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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Timing Of Five Palfa-Discovered Millisecond Pulsars, K. Stovall, B. Allen, S. Bogdanov, A. Brazier, F. Camilo, F. Cardoso, S. Chatterjee, J. M. Cordes, F. Crawford, J. S. Deneva, R. Ferdman, P. C.C. Freire, J. W.T. Hessels, F. Jenet, D. L. Kaplan, C. Karako-Argaman, V. M. Kaspi, B. Knispel, R. Kotulla, P. Lazarus, K. J. Lee, J. Van Leeuwen, R. Lynch, A. G. Lyne, E. Madsen, M. A. Mclaughlin, C. Patel, S. M. Ransom, P. Scholz, X. Siemens Dec 2016

Timing Of Five Palfa-Discovered Millisecond Pulsars, K. Stovall, B. Allen, S. Bogdanov, A. Brazier, F. Camilo, F. Cardoso, S. Chatterjee, J. M. Cordes, F. Crawford, J. S. Deneva, R. Ferdman, P. C.C. Freire, J. W.T. Hessels, F. Jenet, D. L. Kaplan, C. Karako-Argaman, V. M. Kaspi, B. Knispel, R. Kotulla, P. Lazarus, K. J. Lee, J. Van Leeuwen, R. Lynch, A. G. Lyne, E. Madsen, M. A. Mclaughlin, C. Patel, S. M. Ransom, P. Scholz, X. Siemens

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the discovery and timing results for five millisecond pulsars (MSPs) from the Arecibo PALFA survey: PSRs J1906+0055, J1914+0659, J1933+1726, J1938+2516, and J1957+2516. Timing observations of the five pulsars were conducted with the Arecibo and Lovell telescopes for time spans ranging from 1.5 to 3.3 years. All of the MSPs except one (PSR J1914+0659) are in binary systems with low eccentricities. PSR J1957+2516 is likely a redback pulsar, with a ∼0.1 M⊙ companion and possible eclipses that last ∼10% of the orbit. The position of PSR J1957+2516 is also coincident with a near-infrared source. All five MSPs are distant …


The Rate Of Binary Black Hole Mergers Inferred From Advanced Ligo Observations Surrounding Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Dec 2016

The Rate Of Binary Black Hole Mergers Inferred From Advanced Ligo Observations Surrounding Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

A transient gravitational-wave signal, GW150914, was identified in the twin Advanced LIGO detectors on 2015 September 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC. To assess the implications of this discovery, the detectors remained in operation with unchanged configurations over a period of 39 days around the time of the signal. At the detection statistic threshold corresponding to that observed for GW150914, our search of the 16 days of simultaneous two-detector observational data is estimated to have a false-alarm rate (FAR) of <4.9 × 10-6 yr-1, yielding a p-value for GW150914 of <2 × 10-7. Parameter estimation follow-up on this trigger identifies its source as a binary black hole (BBH) merger with component masses (m1, m2 ) = ( 36-4+5, 29-4+4 ) M⊙ at redshift = z = 0.09-0.04+0.03 (median and 90% credible range). Here, we report on the constraints these observations place on the rate of BBH coalescences. Considering only GW150914, assuming that all BBHs in the universe have the same masses and spins as this event, imposing a search FAR threshold of 1 per 100 years, and assuming that the BBH merger rate is constant in the comoving frame, we infer a 90% credible range of merger rates between 2-53 Gpc-3 yr-1 (comoving frame). Incorporating all search triggers that pass a much lower threshold while accounting for the uncertainty in the astrophysical origin of each trigger, we estimate a higher rate, ranging from 13-600 Gpc-3yr-1 depending on assumptions about the BBH mass distribution. All together, our various rate estimates fall in the conservative range 2-600 Gpc-3 yr1.


Structural Reinforcement Through Liquid Encapsulation, Alin Cristian Chipara, Peter Samora Owuor, Sanjit Bhowmick, Gustavo Brunetto, S. A. Syed Asif, Mircea Chipara, Robert Vajtai, Jun Lou, Douglas S. Galvao, Chandra Sekhar Tiwary Dec 2016

Structural Reinforcement Through Liquid Encapsulation, Alin Cristian Chipara, Peter Samora Owuor, Sanjit Bhowmick, Gustavo Brunetto, S. A. Syed Asif, Mircea Chipara, Robert Vajtai, Jun Lou, Douglas S. Galvao, Chandra Sekhar Tiwary

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The liquid inside a solid material is one of the most common composite materials in nature. The interface between solid–liquid plays an important role in unique deformation. Here, model systems of two polymers (polydimethylsiloxane–polyvinylidenefluoride) are used to make sphere of solid with liquid inside it.


