312 research outputs found
Particle Swarm Optimization and gravitational wave data analysis: Performance on a binary inspiral testbed
The detection and estimation of gravitational wave (GW) signals belonging to
a parameterized family of waveforms requires, in general, the numerical
maximization of a data-dependent function of the signal parameters. Due to
noise in the data, the function to be maximized is often highly multi-modal
with numerous local maxima. Searching for the global maximum then becomes
computationally expensive, which in turn can limit the scientific scope of the
search. Stochastic optimization is one possible approach to reducing
computational costs in such applications. We report results from a first
investigation of the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method in this context.
The method is applied to a testbed motivated by the problem of detection and
estimation of a binary inspiral signal. Our results show that PSO works well in
the presence of high multi-modality, making it a viable candidate method for
further applications in GW data analysis.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
The confinement of phonon propagation in TiAlN/Ag multilayer coatings with anomalously low heat conductivity
TiAlN/Ag multilayer coatings with a different number of bilayers and thicknesses of individual layers were fabricated by DC magnetron co-sputtering. Thermal conductivity was measured in dependence of Ag layer thickness. It was found anomalous low thermal conductivity of silver comparing to TiAlN and Ag bulk standards and TiAlN/TiN multilayers. The physical nature of such thermal barrier properties of the multilayer coatings was explained on the basis of reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy. The analysis shows that nanostructuring of the coating decreases the density of states and velocity of acoustic phonons propagation. At the same time, multiphonon channels of heat propagation degenerate. These results demonstrate that metal-dielectric interfaces in TiAlN/Ag coatings are insurmountable obstacles for acoustic phonons propagation
Interface-Induced Plasmon Nonhomogeneity in Nanostructured Metal-Dielectric Planar Metamaterial
Transformations of the electronic structure in thin silver layers in metal-dielectric (TiAlN/Ag) multilayer nanocomposite were investigated by a set of electron spectroscopy techniques. Localization of the electronic states in the valence band and reduction of electron concentration in the conduction band was observed. This led to decreasing metallic properties of silver in the thin films. A critical layer thickness of 23.5 nm associated with the development of quantum effects was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Scanning Auger electron microscopy of characteristic energy losses provided images of plasmon localization in the Ag layers. The nonuniformity of plasmon intensities distribution near the metal-nitride interfaces was assessed experimentally
Summed Parallel Infinite Impulse Response (SPIIR) Filters For Low-Latency Gravitational Wave Detection
With the upgrade of current gravitational wave detectors, the first detection
of gravitational wave signals is expected to occur in the next decade.
Low-latency gravitational wave triggers will be necessary to make fast
follow-up electromagnetic observations of events related to their source, e.g.,
prompt optical emission associated with short gamma-ray bursts. In this paper
we present a new time-domain low-latency algorithm for identifying the presence
of gravitational waves produced by compact binary coalescence events in noisy
detector data. Our method calculates the signal to noise ratio from the
summation of a bank of parallel infinite impulse response (IIR) filters. We
show that our summed parallel infinite impulse response (SPIIR) method can
retrieve the signal to noise ratio to greater than 99% of that produced from
the optimal matched filter. We emphasise the benefits of the SPIIR method for
advanced detectors, which will require larger template banks.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, for PR
When the Earth trembles in the americas: the experience of haiti and chile 2010.
The response of the nephrological community to the Haiti and Chile earthquakes which occurred in the first months of 2010 is described. In Haiti, renal support was organized by the Renal Disaster Relief Task Force (RDRTF) of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) in close collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and covered both patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) and patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The majority of AKI patients (19/27) suffered from crush syndrome and recovered their kidney function. The remaining 8 patients with AKI showed acute-to-chronic renal failure with very low recovery rates. The intervention of the RDRTF-ISN involved 25 volunteers of 9 nationalities, lasted exactly 2 months, and was characterized by major organizational difficulties and problems to create awareness among other rescue teams regarding the availability of dialysis possibilities. Part of the Haitian patients with AKI reached the Dominican Republic (DR) and received their therapy there. The nephrological community in the DR was able to cope with this extra patient load. In both Haiti and the DR, dialysis treatment was able to be prevented in at least 40 patients by screening and adequate fluid administration. Since laboratory facilities were destroyed in Port-au-Prince and were thus lacking during the first weeks of the intervention, the use from the very beginning on of a point-of-care device (i-STAT®) was very efficient for the detection of aberrant kidney function and electrolyte parameters. In Chile, nephrological problems were essentially related to difficulties delivering dialysis treatment to CKD patients, due to the damage to several units. This necessitated the reallocation of patients and the adaptation of their schedules. The problems could be handled by the local nephrologists. These observations illustrate that local and international preparedness might be life-saving if renal problems occur in earthquake circumstances
Learning about compact binary merger: the interplay between numerical relativity and gravitational-wave astronomy
Activities in data analysis and numerical simulation of gravitational waves
have to date largely proceeded independently. In this work we study how
waveforms obtained from numerical simulations could be effectively used within
the data analysis effort to search for gravitational waves from black hole
binaries. We propose measures to quantify the accuracy of numerical waveforms
