methods based on the
scintillator and on the nuclear track subdetectors were also applied to search
for nuclearites. Preliminary results of the searches for charged Q-balls are
also presented.Comment: 20 pages, 9 EPS figures included with epsfi
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