Supplement: The Rate Of Binary Black Hole Mergers Inferred From Advanced Ligo Observations Surrounding Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Dec 2016

Supplement: The Rate Of Binary Black Hole Mergers Inferred From Advanced Ligo Observations Surrounding Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article provides supplemental information for a Letter reporting the rate of (BBH) coalescences inferred from 16 days of coincident Advanced LIGO observations surrounding the transient (GW) signal GW150914. In that work we reported various rate estimates whose 90% confidence intervals fell in the range 2-600 Gpc-3yr-1. Here we give details on our method and computations, including information about our search pipelines, a derivation of our likelihood function for the analysis, a description of the astrophysical search trigger distribution expected from merging BBHs, details on our computational methods, a description of the effects and our model for calibration uncertainty, and …


Results Of The Deepest All-Sky Survey For Continuous Gravitational Waves On Ligo S6 Data Running On The Einstein@Home Volunteer Distributed Computing Project, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun, S. Ascenzi Nov 2016

Results Of The Deepest All-Sky Survey For Continuous Gravitational Waves On Ligo S6 Data Running On The Einstein@Home Volunteer Distributed Computing Project, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun, S. Ascenzi

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report results of a deep all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves from isolated neutron stars in data from the S6 LIGO science run. The search was possible thanks to the computing power provided by the volunteers of the Einstein@Home distributed computing project. We find no significant signal candidate and set the most stringent upper limits to date on the amplitude of gravitational wave signals from the target population. At the frequency of best strain sensitivity, between 170.5 and 171 Hz we set a 90% confidence upper limit of 5.5×10-25, while at the high end of our frequency range, around …


First Targeted Search For Gravitational-Wave Bursts From Core-Collapse Supernovae In Data Of First-Generation Laser Interferometer Detectors, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Nov 2016

First Targeted Search For Gravitational-Wave Bursts From Core-Collapse Supernovae In Data Of First-Generation Laser Interferometer Detectors, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present results from a search for gravitational-wave bursts coincident with two core-collapse supernovae observed optically in 2007 and 2011. We employ data from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), the Virgo gravitational-wave observatory, and the GEO 600 gravitational-wave observatory. The targeted core-collapse supernovae were selected on the basis of (1) proximity (within approximately 15 Mpc), (2) tightness of observational constraints on the time of core collapse that defines the gravitational-wave search window, and (3) coincident operation of at least two interferometers at the time of core collapse. We find no plausible gravitational-wave candidates. We present the probability of detecting …


Einstein@Home Discovery Of A Double Neutron Star Binary In The Palfa Survey, P. Lazarus, P. C.C. Freire, B. Allen, C. Aulbert, O. Bock, S. Bogdanov, A. Brazier, F. Camilo, F. Cardoso, S. Chatterjee, J. M. Cordes, F. Crawford, J. S. Deneva, H. B. Eggenstein, H. Fehrmann, R. Ferdman, J. W.T. Hessels, F. A. Jenet, C. Karako-Argaman, V. M. Kaspi, B. Knispel, R. Lynch, J. Van Leeuwen, B. Machenschalk, E. Madsen, M. A. Mclaughlin, C. Patel, S. M. Ransom, P. Scholz, A. Seymour Nov 2016

Einstein@Home Discovery Of A Double Neutron Star Binary In The Palfa Survey, P. Lazarus, P. C.C. Freire, B. Allen, C. Aulbert, O. Bock, S. Bogdanov, A. Brazier, F. Camilo, F. Cardoso, S. Chatterjee, J. M. Cordes, F. Crawford, J. S. Deneva, H. B. Eggenstein, H. Fehrmann, R. Ferdman, J. W.T. Hessels, F. A. Jenet, C. Karako-Argaman, V. M. Kaspi, B. Knispel, R. Lynch, J. Van Leeuwen, B. Machenschalk, E. Madsen, M. A. Mclaughlin, C. Patel, S. M. Ransom, P. Scholz, A. Seymour

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We use time-domain electromagnetic simulations to determine the spectral characteristics of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Arrays (HERA) antenna. These simulations are part of a multi-faceted campaign to determine the effectiveness of the dish's design for obtaining a detection of redshifted 21 cm emission from the epoch of reionization. Our simulations show the existence of reflections between HERA's suspended feed and its parabolic dish reflector that fall below -40 dB at 150 ns and, for reasonable impedance matches, have a negligible impact on HERA's ability to constrain EoR parameters. It follows that despite the reflections they introduce, dishes are effective …


