1,204 research outputs found
Nano-Hertz Gravitational Waves Searches with Interferometric Pulsar Timing Experiments
We estimate the sensitivity to nano-Hertz gravitational waves of pulsar
timing experiments in which two highly-stable millisecond pulsars are tracked
simultaneously with two neighboring radio telescopes that are referenced to the
same time-keeping subsystem (i.e. "the clock"). By taking the difference of the
two time-of-arrival residual data streams we can exactly cancel the clock noise
in the combined data set, thereby enhancing the sensitivity to gravitational
waves. We estimate that, in the band () Hz, this
"interferometric" pulsar timing technique can potentially improve the
sensitivity to gravitational radiation by almost two orders of magnitude over
that of single-telescopes. Interferometric pulsar timing experiments could be
performed with neighboring pairs of antennas of the forthcoming large arraying
projects.Comment: Paper submitted to Phys. Rev. Letters. It is 9 pages long, and
includes 2 figure
<i>‘What retention’ means to me</i>: the position of the adult learner in student retention
Studies of student retention and progression overwhelmingly appear adopt definitions that place the institution, rather than the student, at the centre. Retention is most often conceived in terms of linear and continuous progress between institutionally identified start and end points.
This paper reports on research that considered data from 38 in-depth interviews conducted with individuals who had characteristics often associated with non-traditional engagement in higher education who between 2006 and 2010 had studied an ‘Introduction to HE’ module at one distance higher education institution, some of whom had progressed to further study at that institution, some of whom had not. The research deployed a life histories approach to seek a finer grained understanding of how individuals conceptualise their own learning journey and experience, in order to reflect on institutional conceptions of student retention.
The findings highlight potential anomalies hidden within institutional retention rates – large proportions of the interview participants who were not ‘retained’ by the institution reported successful progression to and in other learning institutions and environments, both formal and informal. Nearly all described positive perspectives on lifelong learning which were either engendered or improved by the learning undertaken. This attests to the complexity of individuals’ lives and provides clear evidence that institution-centric definitions of retention and progression are insufficient to create truly meaningful understanding of successful individual learning journeys and experiences. It is argued that only through careful consideration of the lived experience of students and a re-conception of measures of retention, will we be able to offer real insight into improving student retention
Sensitivity and parameter-estimation precision for alternate LISA configurations
We describe a simple framework to assess the LISA scientific performance
(more specifically, its sensitivity and expected parameter-estimation precision
for prescribed gravitational-wave signals) under the assumption of failure of
one or two inter-spacecraft laser measurements (links) and of one to four
intra-spacecraft laser measurements. We apply the framework to the simple case
of measuring the LISA sensitivity to monochromatic circular binaries, and the
LISA parameter-estimation precision for the gravitational-wave polarization
angle of these systems. Compared to the six-link baseline configuration, the
five-link case is characterized by a small loss in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
in the high-frequency section of the LISA band; the four-link case shows a
reduction by a factor of sqrt(2) at low frequencies, and by up to ~2 at high
frequencies. The uncertainty in the estimate of polarization, as computed in
the Fisher-matrix formalism, also worsens when moving from six to five, and
then to four links: this can be explained by the reduced SNR available in those
configurations (except for observations shorter than three months, where five
and six links do better than four even with the same SNR). In addition, we
prove (for generic signals) that the SNR and Fisher matrix are invariant with
respect to the choice of a basis of TDI observables; rather, they depend only
on which inter-spacecraft and intra-spacecraft measurements are available.Comment: 17 pages, 4 EPS figures, IOP style, corrected CQG versio
Modulator noise suppression in the LISA Time-Delay Interferometric combinations
We previously showed how the measurements of some eighteen time series of
relative frequency or phase shifts could be combined (1) to cancel the phase
noise of the lasers, (2) to cancel the Doppler fluctuations due to non-inertial
motions of the six optical benches, and (3) to remove the phase noise of the
onboard reference oscillators required to track the photodetector fringes, all
the while preserving signals from passinggravitational waves. Here we analyze
the effect of the additional noise due to the optical modulators used for
removing the phase fluctuations of the onboard reference oscillators. We use a
recently measured noise spectrum of an individual modulator to quantify the
contribution of modulator noise to the first and second-generation Time-Delay
Interferometric (TDI) combinations as a function of the modulation frequency.
We show that modulator noise can be made smaller than the expected proof-mass
acceleration and optical-path noises if the modulation frequencies are larger
than MHz in the case of the unequal-arm Michelson TDI combination
, GHz for the Sagnac TDI combination , and
MHz for the symmetrical Sagnac TDI combination . These
modulation frequencies are substantially smaller than previously estimated and
may lead to less stringent requirements on the LISA's oscillator noise
calibration subsystem.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to: Phys. Rev. D 1
Elimination of Clock Jitter Noise in Spaceborn Laser Interferometers
Space gravitational wave detectors employing laser interferometry between
free-flying spacecraft differ in many ways from their laboratory counterparts.
