51807515
Data formats for numerical relativity waves
This document proposes data formats to exchange numerical relativity results, in particular gravitational waveforms. The primary goal is to further the interaction between gravitational-wave source modeling groups and the gravitational-wave data-analysis community. We present a simple and extendable format which is applicable to various kinds of gravitational wave sources including binaries of compact objects and systems undergoing gravitational collapse, but is nevertheless sufficiently general to be useful for other purposes.
119181202
Template banks to search for low-mass binary black holes in advanced gravitational-wave detectors
Coalescing binary black holes (BBHs) are among the most likely sources for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and its international partners Virgo and KAGRA. Optimal searches for BBHs require accurate waveforms for the signal model and effectual template banks that cover the mass space of interest. We investigate the ability of the second-order post-Newtonian TaylorF2 hexagonal template placement metric to construct an effectual template bank, if the template waveforms used are effective one body waveforms tuned to numerical relativity (EOBNRv2). We find that by combining the existing TaylorF2 placement metric with EOBNRv2 waveforms, we can construct an effectual search for BBHs with component masses in the range 3 Msolar = 2.68 radians, there is no significant loss in the total possible signal-to-noise ratio due to neglecting modes other than l = m = 2 in the template waveforms. For a source population uniformly distributed in spacial volume, over the entire sampled region of the component-mass space, the loss in detection rate (averaged over a uniform distribution of inclination angle and sky-location/polarization angles), remains below ~11%. For binaries with high mass-ratios \textit{and} 0.31 <= \iota <= 2.68, including higher order modes could increase the signal-to-noise ratio by as much as 8% in Advanced LIGO. Our results can be used to construct matched-filter searches in Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo.
8392884
High-accuracy comparison of numerical relativity simulations with post-Newtonian expansions
Numerical simulations of 15 orbits of an equal-mass binary black-hole system are presented. Gravitational waveforms from these simulations, covering more than 30 cycles and ending about 1.5 cycles before merger, are compared with those from quasicircular zero-spin post-Newtonian (PN) formulae. The cumulative phase uncertainty of these comparisons is about 0.05 radians, dominated by effects arising from the small residual spins of the black holes and the small residual orbital eccentricity in the simulations. Matching numerical results to PN waveforms early in the run yields excellent agreement (within 0.05 radians) over the first ~15 cycles, thus validating the numerical simulation and establishing a regime where PN theory is accurate. In the last 15 cycles to merger, however, generic time-domain Taylor approximants build up phase differences of several radians. But, apparently by coincidence, one specific post-Newtonian approximant, TaylorT4 at 3.5PN order, agrees much better with the numerical simulations, with accumulated phase differences of less than 0.05 radians over the 30-cycle waveform. Gravitational-wave amplitude comparisons are also done between numerical simulations and post-Newtonian, and the agreement depends on the post-Newtonian order of the amplitude expansion: the amplitude difference is about 6%–7% for zeroth order and becomes smaller for increasing order. A newly derived 3.0PN amplitude correction improves agreement significantly (<1% amplitude difference throughout most of the run, increasing to 4% near merger) over the previously known 2.5PN amplitude terms.
181662520
Proposed calibration scheme for DIRC prototype II
40634832
An Overview of the B A B AR Conditions Database
This paper presents special database software developed in the context of the BABAR experiment used to keep the detector alignments, calibrations constants, as well as other time-dependent records of the conditions under which the experimental events are taken.
119368956
Mu2e: a Muon to Electron Conversion Experiment at Fermilab
Abstract We present the status of Mu2e, a proposed experiment to measure the rate of muon to electron conversion in the field of a nucleus. The Mu2e experiment will be hosted by Fermilab at a new muon campus, using a new beamline to deliver protons to the muon generation target. Mu2e will use a series of three solenoids to collect, transport, stop, and analyze the muons produced when the 8 GeV pulsed proton beam from the booster hits the tungsten production target. The 200 nsec wide proton pulse is designed to have a ratio of out-of-time to in-time protons better than 10 − 10 , insuring a measurement time window of approximately 1 microsecond essentially free from beam pion background. A precision, low-mass straw tube tracker will measure electron momenta with a precision of 1/1000, allowing clean separation of the conversion signal from Decay In Orbit electrons, the principle experimental background. Extensive coverage of multi-layer scintillation counters will detect 99.99% of the cosmic muons which could generate fake signals. A crystal calorimeter will provide particle ID to further reduce backgrounds. Detailed simulations show a 3-year run with 7.56 × 10 17 stopped muons will allow a Single Event Sensitivity of 2 × 10 − 17 , allowing an estimated 90% confidence level sensitivity to R μ e of 6 × 10 − 17 , a four-orders of magnitude improvement over existing limits. The Mu2e schedule is technically limited, with commissioning beginning in 2019. Mu2e may also run at Project X with 10× higher luminosity using either an aluminum or titanium target after minimal upgrades.
119367319
Gravitational waves from the dynamical bar instability in a rapidly rotating star
A rapidly rotating, axisymmetric star can be dynamically unstable to an $m=2$ ``bar'' mode that transforms the star from a disk shape to an elongated bar. The fate of such a bar-shaped star is uncertain. Some previous numerical studies indicate that the bar is short lived, lasting for only a few bar-rotation periods, while other studies suggest that the bar is relatively long lived. This paper contains the results of a numerical simulation of a rapidly rotating $\ensuremath{\gamma}=5/3$ fluid star. The simulation shows that the bar shape is long lived: once the bar is established, the star retains this shape for more than 10-bar-rotation periods, through the end of the simulation. The results are consistent with the conjecture that a star will retain its bar shape indefinitely on a dynamical time scale, as long as its rotation rate exceeds the threshold for secular bar instability. The results are described in terms of a low-density neutron star, but can be scaled to represent, for example, a burned-out stellar core that is prevented from complete collapse by centrifugal forces. Estimates for the gravitational-wave signal indicate that a dynamically unstable neutron star in our galaxy can be detected easily by the first generation of ground based gravitational-wave detectors. The signal for an unstable neutron star in the Virgo cluster might be seen by the planned advanced detectors. The Newtonian-quadrupole approximation is used throughout this work.
16460087
Three-Dimensional Imaging Analysis of Two-Particle Correlations in Heavy-Ion Reactions
We report an extension of the source imaging method for imaging full three-dimensional sources from three-dimensional like-pair correlations. Our technique consists of expanding the correlation data and the underlying source function in spherical harmonics and inverting the resulting system of one-dimensional integral equations. With this method of attack, we can image the source function quickly, even with the extremely large data sets common in three-dimensional analyses. We apply our method to the recently measured E859 un-Coulomb corrected data.