The Advanced Ligo Photon Calibrators, S. Karki, D. Tuyenbayev, S. Kandhasamy, B. P. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, E. H. Anders, J. Berliner, J. Betzwieser, C. Cahillane, L. Canete, C. Conley, H. P. Daveloza, N. De Lillo, J. R. Gleason, E. Goetz, K. Izumi, J. S. Kissel, G. Mendell, V. Quetschke, M. Rodruck, S. Sachdev, T. Sadecki, P. B. Schwinberg, A. Sottile, M. Wade, A. J. Weinstein, M. West, R. L. Savage Nov 2016

The Advanced Ligo Photon Calibrators, S. Karki, D. Tuyenbayev, S. Kandhasamy, B. P. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, E. H. Anders, J. Berliner, J. Betzwieser, C. Cahillane, L. Canete, C. Conley, H. P. Daveloza, N. De Lillo, J. R. Gleason, E. Goetz, K. Izumi, J. S. Kissel, G. Mendell, V. Quetschke, M. Rodruck, S. Sachdev, T. Sadecki, P. B. Schwinberg, A. Sottile, M. Wade, A. J. Weinstein, M. West, R. L. Savage

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The two interferometers of the Laser Interferometry Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) recently detected gravitational waves from the mergers of binary black hole systems. Accurate calibration of the output of these detectors was crucial for the observation of these events and the extraction of parameters of the sources. The principal tools used to calibrate the responses of the second-generation (Advanced) LIGO detectors to gravitational waves are systems based on radiation pressure and referred to as photon calibrators. These systems, which were completely redesigned for Advanced LIGO, include several significant upgrades that enable them to meet the calibration requirements of second-generation gravitational wave …


The Braking Index Of A Radio-Quiet Gamma-Ray Pulsar, C. J. Clark, H. J. Pletsch, J. Wu, L. Guillemot, F. Camilo, T. J. Johnson, M. Kerr, B. Allen, C. Aulbert, C. Beer, O. Bock, A. Cuellar, H. B. Eggenstein, H. Fehrmann, M. Kramer, B. Machenschalk, L. Nieder Nov 2016

The Braking Index Of A Radio-Quiet Gamma-Ray Pulsar, C. J. Clark, H. J. Pletsch, J. Wu, L. Guillemot, F. Camilo, T. J. Johnson, M. Kerr, B. Allen, C. Aulbert, C. Beer, O. Bock, A. Cuellar, H. B. Eggenstein, H. Fehrmann, M. Kramer, B. Machenschalk, L. Nieder

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the discovery and timing measurements of PSR J1208−6238, a young and highly magnetized gamma-ray pulsar, with a spin period of 440 ms. The pulsar was discovered in gamma-ray photon data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) during a blind-search survey of unidentified LAT sources, running on the distributed volunteer computing system Einstein@Home. No radio pulsations were detected in dedicated follow-up searches with the Parkes radio telescope, with a flux density upper limit at 1369 MHz of 30 μJy. By timing this pulsar's gamma-ray pulsations, we measure its braking index over five years of LAT observations …


An Eccentric Binary Millisecond Pulsar With A Helium White Dwarf Companion In The Galactic Field, John Antoniadis, David L. Kaplan, Kevin Stovall, Paulo C.C. Freire, Julia S. Deneva, Detlev Koester, Fredrick Jenet, Jose G. Martinez Oct 2016

An Eccentric Binary Millisecond Pulsar With A Helium White Dwarf Companion In The Galactic Field, John Antoniadis, David L. Kaplan, Kevin Stovall, Paulo C.C. Freire, Julia S. Deneva, Detlev Koester, Fredrick Jenet, Jose G. Martinez

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Low-mass white dwarfs (LMWDs) are believed to be exclusive products of binary evolution, as the universe is not old enough to produce them from single stars. Because of the strong tidal forces operating during the binary interaction phase, the remnant systems observed today are expected to have negligible eccentricities. Here, we report on the first unambiguous identification of an LMWD in an eccentric (e = 0.13) orbit around the millisecond pulsar PSR J2234+0511, which directly contradicts this picture. We use our spectra and radio-timing solution (derived elsewhere) to infer the WD temperature (Teff = 8600 ±190 K), and peculiar systemic …


