1,721,037 research outputs found

    Observational black hole spectroscopy: a time-domain multimode analysis of GW150914

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    The detection of the least damped quasinormal mode from the remnant of the gravitational wave event GW150914 realized the long-sought possibility of observationally studying the properties of quasistationary black hole spacetimes through gravitational waves. Past literature has extensively explored this possibility, and the emerging field has been named “black hole spectroscopy.” In this study, we present results regarding the ringdown spectrum of GW150914, obtained by application of Bayesian inference to identify and characterize the ringdown modes. We employ a pure time-domain analysis method, which infers from the data the time of transition between the nonlinear and quasilinear regimes of the postmerger emission in concert with all other parameters characterizing the source. We find that the data provide no evidence for the presence of more than one quasinormal mode. However, from the central frequency and damping time posteriors alone, no unambiguous identification of a single mode is possible. More in-depth analysis adopting a ringdown model based on results in perturbation theory over the Kerr metric confirms that the data do not provide enough evidence to discriminate among an l = 2 and the l = 3 subset of modes. Our work provides the first comprehensive agnostic framework to observationally investigate astrophysical black holes’ ringdown spectra

    Quantum black hole spectroscopy: probing the quantum nature of the black hole area using LIGO-Virgo ringdown detections

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    We present a thorough observational investigation of the heuristic quantised ringdown model presented in [FOIT-KLEBAN (2019)]. This model is based on the Bekenstein-Mukhanov conjecture, stating that the area of a black hole horizon is an integer multiple of the Planck area~lP2l_P^2 multiplied by a phenomenological constant, α, which can be viewed as an additional black hole intrinsic parameter. Our approach is based on a time-domain analysis of the gravitational wave signals produced by the ringdown phase of binary black hole mergers detected by the LIGO and Virgo collaboration. Employing a full Bayesian formalism and taking into account the complete correlation structure among the black hole parameters, we show that the value of α cannot be constrained using only GW150914, in contrast to what was suggested in [FOIT-KLEBAN (2019)]. We proceed to repeat the same analysis on the new gravitational wave events detected by the LIGO and Virgo Collaboration up to 1 October 2019, obtaining a combined-event measure equal to α=15.613.3+20.5α = 15.6^{+20.5}_{-13.3} and a combined log odds ratio of 0.1±0.60.1 \pm 0.6, implying that current data are not informative enough to favour or discard this model against general relativity. We then show that using a population of O(20)\mathcal{O}(20) GW150914-like simulated events -- detected by the current infrastructure of ground-based detectors at their design sensitivity -- it is possible to confidently falsify the quantised model or prove its validity, in which case probing α at the few % level. Finally we classify the stealth biases that may show up in a population study

    Searching for ringdown higher modes with a numerical relativity-informed post-merger model

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    Robust measurements of multiple black hole vibrational modes provide a unique opportunity to characterise gravity in extreme curvature and dynamical regimes, to better investigate the nature of compact objects and search for signs of new physics. We use a numerically-tuned quasicircular non-precessing ringdown model, TEOBPM, and the pyRing analysis infrastructure to perform a time-domain spectroscopic analysis of the third catalog of transient gravitational-wave signals, GWTC-3, searching for higher angular modes. The TEOBPM model effectively includes non-linearities in the early post-merger signal portion, and carries information about the progenitors parameters through time-dependent excitation amplitudes of the black hole quasinormal modes. Such a strategy allows us to accurately model the full post-merger emission, recovering higher signal-to-noise ratios compared to templates based on more agnostic superpositions of damped-sinusoids. We find weak evidence for the presence of [] mode in several events, with the largest Bayes factor in favour of this mode being [] within the support of the peak time distribution. For GW190521, we observe , but only for times outside the peak time support reconstructed using the highly accurate NRSur7dq4 model, indicating significant systematics affecting such putative detection. Allowing for deviations from general relativity under the assumption of the presence of two modes, we find tentative support for the Kerr “final state conjecture”. Our work showcases a systematic methodology to robustly identify and characterise higher angular modes in ringdown-only signals, highlighting the significant impact of modelling assumptions and peak time uncertainty on spectroscopic measurements, at current signal-to-noise ratios

    Bekenstein-Hod universal bound on information emission rate is obeyed by LIGO-Virgo binary black hole remnants

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    Causality and the generalized laws of black hole thermodynamics imply a bound, known as the Bekenstein-Hod universal bound, on the information emission rate of a perturbed system. Using a time-domain ringdown analysis, we investigate whether remnant black holes produced by the coalescences observed by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo obey this bound. We find that the bound is verified by the astrophysical black hole population with 94% probability, providing a first confirmation of the Bekenstein-Hod bound from black hole systems

    GW150914 peak frequency: a novel consistency test of strong-field general relativity

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    We introduce a novel test of general relativity in the strong-field regime of a binary black hole coalescence. Combining information coming from numerical relativity simulations of coalescing black hole binaries with a Bayesian reconstruction of the gravitational wave signal detected in LIGO-Virgo interferometric data, allows one to test theoretical predictions for the instantaneous gravitational wave frequency measured at the peak of the gravitational wave signal amplitude. We present the construction of such a test and apply it on the first gravitational wave event detected by the LIGO and Virgo Collaborations, GW150914. The p -value obtained is p = 0.48, to be contrasted with an expected value of p = 0.5, so that no signs of violations from general relativity were detected

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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