Geometrical Expression for the Angular Resolution of a Network of Gravitational-Wave Detectors

We report for the first time general geometrical expressions for the angular resolution of an arbitrary network of interferometric gravitational-wave (GW) detectors when the arrival-time of a GW is unknown. We show explicitly elements that decide the angular resolution of a GW detector network. In particular, we show the dependence of the angular resolution on areas formed by projections of pairs of detectors and how they are weighted by sensitivities of individual detectors. Numerical simulations are used to demonstrate the capabilities of the current GW detector network. We confirm that the angular resolution is poor along the plane formed by current LIGO-Virgo detectors. A factor of a few to more than ten fold improvement of the angular resolution can be achieved if the proposed new GW detectors LCGT or AIGO are added to the network. We also discuss the implications of our results for the design of a GW detector network, optimal localization methods for a given network, and electromagnetic follow-up observations.Comment: 13 pages, for Phys. Rev.

Angular Momentum Distribution Function of the Laughlin Droplet

We have evaluated the angular-momentum distribution functions for finite numbers of electrons in Laughlin states. For very small numbers of electrons the angular-momentum state occupation numbers have been evaluated exactly while for larger numbers of electrons they have been obtained from Monte-Carlo estimates of the one-particle density matrix. An exact relationship, valid for any number of electrons, has been derived for the ratio of the occupation numbers of the two outermost orbitals of the Laughlin droplet and is used to test the accuracy of the MC calculations. We compare the occupation numbers near the outer edges of the droplets with predictions based on the chiral Luttinger liquid picture of Laughlin state edges and discuss the surprisingly large oscillations in occupation numbers which occur for angular momenta far from the edge.Comment: 11 pages of RevTeX, 2 figures available on request. IUCM93-00