Circular orbits of corotating binary black holes: comparison between analytical and numerical results

We compare recent numerical results, obtained within a ``helical Killing vector'' (HKV) approach, on circular orbits of corotating binary black holes to the analytical predictions made by the effective one body (EOB) method (which has been recently extended to the case of spinning bodies). On the scale of the differences between the results obtained by different numerical methods, we find good agreement between numerical data and analytical predictions for several invariant functions describing the dynamical properties of circular orbits. This agreement is robust against the post-Newtonian accuracy used for the analytical estimates, as well as under choices of resummation method for the EOB ``effective potential'', and gets better as one uses a higher post-Newtonian accuracy. These findings open the way to a significant ``merging'' of analytical and numerical methods, i.e. to matching an EOB-based analytical description of the (early and late) inspiral, up to the beginning of the plunge, to a numerical description of the plunge and merger. We illustrate also the ``flexibility'' of the EOB approach, i.e. the possibility of determining some ``best fit'' values for the analytical parameters by comparison with numerical data.Comment: Minor revisions, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D, 19 pages, 6 figure

Review article: MHD wave propagation near coronal null points of magnetic fields

We present a comprehensive review of MHD wave behaviour in the neighbourhood of coronal null points: locations where the magnetic field, and hence the local Alfven speed, is zero. The behaviour of all three MHD wave modes, i.e. the Alfven wave and the fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves, has been investigated in the neighbourhood of 2D, 2.5D and (to a certain extent) 3D magnetic null points, for a variety of assumptions, configurations and geometries. In general, it is found that the fast magnetoacoustic wave behaviour is dictated by the Alfven-speed profile. In a $\beta=0$ plasma, the fast wave is focused towards the null point by a refraction effect and all the wave energy, and thus current density, accumulates close to the null point. Thus, null points will be locations for preferential heating by fast waves. Independently, the Alfven wave is found to propagate along magnetic fieldlines and is confined to the fieldlines it is generated on. As the wave approaches the null point, it spreads out due to the diverging fieldlines. Eventually, the Alfven wave accumulates along the separatrices (in 2D) or along the spine or fan-plane (in 3D). Hence, Alfven wave energy will be preferentially dissipated at these locations. It is clear that the magnetic field plays a fundamental role in the propagation and properties of MHD waves in the neighbourhood of coronal null points. This topic is a fundamental plasma process and results so far have also lead to critical insights into reconnection, mode-coupling, quasi-periodic pulsations and phase-mixing.Comment: 34 pages, 5 figures, invited review in Space Science Reviews => Note this is a 2011 paper, not a 2010 pape

Height and risk of death among men and women: aetiological implications of associations with cardiorespiratory disease and cancer mortality

OBJECTIVES: Height is inversely associated with cardiovascular disease mortality risk and has shown variable associations with cancer incidence and mortality. The interpretation of findings from previous studies has been constrained by data limitations. Associations between height and specific causes of death were investigated in a large general population cohort of men and women from the West of Scotland. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Renfrew and Paisley, in the West of Scotland. SUBJECTS: 7052 men and 8354 women aged 45-64 were recruited into a study in Renfrew and Paisley, in the West of Scotland, between 1972 and 1976. Detailed assessments of cardiovascular disease risk factors, morbidity and socioeconomic circumstances were made at baseline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Deaths during 20 years of follow up classified into specific causes. RESULTS: Over the follow up period 3347 men and 2638 women died. Height is inversely associated with all cause, coronary heart disease, stroke, and respiratory disease mortality among men and women. Adjustment for socioeconomic position and cardiovascular risk factors had little influence on these associations. Height is strongly associated with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and adjustment for FEV1 considerably attenuated the association between height and cardiorespiratory mortality. Smoking related cancer mortality is not associated with height. The risk of deaths from cancer unrelated to smoking tended to increase with height, particularly for haematopoietic, colorectal and prostate cancers. Stomach cancer mortality was inversely associated with height. Adjustment for socioeconomic position had little influence on these associations. CONCLUSION: Height serves partly as an indicator of socioeconomic circumstances and nutritional status in childhood and this may underlie the inverse associations between height and adulthood cardiorespiratory mortality. Much of the association between height and cardiorespiratory mortality was accounted for by lung function, which is also partly determined by exposures acting in childhood. The inverse association between height and stomach cancer mortality probably reflects Helicobacter pylori infection in childhood resulting inor being associated withshorter height. The positive associations between height and several cancers unrelated to smoking could reflect the influence of calorie intake during childhood on the risk of these cancers

Limits on Fast Radio Burst-like Counterparts to Gamma-Ray Bursts Using CHIME/FRB

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are a class of highly energetic, mostly extragalactic radio transients lasting for ∼milliseconds. While over 600 FRBs have been published so far, their origins are presently unclear, with some theories for extragalactic FRBs predicting accompanying high-energy emission. In this work, we use the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) Fast Radio Burst (CHIME/FRB) Project to explore whether any FRB-like radio emission coincides in space and time with 81 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected between 2018 July 17 and 2019 July 8 by Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM. We do not find any statistically significant coincident pairs within 3σ of each other's spatial localization regions and within a time difference of up to one week. In addition to searching for spatial matches between known FRBs and known GRBs, we use CHIME/FRB to constrain FRB-like (∼1-10 ms) radio emission before, at the time of, or after the reported high-energy emission at the position of 39 GRBs. For short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs), we constrain the radio flux in the 400--800 MHz band to be under a few kJy for ∼5.5-12.5 hr post-high-energy burst. We use these limits to constrain models that predict FRB-like prompt radio emission after SGRBs. For long gamma-ray bursts, we constrain the radio flux to be under a few kJy from ∼6 hr pre-high-energy burst to ∼12 hr post-high-energy burst

