ABSTRACT
We describe a search for gravitational waves from compact binaries with at least one component with mass $0.2$–$1.0 \, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ and mass ratio q ≥ 0.1 in Advanced Laser ...Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Advanced Virgo data collected between 2019 November 1, 15:00 utc and 2020 March 27, 17:00 utc. No signals were detected. The most significant candidate has a false alarm rate of $0.2 \, \rm {yr}^{-1}$. We estimate the sensitivity of our search over the entirety of Advanced LIGO’s and Advanced Virgo’s third observing run, and present the most stringent limits to date on the merger rate of binary black holes with at least one subsolar-mass component. We use the upper limits to constrain two fiducial scenarios that could produce subsolar-mass black holes: primordial black holes (PBH) and a model of dissipative dark matter. The PBH model uses recent prescriptions for the merger rate of PBH binaries that include a rate suppression factor to effectively account for PBH early binary disruptions. If the PBHs are monochromatically distributed, we can exclude a dark matter fraction in PBHs $f_\mathrm{PBH} \gtrsim \, 0.6$ (at 90 per cent confidence) in the probed subsolar-mass range. However, if we allow for broad PBH mass distributions, we are unable to rule out fPBH = 1. For the dissipative model, where the dark matter has chemistry that allows a small fraction to cool and collapse into black holes, we find an upper bound fDBH < 10−5 on the fraction of atomic dark matter collapsed into black holes.
The gravitational-wave signal GW190521 is consistent with a binary black hole (BBH) merger source at redshift 0.8 with unusually high component masses, M ⊙ and M ⊙, compared to previously reported ...events, and shows mild evidence for spin-induced orbital precession. The primary falls in the mass gap predicted by (pulsational) pair-instability supernova theory, in the approximate range 65–120 M ⊙. The probability that at least one of the black holes in GW190521 is in that range is 99.0%. The final mass of the merger ( M ⊙) classifies it as an intermediate-mass black hole. Under the assumption of a quasi-circular BBH coalescence, we detail the physical properties of GW190521’s source binary and its post-merger remnant, including component masses and spin vectors. Three different waveform models, as well as direct comparison to numerical solutions of general relativity, yield consistent estimates of these properties. Tests of strong-field general relativity targeting the merger-ringdown stages of the coalescence indicate consistency of the observed signal with theoretical predictions. We estimate the merger rate of similar systems to be . We discuss the astrophysical implications of GW190521 for stellar collapse and for the possible formation of black holes in the pair-instability mass gap through various channels: via (multiple) stellar coalescences, or via hierarchical mergers of lower-mass black holes in star clusters or in active galactic nuclei. We find it to be unlikely that GW190521 is a strongly lensed signal of a lower-mass black hole binary merger. We also discuss more exotic possible sources for GW190521, including a highly eccentric black hole binary, or a primordial black hole binary.
We report the experimental results of a prototype balance for the Archimedes experiment, devoted to measure the interaction between quantum vacuum energy and gravity. The prototype is a
beam balance
...working at room temperature which shares with the final balance several mechanical and optical components. The balance sensitivity has been tested at the site of the Virgo gravitational wave detector in order to benefit from its quiet environment and control facilities. This allowed also the test of the coherence of the balance data with the Virgo interferometer signal and with the environmental data. In the low-frequency regime, the balance has shown a sensitivity of about
8
×
10
-
12
Nm
/
Hz
, which is among the best in the world, and it is very promising toward the final Archimedes measurement. In the high-frequency region, above a few Hz, relying on the behavior of the balance as a rotational sensor, the ground tilt has been measured in view of the next work devoted to Newtonian noise subtraction (NNS) in Virgo. The measured ground tilt reaches a minimum of about
8
×
10
-
11
rad
/
Hz
in the few Hz region and ranges from
10
-
10
to
10
-
9
rad
/
Hz
in the 10–20 Hz region, where a very interesting coherence, at some frequencies, with the Virgo interferometer signal is shown.
First measurements of the 16O(e, e'pn)14N reaction Middleton, D. G.; Annand, J. R. M.; Barbieri, C. ...
The European physical journal. A, Hadrons and nuclei,
9/2006, Volume:
29, Issue:
3
Journal Article
This paper reports on measurements of the
3
He(
e
,
e
′
pp
) reaction measured at AmPS and the
3
He(
e
,
e
′
pn
) reaction measured at MAMI. The measurements were performed in similar kinematics to ...allow a comparison to be made between the cross sections of the two reactions. Results are shown for both reactions together with a comparison for the
3
He(
e
,
e
′
pp
) data with continuum Faddeev calculations.
First measurements of the 16O(e, e'pn)14N reaction Middleton, D. G.; Annand, J. R. M.; Barbieri, C. ...
The European physical journal. A, Hadrons and nuclei,
11/2006, Volume:
30, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Cross sections for the 3He(e,e' pn)1H reaction were measured for the first time at energy transfers of 220 and 270 MeV for several momentum transfers ranging from 300 to 450 MeV/c. Cross sections are ...presented as a function of the momentum of the recoil proton and the momentum transfer. Continuum Faddeev calculations using the Argonne V18 and Bonn-B nucleon-nucleon potentials overestimate the measured cross sections by a factor 5 at low recoil proton momentum with the discrepancy becoming smaller at higher recoil proton momentum.