427 research outputs found
Increasing the Astrophysical Reach of the Advanced Virgo Detector via the Application of Squeezed Vacuum States of Light
Current interferometric gravitational-wave detectors are limited by quantum noise over a wide range of their measurement bandwidth. One method to overcome the quantum limit is the injection of squeezed vacuum states of light into the interferometerâs dark port. Here, we report on the successful application of this quantum technology to improve the shot noise limited sensitivity of the Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave detector. A sensitivity enhancement of up to 3.2±0.1ââdB beyond the shot noise limit is achieved. This nonclassical improvement corresponds to a 5%â8% increase of the binary neutron star horizon. The squeezing injection was fully automated and over the first 5 months of the third joint LIGO-Virgo observation run O3 squeezing was applied for more than 99% of the science time. During this period several gravitational-wave candidates have been recorded
Directional Limits on Persistent Gravitational Waves from Advanced LIGOâs First Observing Run
We employ gravitational-wave radiometry to map the stochastic gravitational wave background
expected from a variety of contributing mechanisms and test the assumption of isotropy using data
from the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatoryâs (aLIGO) first observing run.
We also search for persistent gravitational waves from point sources with only minimal assumptions
over the 20â1726 Hz frequency band. Finding no evidence of gravitational waves from either point
sources or a stochastic background, we set limits at 90% confidence. For broadband point sources, we
report upper limits on the gravitational wave energy flux per unit frequency in the range Fα;ÎĂ°fĂ <
Ă°0.1â56Ă Ă 10â8 erg cmâ2 sâ1 Hzâ1Ă°f=25 HzĂαâ1 depending on the sky location Î and the spectral
power index α. For extended sources, we report upper limits on the fractional gravitational wave energy
density required to close the Universe of Ωðf; ÎĂ < Ă°0.39â7.6Ă Ă 10â8 srâ1Ă°f=25 HzĂα depending on Î
and α. Directed searches for narrowband gravitational waves from astrophysically interesting objects
(Scorpius X-1, Supernova 1987 A, and the Galactic Center) yield median frequency-dependent limits on
strain amplitude of h0 < Ă°6.7; 5.5; and 7.0Ă Ă 10â25, respectively, at the most sensitive detector frequencies
between 130â175 Hz. This represents a mean improvement of a factor of 2 across the band compared
to previous searches of this kind for these sky locations, considering the different quantities of strain
constrained in each case
Prospects for observing and localizing gravitational-wave transients with Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo and KAGRA
We present possible observing scenarios for the Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo and KAGRA gravitational-wave detectors over the next decade, with the intention of providing information to the astronomy community to facilitate planning for multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational waves. We estimate the sensitivity of the network to transient gravitational-wave signals, and study the capability of the network to determine the sky location of the source. We report our findings for gravitational-wave transients, with particular focus on gravitational-wave signals from the inspiral of binary neutron star systems, which are the most promising targets for multi-messenger astronomy. The ability to localize the sources of the detected signals depends on the geographical distribution of the detectors and their relative sensitivity, and 90% credible regions can be as large as thousands of square degrees when only two sensitive detectors are operational. Determining the sky position of a significant fraction of detected signals to areas of 5â 20 deg2 requires at least three detectors of sensitivity within a factor of âŒ2 of each other and with a broad frequency bandwidth. When all detectors, including KAGRA and the third LIGO detector in India, reach design sensitivity, a significant fraction of gravitational-wave signals will be localized to a few square degrees by gravitational-wave observations alone
Spin alignment measurements using vector mesons with ALICE detector at the LHC
We present new measurements related to spin alignment of K*(0) vector
mesons at mid-rapidity for Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 and
5.02 TeV. The spin alignment measurements are carried out with respect
to production plane and 2nd order event plane. At low p(T) the spin
density matrix element rho(00) for K*(0) is found to have values
slightly below 1/3, while it is consistent with 1/3, i.e. no spin
alignment, at high p(T). Similar values of rho(00) are observed with
respect to both production plane and event plane. Within statistical and
systematic uncertainties, rho(00) values are also found to be
independent of root s(NN). rho(00) also shows centrality dependence with
maximum deviation from 1/3 for mid-central collisions with respect to
both the kinematic planes. The measurements for K*(0) in pp collisions
at root s = 13 TeV and for K-s(0) (a spin 0 hadron) in 20-40\% central
Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV are consistent with no spin
alignment
Muon physics at forward rapidity with the ALICE detector upgrade
ALICE is the experiment specifically designed to study the Quark-Gluon
Plasma (QGP) in heavy-ion collisions at the CERN LHC. The ALICE detector
will be upgraded during the Long Shutdown 2, planned for 2019-2020, in
order to cope with the maximum interaction rate of 50 kHz of Pb-Pb
collisions foreseen for Runs 3 and 4. The ambitious programme of
high-precision measurements, expected for muon physics after 2020,
requires an upgrade of the front-end and readout electronics of the
existing Muon Spectrometer. This concerns the Cathode Pad Chambers (CPC)
used for tracking and the Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) used for
triggering and for muon identification. The Muon Forward Tracker (MFT),
an internal tracker added in front of the front absorber of the existing
Muon Spectrometer, is also part of the ALICE detector upgrade programme.