Post-Newtonian SPH calculations of binary neutron star coalescence. I. Method and first results

We present the first results from our Post-Newtonian (PN) Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code, which has been used to study the coalescence of binary neutron star (NS) systems. The Lagrangian particle-based code incorporates consistently all lowest-order (1PN) relativistic effects, as well as gravitational radiation reaction, the lowest-order dissipative term in general relativity. We test our code on sequences of single NS models of varying compactness, and we discuss ways to make PN simulations more relevant to realistic NS models. We also present a PN SPH relaxation procedure for constructing equilibrium models of synchronized binaries, and we use these equilibrium models as initial conditions for our dynamical calculations of binary coalescence. Though unphysical, since tidal synchronization is not expected in NS binaries, these initial conditions allow us to compare our PN work with previous Newtonian results. We compare calculations with and without 1PN effects, for NS with stiff equations of state, modeled as polytropes with $\Gamma=3$. We find that 1PN effects can play a major role in the coalescence, accelerating the final inspiral and causing a significant misalignment in the binary just prior to final merging. In addition, the character of the gravitational wave signal is altered dramatically, showing strong modulation of the exponentially decaying waveform near the end of the merger. We also discuss briefly the implications of our results for models of gamma-ray bursts at cosmological distances.Comment: RevTeX, 37 pages, 17 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. D, minor corrections onl

A CHIME/FRB Study of Burst Rate and Morphological Evolution of the Periodically Repeating FRB 20180916B

FRB 20180916B is a repeating fast radio burst (FRB) with a 16.3 day periodicity in its activity. In this study, we present morphological properties of 60 FRB 20180916B bursts detected by CHIME/FRB between 2018 August and 2021 December. We recorded raw voltage data for 45 of these bursts, enabling microseconds time resolution in some cases. We studied variation of spectro-temporal properties with time and activity phase. We find that the variation in dispersion measure (DM) is ≲1 pc cm−3 and that there is burst-to-burst variation in scattering time estimates ranging from ∼0.16 to over 2 ms, with no discernible trend with activity phase for either property. Furthermore, we find no DM and scattering variability corresponding to the recent change in rotation measure from the source, which has implications for the immediate environment of the source. We find that FRB 20180916B has thus far shown no epochs of heightened activity as have been seen in other active repeaters by CHIME/FRB, with its burst count consistent with originating from a Poissonian process. We also observe no change in the value of the activity period over the duration of our observations and set a 1σ upper limit of 1.5 × 10−4 day day−1 on the absolute period derivative. Finally, we discuss constraints on progenitor models yielded by our results, noting that our upper limits on changes in scattering and DM as a function of phase do not support models invoking a massive binary companion star as the origin of the 16.3 day periodicity.</p

The exposure of the hybrid detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is a detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. It consists of a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level and a fluorescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The "hybrid" detection mode combines the information from the two subsystems. We describe the determination of the hybrid exposure for events observed by the fluorescence telescopes in coincidence with at least one water-Cherenkov detector of the surface array. A detailed knowledge of the time dependence of the detection operations is crucial for an accurate evaluation of the exposure. We discuss the relevance of monitoring data collected during operations, such as the status of the fluorescence detector, background light and atmospheric conditions, that are used in both simulation and reconstruction.Comment: Paper accepted by Astroparticle Physic

Acceptance and commitment therapy for late-life treatment-resistant generalised anxiety disorder: a feasibility study.

Background Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is the most common anxiety disorder in older people. First-line management includes pharmacological and psychological therapies, but many do not find these effective or acceptable. Little is known about how to manage treatment-resistant generalised anxiety disorder (TR-GAD) in older people. Objectives To examine the acceptability, feasibility and preliminary estimates of the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for older people with TR-GAD. Participants People aged ≥65 years with TR-GAD (defined as not responding to GAD treatment, tolerate it or refused treatment) recruited from primary and secondary care services and the community. Intervention Participants received up to 16 one-to-one sessions of ACT, developed specifically for older people with TR-GAD, in addition to usual care. Measurements Co-primary outcomes were feasibility (defined as recruitment of ≥32 participants and retention of ≥60% at follow-up) and acceptability (defined as participants attending ≥10 sessions and scoring ≥21/30 on the satisfaction with therapy subscale). Secondary outcomes included measures of anxiety, worry, depression and psychological flexibility (assessed at 0 and 20 weeks). Results Thirty-seven participants were recruited, 30 (81%) were retained and 26 (70%) attended ≥10 sessions. A total of 18/30 (60%) participants scored ≥21/30 on the satisfaction with therapy subscale. There was preliminary evidence suggesting that ACT may improve anxiety, depression and psychological flexibility. Conclusions There was evidence of good feasibility and acceptability, although satisfaction with therapy scores suggested that further refinement of the intervention may be necessary. Results indicate that a larger-scale randomised controlled trial of ACT for TR-GAD is feasible and warranted