Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2009 Joint Spring Meeting of the New England Section of APS and AAPT
Volume 54, Number 5
Friday–Saturday, May 8–9, 2009; Boston, Massachusetts
Session APS1: Einstein's Waves and Cosmology |
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Chair: George Alverson and Tomasz Taylor, Northeastern University Room: West Village F 20F |
Saturday, May 9, 2009 8:00AM - 8:24AM |
APS1.00001: Looking towards gravitational wave detection Lisa Barsotti It is an exciting time in gravitational wave research. The first generation ground detectors, which aim to detect gravitational waves in the audio-frequency region, have been successfully operated at their design sensitivity. One integrated year of coincident data from the three LIGO interferometers in United States has been collected between 2005 and 2007, in partial coincidence with the two European detectors, VIRGO and GEO. All the detectors are currently being upgraded, and they will come back on-line in the next few months with a factor 2 better sensitivity. A major upgrade of LIGO and VIRGO, scheduled to happen immediately after their upcoming science runs, will bring on-line second generation detectors 4 years from now. Their sensitivity is designed to be 10 times better than the first generation detectors, resulting in an expected event rate of at least a few per year. Looking farther into the future, space-based detectors such as LISA propose to cover a lower range of frequencies which are inaccessible on Earth, enhancing the opportunity of understanding our Universe trough gravitational waves. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 9, 2009 8:24AM - 8:36AM |
APS1.00002: All-sky search for gravitational wave bursts with LIGO, GEO and Virgo Lindy Blackburn The network of gravitational-wave detectors LIGO, GEO and Virgo collected data of unprecedented sensitivity in their 2005-07 science runs. Using data from these runs, we describe the search for bursts: short-duration and arbitrary in shape gravitational-wave signals. Such signals, may accompany astrophysical events like core-collapse supernovae, the merger phase of coalescing binary compact stars and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In this talk we focus on the all-sky search of such signals with frequency content in the 64--2000 Hz range -- this encompasses the most sensitive regime of the ground-based interferometers. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 9, 2009 8:36AM - 8:48AM |
APS1.00003: Whispers from the early universe Mustafa Amin, Richard Easther, Hal Finkel Our understanding of the universe in the era between the end of inflation and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis is rather incomplete. If detected, gravitational waves could provide a unique observational window into this intriguing era. I will discuss some sources of gravitational waves from our infant universe. In particular, I will talk about the production of gravitational waves from an era of explosive particle production after inflation, and what we can expect to learn from these waves. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 9, 2009 8:48AM - 9:00AM |
APS1.00004: Indirect Dark Matter Search with AMS Transition Radiation Detector Feng Zhou The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) 02, to be installed on the International Space Station in 2010, will perform a high statistics study of cosmic rays in a large energy range. The Transition Radiation sub-detector (TRD) will provide a positron/proton separation up to 300GeV to search for the signatures of neutralino dark matter. The TRD design, test and current cosmic ray measurement will be presented. The study on cosmic ray secondary/primary ratio to constrain the galactic propagation model will also be discussed. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 9, 2009 9:00AM - 9:12AM |
APS1.00005: LIGO Education and Public Outreach Gregory Harry The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) is an ambitious basic physics experiment that is attempting to directly measure gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. As part of its mission, LIGO engages in a number of education and outreach projects to teachers, students, and the general public. I will discuss some of these programs, including the exhibit for the World Science Festival in New York, the Science Education Center at the LIGO Livingston Louisiana Observatory, laboratory tours at the LIGO MIT laboratory in Cambridge, and the screensaver data analysis program Einstein@Home. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 9, 2009 9:12AM - 9:24AM |
APS1.00006: Physics Theorynet Outreach Program Per Berglund Physics Theorynet is an outreach program, funded by the National Science Foundation, involving particle theorists and cosmologists visiting with high school students and teachers in the greater Boston area, including New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Its main component is the direct interaction between physicists, students and teachers through presentations, demonstrations and question and answer sessions during regular class hour visits and after class. We will report on the accomplishments of Theorynet to date, and present the long term goals and plans for the future. [Preview Abstract] |
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