Among these differences is the fact that, in space, the end-masses will be
moving relative to each other. This creates a problem by inducing a Doppler
shift between the incoming and outgoing frequencies. The resulting beat
frequency is so high that its phase cannot be read to sufficient accuracy when
referenced to state-of-the-art space-qualified clocks. This is the problem that
is addressed in this paper. We introduce a set of time-domain algorithms in
which the effects of clock jitter are exactly canceled. The method employs the
two-color laser approach that has been previously proposed, but avoids the
singularities that arise in the previous frequency-domain algorithms. In
addition, several practical aspects of the laser and clock noise cancellation
schemes are addressed.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure
Optimal filtering of the LISA data
The LISA time-delay-interferometry responses to a gravitational-wave signal
are rewritten in a form that accounts for the motion of the LISA constellation
around the Sun; the responses are given in closed analytic forms valid for any
frequency in the band accessible to LISA. We then present a complete procedure,
based on the principle of maximum likelihood, to search for stellar-mass binary
systems in the LISA data. We define the required optimal filters, the
amplitude-maximized detection statistic (analogous to the F statistic used in
pulsar searches with ground-based interferometers), and discuss the false-alarm
and detection probabilities. We test the procedure in numerical simulations of
gravitational-wave detection.Comment: RevTeX4, 28 pages, 9 EPS figures. Minus signs fixed in Eq. (46) and
Table II. Corrected discussion of F-statistic distribution in Sec. IV
Optimal statistic for detecting gravitational wave signals from binary inspirals with LISA
A binary compact object early in its inspiral phase will be picked up by its
nearly monochromatic gravitational radiation by LISA. But even this innocuous
appearing candidate poses interesting detection challenges. The data that will
be scanned for such sources will be a set of three functions of LISA's twelve
data streams obtained through time-delay interferometry, which is necessary to
cancel the noise contributions from laser-frequency fluctuations and
optical-bench motions to these data streams. We call these three functions
pseudo-detectors. The sensitivity of any pseudo-detector to a given sky
position is a function of LISA's orbital position. Moreover, at a given point
in LISA's orbit, each pseudo-detector has a different sensitivity to the same
sky position. In this work, we obtain the optimal statistic for detecting
gravitational wave signals, such as from compact binaries early in their
inspiral stage, in LISA data. We also present how the sensitivity of LISA,
defined by this optimal statistic, varies as a function of sky position and
LISA's orbital location. Finally, we show how a real-time search for inspiral
signals can be implemented on the LISA data by constructing a bank of templates
in the sky positions.Comment: 22 pages, 15 eps figures, Latex, uses iopart style/class files. Based
on talk given at the 8th Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop,
Milwaukee, USA, December 17-20, 2003. Accepted for publication in Class.
Quant. Gra
The Effects of Orbital Motion on LISA Time Delay Interferometry
In an effort to eliminate laser phase noise in laser interferometer
spaceborne gravitational wave detectors, several combinations of signals have
been found that allow the laser noise to be canceled out while gravitational
wave signals remain. This process is called time delay interferometry (TDI). In
the papers that defined the TDI variables, their performance was evaluated in
the limit that the gravitational wave detector is fixed in space. However, the
performance depends on certain symmetries in the armlengths that are available
if the detector is fixed in space, but that will be broken in the actual
rotating and flexing configuration produced by the LISA orbits. In this paper
we investigate the performance of these TDI variables for the real LISA orbits.
First, addressing the effects of rotation, we verify Daniel Shaddock's result
that the Sagnac variables will not cancel out the laser phase noise, and we
also find the same result for the symmetric Sagnac variable. The loss of the
latter variable would be particularly unfortunate since this variable also
cancels out gravitational wave signal, allowing instrument noise in the
detector to be isolated and measured. Fortunately, we have found a set of more
complicated TDI variables, which we call Delta-Sagnac variables, one of which
accomplishes the same goal as the symmetric Sagnac variable to good accuracy.
Finally, however, as we investigate the effects of the flexing of the detector
arms due to non-circular orbital motion, we show that all variables, including
the interferometer variables, which survive the rotation-induced loss of
direction symmetry, will not completely cancel laser phase noise when the
armlengths are changing with time. This unavoidable problem will place a
stringent requirement on laser stability of 5 Hz per root Hz.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Algebraic approach to time-delay data analysis for LISA
Cancellation of laser frequency noise in interferometers is crucial for
attaining the requisite sensitivity of the triangular 3-spacecraft LISA
configuration. Raw laser noise is several orders of magnitude above the other
noises and thus it is essential to bring it down to the level of other noises
such as shot, acceleration, etc. Since it is impossible to maintain equal
distances between spacecrafts, laser noise cancellation must be achieved by
appropriately combining the six beams with appropriate time-delays. It has been
shown in several recent papers that such combinations are possible. In this
paper, we present a rigorous and systematic formalism based on algebraic
geometrical methods involving computational commutative algebra, which
generates in principle {\it all} the data combinations cancelling the laser
frequency noise. The relevant data combinations form the first module of
syzygies, as it is called in the literature of algebraic geometry. The module
is over a polynomial ring in three variables, the three variables corresponding
to the three time-delays around the LISA triangle. Specifically, we list
several sets of generators for the module whose linear combinations with
polynomial coefficients generate the entire module. We find that this formalism
can also be extended in a straight forward way to cancel Doppler shifts due to
optical bench motions. The two modules are infact isomorphic.
We use our formalism to obtain the transfer functions for the six beams and
for the generators. We specifically investigate monochromatic gravitational
wave sources in the LISA band and carry out the maximisiation over linear
combinations of the generators of the signal-to-noise ratios with the frequency
and source direction angles as parameters.Comment: 27 Pages, 6 figure
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