Senior Recital, Logan T. Beaver, saxophone

The presentation of this senior recital will fulfill in part the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies. Logan T. Beaver studies saxophone with J.C. Kuhl and Skip Gailes

Low-latency gravitational wave alert products and their performance in anticipation of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run

Multi-messenger searches for binary neutron star (BNS) and neutron star-black hole (NSBH) mergers are currently one of the most exciting areas of astronomy. The search for joint electromagnetic and neutrino counterparts to gravitational wave (GW)s has resumed with Advanced LIGO (aLIGO)'s, Advanced Virgo (AdVirgo)'s and KAGRA's fourth observing run (O4). To support this effort, public semi-automated data products are sent in near real-time and include localization and source properties to guide complementary observations. Subsequent refinements, as and when available, are also relayed as updates. In preparation for O4, we have conducted a study using a simulated population of compact binaries and a Mock Data Challenge (MDC) in the form of a real-time replay to optimize and profile the software infrastructure and scientific deliverables. End-to-end performance was tested, including data ingestion, running online search pipelines, performing annotations, and issuing alerts to the astrophysics community. In this paper, we present an overview of the low-latency infrastructure as well as an overview of the performance of the data products to be released during O4 based on a MDC. We report on expected median latencies for the preliminary alert of full bandwidth searches (29.5 s) and for the creation of early warning triggers (-3.1 s), and show consistency and accuracy of released data products using the MDC. This paper provides a performance overview for LVK low-latency alert structure and data products using the MDC in anticipation of O4

Changes in conceptions in women younger than 18 years and the circumstances of young mothers in England in 2000–12: an observational study

BACKGROUND: In 2000, a 10-year Teenage Pregnancy Strategy was launched in England to reduce conceptions in women younger than 18 years and social exclusion in young parents. We used routinely collected data and data from Britain's National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) to examine progress towards these goals. METHODS: In this observational study, we used random-effects meta-regression to analyse the change in conception rates from 1994-98 to 2009-13 by top-tier local authorities in England, in relation to Teenage Pregnancy Strategy-related expenditure per head, socioeconomic deprivation, and region. Data from similar probability sample surveys: Natsal-1 (1990-91), Natsal-2 (1999-2001), and Natsal-3 (2010-12) were used to assess the prevalence of risk factors and their association with conception in women younger than 18 years in women aged 18-24 years; and the prevalence of participation in education, work, and training in young mothers. FINDINGS: Conception rates in women younger than 18 years declined steadily from their peak in 1996-98 and more rapidly from 2007 onwards. More deprived areas and those receiving greater Teenage Pregnancy Strategy-related investment had higher rates of conception in 1994-98 and had greater declines to 2009-13. Regression analyses assessing the association between Teenage Pregnancy Strategy funding and decline in conception rates in women younger than 18 years showed an estimated reduction in the conception rate of 11.4 conceptions (95% CI 9.6-13.2; p<0.0001) per 1000 women aged 15-17 years for every £100 Teenage Pregnancy Strategy spend per head and a reduction of 8.2 conceptions (5.8-10.5; p<0.0001) after adjustment for socioeconomic deprivation and region. The association between conception in women younger than 18 years and lower socioeconomic status weakened slightly between Natsal-2 and Natsal-3. The prevalence of participation in education, work, or training among young women with a child conceived before age 18 years was low, but the odds of them doing so doubled between Natsal-2 and Natsal-3 (odds ratio 1.99, 95% CI 0.99-4.00). INTERPRETATION: A sustained, multifaceted policy intervention involving health and education agencies, alongside other social and educational changes, has probably contributed to a substantial and accelerating decline in conceptions in women younger than 18 years in England since the late 1990s. FUNDING: Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, Economic and Social Research Council, and Department of Health

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M&gt;70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0&lt;e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

Senior Recital, Trey Sorrells, saxophone

the presentation of this recital will fulfill in part the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies. Trey Sorrells studies saxophone with Skip Gailes and J.C. Kuhl

Excess body weight is an independent risk factor for severe forms of COVID-19

International audienceBackground and aims: Few studies distinguished the independent role of overweight/obesity or their associated-comorbidities in the evolution towards severe forms of COVID-19. Obesity as a unifying risk factor for severe COVID-19 is an emerging hypothesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether excessive body weight per se, was a risk factor for developing a severe form of COVID-19.Patients and methods: We included 131 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia in a single center of the internal medicine department in Marseille, France. We recorded anthropometric and metabolic parameters such as fasting glycaemia, insulinemia, HOMA-IR, lipids, and all clinical criteria linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection at the admission. Excess body weight was defined by a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. The occurrence of a serious event was defined as a high-debit oxygen requirement over 6 L/min, admission into the intensive care unit, or death.Results: Among 113 patients, two thirds (n = 76, 67%) had an excess body weight. The number of serious events was significantly higher in excess body weight patients compared to normal weight patients (respectively 25% vs 8%, p = 0.03) although excess body weight patients were younger (respectively 63.6 vs 70.3 years old, p = 0.01). In multivariate analyses, the excess body weight status was the only predictor for developing a serious event linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection, with an odds ratio at 5.6 (95% CI: 1.30-23.96; p = 0.02), independently of previous obesity associated comorbidities. There was a trend towards a positive association between the BMI (normal weight, overweight and obesity) and the risk of serious events linked to COVID-19, with a marked increase from 8.1% to 20% and 30.6% respectively (p = 0.05).Conclusion: Excess body weight was significantly associated with severe forms of the disease, independently of its classical associated comorbidities. Physicians and specialists in Public Health must be sensitized to better protect people with an excess body weight against SARS-CoV-2 infection

Junior Recital, Macon Mann, piano

The presentation of this junior recital will fulfill in part the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies. Macon Mann studies piano with Wells Hanley