Physical Science Day: Design, Implementation, And Assessment, Liang Zeng, Mark A. Cunningham, Steven C. Tidrow, K. Christopher Smith, Jerry Contreras Oct 2016

Physical Science Day: Design, Implementation, And Assessment, Liang Zeng, Mark A. Cunningham, Steven C. Tidrow, K. Christopher Smith, Jerry Contreras

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Physical Science Day at The University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA), in collaboration with the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, has been designed, developed and implemented to address an identified fundamental shortcoming in our educational process within this primarily (90+%) Hispanic serving border region. Physical Science Day overcomes the lack of knowledge about what physics is by raising youth awareness of physics as the foundation of science, engineering and technology disciplines, through activities including hands-on laboratory experiments, career orientation, and higher educational student and graduated student testimonials. Thus, Physical Science Day encourages, attracts, and enables more Hispanic youth towards science, technology …


Directly Comparing Gw150914 With Numerical Solutions Of Einstein's Equations For Binary Black Hole Coalescence, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Sep 2016

Directly Comparing Gw150914 With Numerical Solutions Of Einstein's Equations For Binary Black Hole Coalescence, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We compare GW150914 directly to simulations of coalescing binary black holes in full general relativity, including several performed specifically to reproduce this event. Our calculations go beyond existing semianalytic models, because for all simulations - including sources with two independent, precessing spins - we perform comparisons which account for all the spin-weighted quadrupolar modes, and separately which account for all the quadrupolar and octopolar modes. Consistent with the posterior distributions reported by Abbott et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 241102 (2016)] (at the 90% credible level), we find the data are compatible with a wide range of nonprecessing and precessing …


Detection And Localization Of Continuous Gravitational Waves With Pulsar Timing Arrays: The Role Of Pulsar Terms, X. J. Zhu, L. Wen, J. Xiong, Y. Xu, Y. Wang, S. D. Mohanty, G. Hobbs, R. N. Manchester Sep 2016

Detection And Localization Of Continuous Gravitational Waves With Pulsar Timing Arrays: The Role Of Pulsar Terms, X. J. Zhu, L. Wen, J. Xiong, Y. Xu, Y. Wang, S. D. Mohanty, G. Hobbs, R. N. Manchester

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

A pulsar timing array is a Galactic-scale detector of nanohertz gravitational waves (GWs). Its target signals contain two components: the 'Earth term' and the 'pulsar term' corresponding to GWs incident on the Earth and pulsar, respectively. In this work we present a Frequentist method for the detection and localization of continuous waves that takes into account the pulsar term and is significantly faster than existing methods. We investigate the role of pulsar terms by comparing a full-signal search with an Earth-term-only search for non-evolving black hole binaries. By applying the method to synthetic data sets, we find that (i) a …


Gw150914: First Search For The Electromagnetic Counterpart Of A Gravitational-Wave Event By The Toros Collaboration, M. C. Diaz, Marti­N Beroiz, Tania Peñuela, Lucas M. Macri, Ryan J. Oelkers, Wenlong Yuan, Diego García Lambas, Juan Cabral, Carlos Colazo, Mariano Domínguez, B. Sanchez, Sebastián Gurovich, Marcelo Lares, Matías Schneiter, Darío Grana, Víctor Renzi, Horacio Rodriguez, Manuel Starck, Rubén Vrech, Rodolfo Artola, Antonio Chiavassa Ferreyra, Carla Girardini, Cecilia Quinones, Luis Tapia, Marina Tornatore, Jennifer L. Marshall, Darren L. Depoy, Marica Branchesi, Enzo Brocato, Nelson Padilla Sep 2016

Gw150914: First Search For The Electromagnetic Counterpart Of A Gravitational-Wave Event By The Toros Collaboration, M. C. Diaz, Marti­N Beroiz, Tania Peñuela, Lucas M. Macri, Ryan J. Oelkers, Wenlong Yuan, Diego García Lambas, Juan Cabral, Carlos Colazo, Mariano Domínguez, B. Sanchez, Sebastián Gurovich, Marcelo Lares, Matías Schneiter, Darío Grana, Víctor Renzi, Horacio Rodriguez, Manuel Starck, Rubén Vrech, Rodolfo Artola, Antonio Chiavassa Ferreyra, Carla Girardini, Cecilia Quinones, Luis Tapia, Marina Tornatore, Jennifer L. Marshall, Darren L. Depoy, Marica Branchesi, Enzo Brocato, Nelson Padilla

