Exploring a search for long-duration transient gravitational waves associated with magnetar bursts

Soft gamma repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars are thought to be magnetars, neutron stars with strong magnetic fields of order $\mathord{\sim} 10^{13}$--$10^{15} \, \mathrm{gauss}$. These objects emit intermittent bursts of hard X-rays and soft gamma rays. Quasiperiodic oscillations in the X-ray tails of giant flares imply the existence of neutron star oscillation modes which could emit gravitational waves powered by the magnetar's magnetic energy reservoir. We describe a method to search for transient gravitational-wave signals associated with magnetar bursts with durations of 10s to 1000s of seconds. The sensitivity of this method is estimated by adding simulated waveforms to data from the sixth science run of Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). We find a search sensitivity in terms of the root sum square strain amplitude of $h_{\mathrm{rss}} = 1.3 \times 10^{-21} \, \mathrm{Hz}^{-1/2}$ for a half sine-Gaussian waveform with a central frequency $f_0 = 150 \, \mathrm{Hz}$ and a characteristic time $\tau = 400 \, \mathrm{s}$. This corresponds to a gravitational wave energy of $E_{\mathrm{GW}} = 4.3 \times 10^{46} \, \mathrm{erg}$, the same order of magnitude as the 2004 giant flare which had an estimated electromagnetic energy of $E_{\mathrm{EM}} = \mathord{\sim} 1.7 \times 10^{46} (d/ 8.7 \, \mathrm{kpc})^2 \, \mathrm{erg}$, where $d$ is the distance to SGR 1806-20. We present an extrapolation of these results to Advanced LIGO, estimating a sensitivity to a gravitational wave energy of $E_{\mathrm{GW}} = 3.2 \times 10^{43} \, \mathrm{erg}$ for a magnetar at a distance of $1.6 \, \mathrm{kpc}$. These results suggest this search method can probe significantly below the energy budgets for magnetar burst emission mechanisms such as crust cracking and hydrodynamic deformation

Kentucky Annual Economic Report 2023

This report is one of the important ways that the Center for Business and Economic Research fulfills its mission to examine various aspects of Kentucky’s economy as directed by the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS 164.738). The analysis and data presented here cover a variety of topics that range from a discussion of Kentucky’s current economic climate to a broad presentation of factors affecting the economy

Kentucky Annual Economic Report 2021

This report is one of the important ways that the Center for Business and Economic Research fulfills its mission to examine various aspects of Kentucky’s economy as directed by the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS 164.738). The analysis and data presented here cover a variety of topics that range from a discussion of Kentucky’s current economic climate to a broad presentation of factors affecting the economy. The report covers numerous dimensions of Kentucky’s economy and COVID-19’s effects are evident across many of these dimensions. The pandemic brought the longest running economic expansion to an abrupt end. By April, Kentucky’s employment declined by 325,100 jobs compared to January. These job losses had wide ranging implications such as widening the racial employment gap; reducing families’ ability to pay for housing; increasing reliance on social programs; and reducing child-care options for working parents. As of October, the state had recovered 67 percent of jobs lost during the first months of the recession, but the recovery remains far from complete. Kentucky’s employment was still down 107,600 jobs, or 5.5 percent, from January

Immunocompetent murine models for the study of glioblastoma immunotherapy.

Glioblastoma remains a lethal diagnosis with a 5-year survival rate of less than 10%. (NEJM 352:987-96, 2005) Although immunotherapy-based approaches are capable of inducing detectable immune responses against tumor-specific antigens, improvements in clinical outcomes are modest, in no small part due to tumor-induced immunosuppressive mechanisms that promote immune escape and immuno-resistance. Immunotherapeutic strategies aimed at bolstering the immune response while neutralizing immunosuppression will play a critical role in improving treatment outcomes for glioblastoma patients. In vivo murine models of glioma provide an invaluable resource to achieving that end, and their use is an essential part of the preclinical workup for novel therapeutics that need to be tested in animal models prior to testing experimental therapies in patients. In this article, we review five contemporary immunocompetent mouse models, GL261 (C57BL/6), GL26 (C57BL/6) CT-2A (C57BL/6), SMA-560 (VM/Dk), and 4C8 (B6D2F1), each of which offer a suitable platform for testing novel immunotherapeutic approaches

Chopping and Storing Quality Corn Silage

This publication explains proper harvesting and storage of corn silage as a quality forage