GW190814: gravitational waves from the coalescence of a 23 solar mass black hole with a 2.6 solar mass compact object

We report the observation of a compact binary coalescence involving a 22.2–24.3 Me black hole and a compact object with a mass of 2.50–2.67 Me (all measurements quoted at the 90% credible level). The gravitational-wave signal, GW190814, was observed during LIGO’s and Virgo’s third observing run on 2019 August 14 at 21:10:39 UTC and has a signal-to-noise ratio of 25 in the three-detector network. The source was localized to 18.5 deg2 at a distance of - + 241 45 41 Mpc; no electromagnetic counterpart has been confirmed to date. The source has the most unequal mass ratio yet measured with gravitational waves, - + 0.112 0.009 0.008, and its secondary component is either the lightest black hole or the heaviest neutron star ever discovered in a double compact-object system. The dimensionless spin of the primary black hole is tightly constrained to �0.07. Tests of general relativity reveal no measurable deviations from the theory, and its prediction of higher-multipole emission is confirmed at high confidence. We estimate a merger rate density of 1–23 Gpc−3 yr−1 for the new class of binary coalescence sources that GW190814 represents. Astrophysical models predict that binaries with mass ratios similar to this event can form through several channels, but are unlikely to have formed in globular clusters. However, the combination of mass ratio, component masses, and the inferred merger rate for this event challenges all current models of the formation and mass distribution of compact-object binaries

A RAMAN STUDY OF THE STRUCTURAL PHASE TRANSITION IN DISORDERED KMn0.85Ni0.15F3

KMnl-xNixF3 has been studied to investigate the effect of disorder on the structural phase transition at 186 K in KMnF3. This transition was found at ~ 130 K in KMn0.85Ni0.15F3 but was not observed in other crystals having x > 0.5. Disorder mainly affects Tc and not the phonon behaviour. Present results are consistent with a linear extrapolation of Tc to 0 K at x = 0.5

Electron energy and charge albedos - calorimetric measurement vs Monte Carlo theory

A new calorimetric method has been employed to obtain saturated electron energy albedos for Be, C, Al, Ti, Mo, Ta, U, and UO/sub 2/ over the range of incident energies from 0.1 to 1.0 MeV. The technique was so designed to permit the simultaneous measurement of saturated charge albedos. In the cases of C, Al, Ta, and U the measurements were extended down to about 0.025 MeV. The angle of incidence was varied from 0/sup 0/ (normal) to 75/sup 0/ in steps of 15/sup 0/, with selected measurements at 82.5/sup 0/ in Be and C. In each case, state-of-the-art predictions were obtained from a Monte Carlo model. The generally good agreement between theory and experiment over this extensive parameter space represents a strong validation of both the theoretical model and the new experimental method. Nevertheless, certain discrepancies at low incident energies, especially in high-atomic-number materials, and at all energies in the case of the U energy albedos are not completely understood