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present the results of the optical follow-up conducted by the TOROS collaboration of the first gravitational-wave event GW150914. We conducted unfiltered CCD observations (0.35-1 μm) with the 1.5 m telescope at Bosque Alegre starting ∼2.5 days after the alarm. Given our limited field of view (∼100 arcmin2), we targeted 14 nearby galaxies that were observable from the site and were located within the area of higher localization probability. We analyzed the observations using two independent implementations of difference-imaging algorithms, followed by a Random-Forest-based algorithm to discriminate between real and bogus transients. We did not find any bona fide transient …


Directional Excitation Without Breaking Reciprocity, Hamidreza Ramezani, Marc Dubois, Yuan Wang, Y. Ron Shen, Xiang Zhang Sep 2016

Directional Excitation Without Breaking Reciprocity, Hamidreza Ramezani, Marc Dubois, Yuan Wang, Y. Ron Shen, Xiang Zhang

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We propose a mechanism for directional excitation without breaking reciprocity. This is achieved by embedding an impedance matched parity-time symmetric potential in a three-port system. The amplitude distribution within the gain and loss regions is strongly influenced by the direction of the incoming field. Consequently, the excitation of the third port is contingent on the direction of incidence while transmission in the main channel is immune. Our design improves the four-port directional coupler scheme, as there is no need to implement an anechoic termination to one of the ports.


Comprehensive All-Sky Search For Periodic Gravitational Waves In The Sixth Science Run Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Aug 2016

Comprehensive All-Sky Search For Periodic Gravitational Waves In The Sixth Science Run Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report on a comprehensive all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves in the frequency band 100-1500 Hz and with a frequency time derivative in the range of [-1.18,+1.00]×10-8 Hz/s. Such a signal could be produced by a nearby spinning and slightly nonaxisymmetric isolated neutron star in our galaxy. This search uses the data from the initial LIGO sixth science run and covers a larger parameter space with respect to any past search. A Loosely Coherent detection pipeline was applied to follow up weak outliers in both Gaussian (95% recovery rate) and non-Gaussian (75% recovery rate) bands. No gravitational wave signals …


High Efficiency Near Diffraction-Limited Mid-Infrared Flat Lenses Based On Metasurface Reflectarrays, Shuyan Zhang, Myoung Hwan Kim, Francesco Aieta, Alan She, Tobias Mansuripur, Ilan Gabay, Mohammadreza Khorasaninejad, David Rousso, Xiaojun Wang, Mariano Troccoli, Nanfang Yu, Federico Capasso Aug 2016

High Efficiency Near Diffraction-Limited Mid-Infrared Flat Lenses Based On Metasurface Reflectarrays, Shuyan Zhang, Myoung Hwan Kim, Francesco Aieta, Alan She, Tobias Mansuripur, Ilan Gabay, Mohammadreza Khorasaninejad, David Rousso, Xiaojun Wang, Mariano Troccoli, Nanfang Yu, Federico Capasso

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the first demonstration of a mid-IR reflection-based flat lens with high efficiency and near diffraction-limited focusing. Focusing efficiency as high as 80%, in good agreement with simulations (83%), has been achieved at 45° incidence angle at λ = 4.6 μm. The off-axis geometry considerably simplifies the optical arrangement compared to the common geometry of normal incidence in reflection mode which requires beam splitters. Simulations show that the effects of incidence angle are small compared to parabolic mirrors with the same NA. The use of single-step photolithography allows large scale fabrication. Such a device is important in the development …


Vanadium Pentoxide Nanobelt-Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanosheet Composites As High-Performance Pseudocapacitive Electrodes: Ac Impedanc Spectroscopy Data Modeling And Theoretical Calculations, Sanju Gupta, Bryce Aberg, Sara B. Carrizosa, N. Dimakis Jul 2016

Vanadium Pentoxide Nanobelt-Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanosheet Composites As High-Performance Pseudocapacitive Electrodes: Ac Impedanc Spectroscopy Data Modeling And Theoretical Calculations, Sanju Gupta, Bryce Aberg, Sara B. Carrizosa, N. Dimakis

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Graphene nanosheets and graphene nanoribbons, G combined with vanadium pentoxide (VO) nanobelts (VNBs) and VNBs forming GVNB composites with varying compositions were synthesized via a one-step low temperature facile hydrothermal decomposition method as high-performance electrochemical pseudocapacitive electrodes. VNBs from vanadium pentoxides (VO) are formed in the presence of graphene oxide (GO), a mild oxidant, which transforms into reduced GO (rGOHT), assisting in enhancing the electronic conductivity coupled with the mechanical robustness of VNBs. From electron microscopy, surface sensitive spectroscopy and other complementary structural characterization, hydrothermally-produced rGO nanosheets/nanoribbons are decorated with and inserted within the VNBs' layered crystal structure, which further …