It is based on an assembly of circular planes made of Monolithic Active
Pixel Sensors (MAPS), covering the pseudorapidity range 2.5 < eta < 3.6.
The MFT will improve present measurements and enable new ones. A
selection of results from physics performance studies will be presented,
together with an overview of the technical aspects of the upgrade
project
Direct photon elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76 TeV
The elliptic flow of inclusive and direct photons was measured at mid-rapidity in two centrality classes 0-20% and 20-40% in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV by ALICE. Photons were detected with the highly segmented electromagnetic calorimeter PHOS and via conversions in the detector material with the e(broken vertical bar)e pairs reconstructed in the central tracking system. The results of the two methods were combined and the direct-photon elliptic flow was extracted in the transverse momentum range 0.9 < p(T) < 6.2 GeV/c. A comparison to RHIC data shows a similar magnitude of the measured direct-photon elliptic flow. Hydrodynamic and transport model calculations are systematically lower than the data, but are found to be compatible. (C) 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe
Higher moment fluctuations of identified particle distributions from ALICE
Cumulants of conserved charges fluctuations are regarded as a potential tool
to study the criticality in the QCD phase diagram and to determine the
freeze-out parameters in a model-independent way. At LHC energies, the
measurements of the ratio of the net-baryon (net-proton) cumulants can be used
to test the lattice QCD predictions. In this work, we present the first
measurements of cumulants of the net-proton number distributions up to
order in Pb--Pb collisions at = 2.76 and 5.02 TeV as a
function of collision centrality. We compare our cumulant ratios results with
the STAR experiment net-proton results measured in the first phase of the Beam
Energy Scan program at RHIC. The results can be used to obtain the chemical
freeze-out parameters at LHC.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of XXVIIth International Conference
on Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2018
Open heavy-flavour production and elliptic flow in p-Pb collisions at the LHC with ALICE
Measurements of open heavy flavour production in p-A collisions allow
the investigation of Cold Nuclear Matter effects. In addition, they are
an important tool for a complementary investigation of the long-range
correlations found in small systems in the light flavour sector. In this
work, production measurements of D mesons at mid-rapidity in p-Pb
collisions at root S-NN = 5.02 TeV are reported. Production yields are
also reported for the heavy-flavour hadron decay electrons at central
rapidity at root(SNN) = 5.02 and 8.16 TeV. The elliptic flow (nu(2)) of
heavy-flavour hadron decay electrons in high multiplicity p-Pb
collisions at root(SNN) = 5.02 TeV is found to be positive with a
significance larger than 5 sigma
Measuring (KSK +/-)-K-0 interactions using pp collisions at root s=7 TeV
We present the first measurements of femtoscopic correlations between the K-S(0) and K-+/- particles in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV measured by the ALICE experiment. The observed femtoscopic correlations are consistent with final-state interactions proceeding solely via the a(0)(980) resonance. The extracted kaon source radius and correlation strength parameters for (KSK-)-K-0 are found to be equal within the experimental uncertainties to those for (KSK+)-K-0. Results of the present study are compared with those from identical-kaon femtoscopic studies also performed with pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV by ALICE and with a (KSK +/-)-K-0 measurement in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV. Combined with the Pb-Pb results, our pp analysis is found to be compatible with the interpretation of the a (980) having a tetraquark structure instead of that of a diquark. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe
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