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Lecture for GW Open Data Workshop 

A series of atomic-like photoluminescence (PL) emission peaks in UV region near 4.0 eV were created by thermal annealing hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) single crystals in air. The pristine h-BN did not have these peaks, emitting strong phonon-assisted band edge PL with peaks at 5.78 and 5.89 eV. After annealing the h-BN crystals in ambient air, a new atomic-like sharp emission in UV region at 4.09 eV with a line width of 0.2 nm appeared along with its phonon replicas at 3.89 and 3.69 eV in the low temperature (8 K) PL measurement. Further testing demonstrated that annealing the h-BN samples in the temperature window of 700–950 °C for 60 min generated the atomic-like emission. The peak position of the emission line is stable with the temperature and PL excitation power. Our study also suggests that the defect responsible for the atomic-like emission resides in the surface region. 

Large-eddy simulation was used to model turbulent atmospheric surface layer (ASL) flow over canopies composed of streamwise-aligned rows of synthetic trees of height,$$h$$, and systematically arranged to quantify the response to variable streamwise spacing,$$\delta _1$$, and spanwise spacing,$$\delta _2$$, between adjacent trees. The response to spanwise and streamwise heterogeneity has, indeed, been the topic of a sustained research effort: the former resulting in formation of Reynolds-averaged counter-rotating secondary cells, the latter associated with the$$k$$- and$$d$$-type response. No study has addressed the confluence of both, and results herein show secondary flow polarity reversal across ‘critical’ values of$$\delta _1$$and$$\delta _2$$. For$$\delta _2/\delta \lesssim 1$$and$$\gtrsim 2$$, where$$\delta$$is the flow depth, the counter-rotating secondary cells are aligned such that upwelling and downwelling, respectively, occurs above the elements. The streamwise spacing$$\delta _1$$regulates this transition, with secondary cell reversal occurring first for the largest$$k$$-type cases, as elevated turbulence production within the canopy necessitates entrainment of fluid from aloft. The results are interpreted through the lens of a benchmark prognostic closure for effective aerodynamic roughness,$$z_{0,{Eff.}} = \alpha \sigma _h$$, where$$\alpha$$is a proportionality constant and$$\sigma _h$$is height root mean square. We report$$\alpha \approx 10^{-1}$$, the value reported over many decades for a broad range of rough surfaces, for$$k$$-type cases at small$$\delta _2$$, whereas the transition to$$d$$-type arrangements necessitates larger$$\delta _2$$. Though preliminary, results highlight the non-trivial response to variation of streamwise and spanwise spacing. 

Abstract Rotating nonaxisymmetric neutron stars (NSs) are promising sources for continuous gravitational waves (CWs). CWs may, if detected, inform us about the internal structure and equation of state of NSs. Here, we present a narrowband search for CWs from known pulsars, for which a matched-filter search can be applied. Narrowband searches are robust to mismatches between electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational emissions, in contrast to fully targeted searches where they are assumed to be phase-locked. In this work, we search for the CW counterparts emitted by 34 pulsars using data from the first and second parts of the fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA observing run. We use the 5n-vector narrowband pipeline, which applies frequency-domain matched filtering. In previous searches, it covered a narrow range in the frequency—frequency time derivative (f— $\dot{f}$ ) space. Here, we also explore a range in the second time derivative of the frequency $\ddot{f}$ around the EM observations. Additionally, for the first time, we target sources in a binary system with this kind of search. We find no evidence for CWs and therefore set upper limits on the strain amplitude emitted by each pulsar. For 20 analyses, we report an upper limit below the theoretical spin-down limit. The tightest constraint is for pulsar PSR J0534+2200 (the Crab pulsar), for which our strain upper limit on the CW amplitude corresponds to ≤0.04% of the spin-down power being radiated in the CW channel. 

Abstract We detail the population properties of binary neutron star, neutron star–black hole binary, and binary black hole mergers using 158 events from the cumulative Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog 4.0. The black hole primary mass distribution consists of a power-law-like continuum that steepens above 35M_⊙with overdensities at 10M_⊙and 35M_⊙. Binary black holes with primary masses near 10M_⊙are more likely to have less massive secondaries, with a mass ratio distribution peaking at $q=0.71_{-0.11}^{+0.12}$ , potentially a signature of stable mass transfer during binary evolution. Black hole spins are inferred to be nonextremal, with 90% of black holes havingχ < 0.6, and preferentially aligned with binary orbits, implying many merging binaries form in isolation. However, we find that a significant fraction, 0.23–0.41, of binaries have negative effective inspiral spins, suggesting many could be formed dynamically in gas-free environments. We find evidence for correlation between effective inspiral spin and mass ratio, driven either by variation in the mode of the distribution or the width. The binary black hole merger rate increases with redshift, consistent with the cosmic star formation density. While there is no evidence of the mass spectrum evolving with redshift, the distribution of effective inspiral spin is found to broaden as redshift increases out toz ≈ 1. We infer the local merger rates (atz= 0) to be 8.8–250 Gpc⁻³yr⁻¹for binary neutron stars, 9.3–86 Gpc⁻³yr⁻¹for neutron star–black hole binaries, and 13–26 Gpc⁻³yr⁻¹for binary black holes; all values reflect central 90% credible intervals.