Localization And Broadband Follow-Up Of The Gravitational-Wave Transient Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Jul 2016

Localization And Broadband Follow-Up Of The Gravitational-Wave Transient Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

A gravitational-wave (GW) transient was identified in data recorded by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors on 2015 September 14. The event, initially designated G184098 and later given the name GW150914, is described in detail elsewhere. By prior arrangement, preliminary estimates of the time, significance, and sky location of the event were shared with 63 teams of observers covering radio, optical, near-infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths with ground- and space-based facilities. In this Letter we describe the low-latency analysis of the GW data and present the sky localization of the first observed compact binary merger. We summarize the …


Supplement: "Localization And Broadband Follow-Up Of The Gravitational-Wave Transient Gw150914" (2016 Apjl 826 L13), B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Jul 2016

Supplement: "Localization And Broadband Follow-Up Of The Gravitational-Wave Transient Gw150914" (2016 Apjl 826 L13), B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

This Supplement provides supporting material for Abbott et al. (2016a). We briefly summarize past electromagnetic (EM) follow-up efforts as well as the organization and policy of the current EM follow-up program. We compare the four probability sky maps produced for the gravitational-wave transient GW150914, and provide additional details of the EM follow-up observations that were performed in the different bands.


High-Energy Neutrino Follow-Up Search Of Gravitational Wave Event Gw150914 With Antares And Icecube, S. Adrián-Martínez, A. Albert, M. André, M. Anghinolfi, G. Anton, M. Ardid, J. J. Aubert, T. Avgitas, B. Baret, J. Barrios-Martí, S. Basa, V. Bertin, S. Biagi, R. Bormuth, M. C. Bouwhuis, R. Bruijn, J. Brunner, J. Busto, A. Capone, L. Caramete, J. Carr, S. Celli, T. Chiarusi, M. Circella, A. Coleiro, R. Coniglione, H. Costantini, P. Coyle, A. Creusot, A. Deschamps Jun 2016

High-Energy Neutrino Follow-Up Search Of Gravitational Wave Event Gw150914 With Antares And Icecube, S. Adrián-Martínez, A. Albert, M. André, M. Anghinolfi, G. Anton, M. Ardid, J. J. Aubert, T. Avgitas, B. Baret, J. Barrios-Martí, S. Basa, V. Bertin, S. Biagi, R. Bormuth, M. C. Bouwhuis, R. Bruijn, J. Brunner, J. Busto, A. Capone, L. Caramete, J. Carr, S. Celli, T. Chiarusi, M. Circella, A. Coleiro, R. Coniglione, H. Costantini, P. Coyle, A. Creusot, A. Deschamps

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present the high-energy-neutrino follow-up observations of the first gravitational wave transient GW150914 observed by the Advanced LIGO detectors on September 14, 2015. We search for coincident neutrino candidates within the data recorded by the IceCube and Antares neutrino detectors. A possible joint detection could be used in targeted electromagnetic follow-up observations, given the significantly better angular resolution of neutrino events compared to gravitational waves. We find no neutrino candidates in both temporal and spatial coincidence with the gravitational wave event. Within ±500 s of the gravitational wave event, the number of neutrino candidates detected by IceCube and Antares were …


Search For Transient Gravitational Waves In Coincidence With Short-Duration Radio Transients During 2007-2013, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Jun 2016

Search For Transient Gravitational Waves In Coincidence With Short-Duration Radio Transients During 2007-2013, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present an archival search for transient gravitational-wave bursts in coincidence with 27 single-pulse triggers from Green Bank Telescope pulsar surveys, using the LIGO, Virgo, and GEO interferometer network. We also discuss a check for gravitational-wave signals in coincidence with Parkes fast radio bursts using similar methods. Data analyzed in these searches were collected between 2007 and 2013. Possible sources of emission of both short-duration radio signals and transient gravitational-wave emission include starquakes on neutron stars, binary coalescence of neutron stars, and cosmic string cusps. While no evidence for gravitational-wave emission in coincidence with these radio transients was found, the …


Gw151226: Observation Of Gravitational Waves From A 22-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Jun 2016

