Calibration of the LIGO gravitational wave detectors in the fifth science run

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a network of three detectors built to detect local perturbations in the space–time metric from astrophysical sources. These detectors, two in Hanford, WA and one in Livingston, LA, are power-recycled Fabry-Perot Michelson interferometers. In their fifth science run (S5), between November 2005 and October 2007, these detectors accumulated one year of triple coincident data while operating at their designed sensitivity. In this paper, we describe the calibration of the instruments in the S5 data set, including measurement techniques and uncertainty estimation.United States. National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationCarnegie TrustLeverhulme TrustDavid & Lucile Packard FoundationResearch CorporationAlfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Amchitka Radiobiological Program. Final report, July 1970-December 1979

The Amchitka Radiobiological Program, to collect biological and environmental samples for radiological analyses, began in 1970 and continued through 1979. The principal objective was to determine the extent of radionuclide contamination from worldwide atmospheric fallout and from the detonation of three underground nuclear tests on Amchitka. Leakage of radionuclides from the underground test sites would be suspected if the amount of contamination was significantly greater than could be attributed to worldwide fallout or if an unexpected assemblage of radionuclides was detected. No radionuclides from the underground sites were detected, except for tritium from the Long Shot test (1965) which produced increased tritium concentrations in surface water and freshwater plants near the test site. This final report compiles all previous data into one report and considers the temporal trends in these data. Two naturally occurring radionuclides, /sup 40/K and /sup 7/Be, were the most abundantly occurring radionuclides in most samples; in lichen samples either /sup 137/Cs or /sup 144/Ce had the highest activity. All samples were below applicable Radiation Protection Guides and by 1979 most samples were near or below the statistical detection limits. Increased concentrations of short-lived fallout radionuclides following the Chinese atmospheric tests were found in freshwater and seawater samples and in most indicator organisms