for the purpose of data analysis and study how sensitive the analysis is to
errors in the waveforms. We estimate that ~100 templates (and ~10 simulations
with different mass ratios) are needed to detect waves from non-spinning binary
black holes with total masses in the range 100 Msun < M < 400 Msun using
initial LIGO. Of course, many more simulation runs will be needed to confirm
that the correct physics is captured in the numerical evolutions. From this
perspective, we also discuss sources of systematic errors in numerical waveform
extraction and provide order of magnitude estimates for the computational cost
of simulations that could be used to estimate the cost of parameter space
surveys. Finally, we discuss what information from near-future numerical
simulations of compact binary systems would be most useful for enhancing the
detectability of such events with contemporary gravitational wave detectors and
emphasize the role of numerical simulations for the interpretation of eventual
gravitational-wave observations.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figure
Caracterización clínica, funcional y hemodinámica de la población con hipertensión pulmonar arterial evaluada en el Instituto Nacional del Tórax
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension is a rare, progressive and devastating disease with severe consequences in quality of life and survival. Aim: A clinical, functional and hemodynamic assessment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and categorization according to severity. Material and methods: Prospective registry of patients with arterial pulmonary hypertension, hemodynamically defined. Clinical evaluation was performed using World Health Organization functional score (I to IV) and Borg dyspnea scale. Six minute walking test, echocardiography and right heart catheterization were used for functional and hemodynamic assessment. Intravenous Adenosine was used to assess vascular reactivity during the hemodynamic evaluation. Results: Twenty nine patients were included (25 women, age range 16-72 years). Pulmonary hypertension was idiopathic in 11, associated to connective tissue disease in seven, associated to congenital heart disease in nine and associated to chronic thromboembolism in two. The mean lapse of symptoms before assessment was 2.9 years and 100% had dyspnea (Borg 5.1). Functional class I, II, III and IV was observed in 0, 5, 21 and 3 patients respectively. Six minutes walking test was 378±113 m. Mean pulmonary pressure was 59.4±12.2 mmHg, cardiac index was 2.57±0.88 and pulmonary vascular resistance index: 1798.4±855 (dyne.sec)/cm5. Nine patients had a mean pulmonary arterial pressure >55 mmHg and a cardiac index <2.1, considered as bad prognosis criteria. Adenosine test was positive in 17%. Conclusions: This group of patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension was mainly conformed by young females, with a moderate to severe disease.http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-98872006000500007&nrm=is
Parametrized tests of post-Newtonian theory using Advanced LIGO and Einstein Telescope
General relativity has very specific predictions for the gravitational
waveforms from inspiralling compact binaries obtained using the post-Newtonian
(PN) approximation. We investigate the extent to which the measurement of the
PN coefficients, possible with the second generation gravitationalwave
detectors such as the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave
Observatory (LIGO) and the third generation gravitational-wave detectors such
as the Einstein Telescope (ET), could be used to test post-Newtonian theory and
to put bounds on a subclass of parametrized-post-Einstein theories which differ
from general relativity in a parametrized sense. We demonstrate this
possibility by employing the best inspiralling waveform model for nonspinning
compact binaries which is 3.5PN accurate in phase and 3PN in amplitude. Within
the class of theories considered, Advanced LIGO can test the theory at 1.5PN
and thus the leading tail term. Future observations of stellar mass black hole
binaries by ET can test the consistency between the various PN coefficients in
the gravitational-wave phasing over the mass range of 11-44 Msun. The choice of
the lower frequency cut off is important for testing post-Newtonian theory
using the ET. The bias in the test arising from the assumption of nonspinning
binaries is indicated.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, Matches with the published versio
Likelihood-ratio ranking of gravitational-wave candidates in a non-Gaussian background
We describe a general approach to detection of transient gravitational-wave
signals in the presence of non-Gaussian background noise. We prove that under
quite general conditions, the ratio of the likelihood of observed data to
contain a signal to the likelihood of it being a noise fluctuation provides
optimal ranking for the candidate events found in an experiment. The
likelihood-ratio ranking allows us to combine different kinds of data into a
single analysis. We apply the general framework to the problem of unifying the
results of independent experiments and the problem of accounting for
non-Gaussian artifacts in the searches for gravitational waves from compact
binary coalescence in LIGO data. We show analytically and confirm through
simulations that in both cases the likelihood ratio statistic results in an
improved analysis.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Inspiralling compact binaries in quasi-elliptical orbits: The complete third post-Newtonian energy flux
The instantaneous contributions to the 3PN gravitational wave luminosity from
the inspiral phase of a binary system of compact objects moving in a quasi
elliptical orbit is computed using the multipolar post-Minkowskian wave
generation formalism. The necessary inputs for this calculation include the 3PN
accurate mass quadrupole moment for general orbits and the mass octupole and
current quadrupole moments at 2PN. Using the recently obtained 3PN
quasi-Keplerian representation of elliptical orbits the flux is averaged over
the binary's orbit. Supplementing this by the important hereditary
contributions arising from tails, tails-of-tails and tails squared terms
calculated in a previous paper, the complete 3PN energy flux is obtained. The
final result presented in this paper would be needed for the construction of
ready-to-use templates for binaries moving on non-circular orbits, a plausible
class of sources not only for the space based detectors like LISA but also for
the ground based ones.Comment: 40 pages. Minor changes in text throughout. Minor typos in Eqs.
(3.3b), (7.7f), (8.19d) and (8.20) corrected. Matches the published versio
- …