Gw151226: Observation Of Gravitational Waves From A 22-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the observation of a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar-mass black holes. The signal, GW151226, was observed by the twin detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) on December 26, 2015 at 03:38:53 UTC. The signal was initially identified within 70 s by an online matched-filter search targeting binary coalescences. Subsequent off-line analyses recovered GW151226 with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a significance greater than 5σ. The signal persisted in the LIGO frequency band for approximately 1 s, increasing in frequency and amplitude over about 55 cycles from 35 to 450 Hz, …


Gw150914: First Results From The Search For Binary Black Hole Coalescence With Advanced Ligo, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Jun 2016

Gw150914: First Results From The Search For Binary Black Hole Coalescence With Advanced Ligo, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

On September 14, 2015, at 0950:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) simultaneously observed the binary black hole merger GW150914. We report the results of a matched-filter search using relativistic models of compact-object binaries that recovered GW150914 as the most significant event during the coincident observations between the two LIGO detectors from September 12 to October 20, 2015 GW150914 was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5.1 σ.


Observing Gravitational-Wave Transient Gw150914 With Minimal Assumptions, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Jun 2016

Observing Gravitational-Wave Transient Gw150914 With Minimal Assumptions, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The gravitational-wave signal GW150914 was first identified on September 14, 2015, by searches for short-duration gravitational-wave transients. These searches identify time-correlated transients in multiple detectors with minimal assumptions about the signal morphology, allowing them to be sensitive to gravitational waves emitted by a wide range of sources including binary black hole mergers. Over the observational period from September 12 to October 20, 2015, these transient searches were sensitive to binary black hole mergers similar to GW150914 to an average distance of ∼600 Mpc. In this paper, we describe the analyses that first detected GW150914 as well as the parameter estimation …


Sensitivity Of The Advanced Ligo Detectors At The Beginning Of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, D. V. Martynov, E. D. Hall, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, C. Adams, R. X. Adhikari, R. A. Anderson, S. B. Anderson, K. Arai, M. A. Arain, S. M. Aston, L. Austin, S. W. Ballmer, M. Barbet, D. Barker, B. Barr, L. Barsotti, J. Bartlett, M. A. Barton, I. Bartos, J. C. Batch, A. S. Bell, I. Belopolski, J. Bergman, J. Betzwieser, G. Billingsley, J. Birch, S. Biscans, C. Biwer, Volker Quetschke, G. Valdes Jun 2016

Sensitivity Of The Advanced Ligo Detectors At The Beginning Of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, D. V. Martynov, E. D. Hall, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, C. Adams, R. X. Adhikari, R. A. Anderson, S. B. Anderson, K. Arai, M. A. Arain, S. M. Aston, L. Austin, S. W. Ballmer, M. Barbet, D. Barker, B. Barr, L. Barsotti, J. Bartlett, M. A. Barton, I. Bartos, J. C. Batch, A. S. Bell, I. Belopolski, J. Bergman, J. Betzwieser, G. Billingsley, J. Birch, S. Biscans, C. Biwer, Volker Quetschke, G. Valdes

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) consists of two widely separated 4 km laser interferometers designed to detect gravitational waves from distant astrophysical sources in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 10 kHz. The first observation run of the Advanced LIGO detectors started in September 2015 and ended in January 2016. A strain sensitivity of better than 10-23/Hz was achieved around 100 Hz. Understanding both the fundamental and the technical noise sources was critical for increasing the astrophysical strain sensitivity. The average distance at which coalescing binary black hole systems with individual masses of 30 M could be …


Tests Of General Relativity With Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun May 2016

Tests Of General Relativity With Gw150914, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The LIGO detection of GW150914 provides an unprecedented opportunity to study the two-body motion of a compact-object binary in the large-velocity, highly nonlinear regime, and to witness the final merger of the binary and the excitation of uniquely relativistic modes of the gravitational field. We carry out several investigations to determine whether GW150914 is consistent with a binary black-hole merger in general relativity. We find that the final remnant's mass and spin, as determined from the low-frequency (inspiral) and high-frequency (postinspiral) phases of the signal, are mutually consistent with the binary black-hole solution in general relativity. Furthermore, the data following …


