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Pile driving is used for constructing foundation supports for offshore structures. Underwater noise, induced by in-water pile driving, could adversely impact marine life near the piling location. Many studies have computed this noise in close ranges by using semi-analytical models and Finite Element Method (FEM) models. This work presents a Spectral Element Method (SEM) wave simulator as an alternative simulation tool to obtain close-range underwater piling noise in complex, fully three-dimensional, axially-asymmetric settings in the time domain for impacting force signals with high-frequency contents (e.g., frequencies greater than 1000[Formula: see text]Hz). The presented numerical results show that the flexibility of SEM can accommodate the axially-asymmetric geometry of a model, its heterogeneity, and fluid-solid coupling. We showed that there are multiple Mach Cones of different angles in fluid and sediment caused by the difference in wave speeds in fluid, a pile, and sediment. The angles of Mach Cones in our numerical results match those that are theoretically evaluated. A previous work 18 had shown that Mach Cone waves lead to intense amplitudes of underwater piling noise via a FEM simulation in an axis-symmetric setting. Since it modeled sediment as fluid with a larger wave speed than that of water, we examined if our SEM simulation, using solid sediment–fluid coupling, leads to additional Mach Cones. Because this work computes the shear wave in sediment and the downward-propagating shear wave in a pile, we present six Mach Cones in fluid and sediment induced by downward-propagating P- and S-waves in a pile in lieu of two previously-reported Mach Cones in fluid and sediment (modeled as fluid) induced by a downward-propagating P-wave in a pile. We also showed that the amplitudes of the close-range underwater noise are dependent on the cross-sectional geometry of a pile. In addition, when a pile is surrounded by a solid of an axially-asymmetric geometry, waves are reflected from the surface of the surrounding solid back to the fluid so that constructive and destructive interferences of waves take place in the fluid and affect the amplitude of the underwater piling noise. 

Abstract The field of dark matter detection is a highly visible and highly competitive one. In this paper, we propose recommendations for presenting dark matter direct detection results particularly suited for weak-scale dark matter searches, although we believe the spirit of the recommendations can apply more broadly to searches for other dark matter candidates, such as very light dark matter or axions. To translate experimental data into a final published result, direct detection collaborations must make a series of choices in their analysis, ranging from how to model astrophysical parameters to how to make statistical inferences based on observed data. While many collaborations follow a standard set of recommendations in some areas, for example the expected flux of dark matter particles (to a large degree based on a paper from Lewin and Smith in 1995), in other areas, particularly in statistical inference, they have taken different approaches, often from result to result by the same collaboration. We set out a number of recommendations on how to apply the now commonly used Profile Likelihood Ratio method to direct detection data. In addition, updated recommendations for the Standard Halo Model astrophysical parameters and relevant neutrino fluxes are provided. The authors of this note include members of the DAMIC, DarkSide, DARWIN, DEAP, LZ, NEWS-G, PandaX, PICO, SBC, SENSEI, SuperCDMS, and XENON collaborations, and these collaborations provided input to the recommendations laid out here. Wide-spread adoption of these recommendations will make it easier to compare and combine future dark matter results. 

The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for weakly interacting massive particles, while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector.