3,231 research outputs found
Prospects for observing ultra-compact binaries with space-based gravitational wave interferometers and optical telescopes
Space-based gravitational wave interferometers are sensitive to the galactic
population of ultra-compact binaries. An important subset of the ultra-compact
binary population are those stars that can be individually resolved by both
gravitational wave interferometers and electromagnetic telescopes. The aim of
this paper is to quantify the multi-messenger potential of space-based
interferometers with arm-lengths between 1 and 5 Gm. The Fisher Information
Matrix is used to estimate the number of binaries from a model of the Milky Way
which are localized on the sky by the gravitational wave detector to within 1
and 10 square degrees and bright enough to be detected by a magnitude limited
survey. We find, depending on the choice of GW detector characteristics,
limiting magnitude, and observing strategy, that up to several hundred
gravitational wave sources could be detected in electromagnetic follow-up
observations.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures Updated to include new results. Submitted to MNRA
Gravity Waves, Chaos, and Spinning Compact Binaries
Spinning compact binaries are shown to be chaotic in the Post-Newtonian
expansion of the two body system. Chaos by definition is the extreme
sensitivity to initial conditions and a consequent inability to predict the
outcome of the evolution. As a result, the spinning pair will have
unpredictable gravitational waveforms during coalescence. This poses a
challenge to future gravity wave observatories which rely on a match between
the data and a theoretical template.Comment: Final version published in PR
Comment on "Gravity Waves, Chaos, and Spinning Compact Binaries"
In this comment, I argue that chaotic effects in binary black hole inspiral
will not strongly impact the detection of gravitational waves from such
systems.Comment: 1 page, comment on gr-qc/991004
Forward Modeling of Space-borne Gravitational Wave Detectors
Planning is underway for several space-borne gravitational wave observatories
to be built in the next ten to twenty years. Realistic and efficient forward
modeling will play a key role in the design and operation of these
observatories. Space-borne interferometric gravitational wave detectors operate
very differently from their ground based counterparts. Complex orbital motion,
virtual interferometry, and finite size effects complicate the description of
space-based systems, while nonlinear control systems complicate the description
of ground based systems. Here we explore the forward modeling of space-based
gravitational wave detectors and introduce an adiabatic approximation to the
detector response that significantly extends the range of the standard low
frequency approximation. The adiabatic approximation will aid in the
development of data analysis techniques, and improve the modeling of
astrophysical parameter extraction.Comment: 14 Pages, 14 Figures, RevTex
Copper cable theft: revisiting the price–theft hypothesis
Objectives: To test the commonly espoused but little examined hypothesis that fluctuations in the price of metal are associated with changes in the volume of metal theft. Specifically, we analyze the relationship between the price of copper and the number of police recorded 'live’ copper cable thefts from the British railway network (2006 to 2012)
Magic conditions for multiple rotational states of bialkali molecules in optical lattices
We investigate magic-wavelength trapping of ultracold bialkali molecules in the vicinity of weak optical transitions from the vibrational ground state of the X 1 Σ + potential to low-lying rovibrational states of the b 3 Π 0 potential, focusing our discussion on the 87 Rb 133 Cs molecule in a magnetic field of B = 181 G. We show that a frequency window exists between two nearest-neighbor vibrational poles in the dynamic polarizability where the trapping potential is “near magic” for multiple rotational states simultaneously. We show that the addition of a modest DC electric field of E = 0.13 kV/cm leads to an exact magic-wavelength trap for the lowest three rotational states at a angular-frequency detuning of Δ v ′ = 0 = 2 π × 218.22 GHz from the X 1 Σ + ( v = 0 , J = 0 ) → b 3 Π 0 ( v ′ = 0 , J = 1 ) transition. We derive a set of analytical criteria that must be fulfilled to ensure the existence of such magic frequency windows and present an analytic expression for the position of the frequency window in terms of a set of experimentally measurable parameters. These results should inform future experiments requiring long coherence times on multiple rotational transitions in ultracold polar molecules
Detection Strategies for Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals
The capture of compact stellar remnants by galactic black holes provides a
unique laboratory for exploring the near horizon geometry of the Kerr
spacetime, or possible departures from general relativity if the central cores
prove not to be black holes. The gravitational radiation produced by these
Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals (EMRIs) encodes a detailed map of the black hole
geometry, and the detection and characterization of these signals is a major
scientific goal for the LISA mission. The waveforms produced are very complex,
and the signals need to be coherently tracked for hundreds to thousands of
cycles to produce a detection, making EMRI signals one of the most challenging
data analysis problems in all of gravitational wave astronomy. Estimates for
the number of templates required to perform an exhaustive grid-based
matched-filter search for these signals are astronomically large, and far out
of reach of current computational resources. Here I describe an alternative
approach that employs a hybrid between Genetic Algorithms and Markov Chain
Monte Carlo techniques, along with several time saving techniques for computing
the likelihood function. This approach has proven effective at the blind
extraction of relatively weak EMRI signals from simulated LISA data sets.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, Updated for LISA 8 Symposium Proceeding
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