The Nanograv Nine-Year Data Set: Limits On The Isotropic Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background, Z. Arzoumanian, A. Brazier, S. Burke-Spolaor, S. J. Chamberlin, S. Chatterjee, B. Christy, J. M. Cordes, N. J. Cornish, K. Crowter, P. B. Demorest, X. Deng, T. Dolch, J. A. Ellis, R. D. Ferdman, E. Fonseca, N. Garver-Daniels, M. E. Gonzalez, F. Jenet, G. Jones, M. L. Jones, V. M. Kaspi, M. Koop, M. T. Lam, T. J.W. Lazio, L. Levin, A. N. Lommen, D. R. Lorimer, J. Luo, R. S. Lynch, D. R. Madison Apr 2016

The Nanograv Nine-Year Data Set: Limits On The Isotropic Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background, Z. Arzoumanian, A. Brazier, S. Burke-Spolaor, S. J. Chamberlin, S. Chatterjee, B. Christy, J. M. Cordes, N. J. Cornish, K. Crowter, P. B. Demorest, X. Deng, T. Dolch, J. A. Ellis, R. D. Ferdman, E. Fonseca, N. Garver-Daniels, M. E. Gonzalez, F. Jenet, G. Jones, M. L. Jones, V. M. Kaspi, M. Koop, M. T. Lam, T. J.W. Lazio, L. Levin, A. N. Lommen, D. R. Lorimer, J. Luo, R. S. Lynch, D. R. Madison

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We compute upper limits on the nanohertz-frequency isotropic stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB) using the 9 year data set from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) collaboration. Well-tested Bayesian techniques are used to set upper limits on the dimensionless strain amplitude (at a frequency of 1 yr-1) for a GWB from supermassive black hole binaries of Agw < 1.5 × 10-15. We also parameterize the GWB spectrum with a broken power-law model by placing priors on the strain amplitude derived from simulations of Sesana and McWilliams et al. Using Bayesian model selection we find that the data favor a broken power law to a pure power law with odds ratios of 2.2 and 22 to one for the Sesana and McWilliams prior models, respectively. Using the broken power-law analysis we construct posterior distributions on environmental factors that drive the binary to the GW-driven regime including the stellar mass density for stellar-scattering, mass accretion rate for circumbinary disk interaction, and orbital eccentricity for eccentric binaries, marking the first time that the shape of the GWB spectrum has been used to make astrophysical inferences. Returning to a power-law model, we place stringent limits on the energy density of relic GWs, Ωgw(f)h2 < 4.2 × 10-10. Our limit on the cosmic string GWB, Ωgw(f)h2 < 2.2 × 10-10, translates to a conservative limit on the cosmic string tension with Gμ < 3.3 × 10-8, a factor of four better than the joint Planck and high-l cosmic microwave background data from other experiments.


New Discoveries From The Arecibo 327 Mhz Drift Pulsar Survey Radio Transient Search, J. S. Deneva, K. Stovall, M. A. Mclaughlin, M. Bagchi, S. D. Bates, P. C.C. Freire, J. G. Martinez, F. Jenet, N. Garver-Daniels Apr 2016

New Discoveries From The Arecibo 327 Mhz Drift Pulsar Survey Radio Transient Search, J. S. Deneva, K. Stovall, M. A. Mclaughlin, M. Bagchi, S. D. Bates, P. C.C. Freire, J. G. Martinez, F. Jenet, N. Garver-Daniels

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present Clusterrank, a new algorithm for identifying dispersed astrophysical pulses. Such pulses are commonly detected from Galactic pulsars and rotating radio transients (RRATs), which are neutron stars with sporadic radio emission. More recently, isolated, highly dispersed pulses dubbed fast radio bursts (FRBs) have been identified as the potential signature of an extragalactic cataclysmic radio source distinct from pulsars and RRATs. Clusterrank helped us discover 14 pulsars and 8 RRATs in data from the Arecibo 327 MHz Drift Pulsar Survey (AO327). The new RRATs have DMs in the range 23.5-86.6 pc cm-3 and periods in the range 0.172-3.901 s. The …


Gw150914: Implications For The Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background From Binary Black Holes, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun Mar 2016

Gw150914: Implications For The Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background From Binary Black Holes, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, C. C. Arceneaux, J. S. Areeda, N. Arnaud, K. G. Arun

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The LIGO detection of the gravitational wave transient GW150914, from the inspiral and merger of two black holes with masses 30M, suggests a population of binary black holes with relatively high mass. This observation implies that the stochastic gravitational-wave background from binary black holes, created from the incoherent superposition of all the merging binaries in the Universe, could be higher than previously expected. Using the properties of GW150914, we estimate the energy density of such a background from binary black holes. In the most sensitive part of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo band for stochastic backgrounds (near 25 Hz), …