20 research outputs found

    THE RATE OF BINARY BLACK HOLE MERGERS INFERRED FROM ADVANCED LIGO OBSERVATIONS SURROUNDING GW150914

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    A transient gravitational-wave signal, GW150914, was identi fi ed in the twin Advanced LIGO detectors on 2015 September 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC. To asse ss the implications of this discovery, the detectors remained in operation with unchanged con fi gurations over a period of 39 days around the time of t he signal. At the detection statistic threshold corresponding to that observed for GW150914, our search of the 16 days of simultaneous two-detector observational data is estimated to have a false-alarm rate ( FAR ) of < ́ -- 4.9 10 yr 61 , yielding a p -value for GW150914 of < ́ - 210 7 . Parameter estimation follo w-up on this trigger identi fi es its source as a binary black hole ( BBH ) merger with component masses ( )( ) = - + - + mm M ,36,29 12 4 5 4 4 at redshift = - + z 0.09 0.04 0.03 ( median and 90% credible range ) . Here, we report on the constraints these observations place on the rate of BBH coalescences. Considering only GW150914, assuming that all BBHs in the universe have the same masses and spins as this event, imposing a search FAR threshold of 1 per 100 years, and assuming that the BBH merger rate is constant in the comoving frame, we infer a 90% credible range of merger rates between – -- 2 53 Gpc yr 31 ( comoving frame ) . Incorporating all search triggers that pass a much lower threshold while accounting for the uncerta inty in the astrophysical origin of each trigger, we estimate a higher rate, ranging from – -- 13 600 Gpc yr 31 depending on assumptions about the BBH mass distribution. All together, our various rate estimat es fall in the conservative range – -- 2 600 Gpc yr 31

    Needs Assessment for Sustainable Resource Management (Sub-Saharan Africa) : final report, Apr. 2 - June 24, 1994

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    The Design of Core 2: A Library for Exact Numeric Computation in Geometry and Algebra

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    There is a growing interest in numeric-algebraic techniques in the computer algebra community as such techniques can speed up many applications. This paper is concerned with one such approach called Exact Numeric Computation (ENC). The ENC approach to algebraic number computation is based on iterative verified approximations, combined with constructive zero bounds. This paper describesCore 2, the latest version of the Core Library, a package designed for applications such as non-linear computational geometry. The adaptive complexity of ENC combined with filters makes such libraries practical. Core 2 smoothly integrates our algebraic ENC subsystem with transcendental functions with ε-accurate comparisons. This paper describes how the design of Core 2 addresses key software issues such as modularity, extensibility, and efficiency in a setting that combines algebraic and transcendental elements. Our redesign preserves the original goals of the Core Library, namely, to provide a simple and natural interface for ENC computation to support rapid prototyping and exploration. We present examples, experimental results, and timings for our new system, released as Core Library 2.0
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