A local control system for the test masses of the Virgo gravitational wave detector

The mirrors of interferometric detectors of gravitational waves (GW) are suspended in order to be isolated from external disturbances. A local control system able to keep them correctly aligned and to damp the angular modes of the suspension is necessary. In this paper we present the solution adopted for Virgo based on a CCD camera sensor and on digital controls. With this solution the mirrors are kept aligned at the level of less than 1 μrad rms, enough to lock the interferometer and start the automatic alignment system.     

Extracting the subsonic anti-symmetric lamb wave from a submerged thin spherical shell backscattering through iterative time reversal

The extraction of the weakly excited anti-symmetric Lamb wave from a submerged thin spherical shell backscattering is very difficult if the carrier frequency of the incident short tone burst is not at its frequency of greatest enhancement. Based on a single channel iterative time reversal technique, a method for isolating the subsonic anti-symmetric Lamb wave is proposed in this paper. The approach does not depend on the form function of a thin shell and any other priori knowledge, and it is also robust in the presence of some stochastic noise. Both theoretical and numerical results show that the subsonic anti-symmetric Lamb wave can be identified, even when the carrier frequency of the incident short tone burst is away from the frequency of greatest enhancement. The phenomenon may also be observed even in the case that the subsonic anti-symmetric Lamb wave is submerged in the noise, other than the case with the Signal to Noise Ratio being less than 10 dB, when the amplitude of the noise is comparable with the specular wave. In this paper, each iteration process contains a traditional transmission and time reversal transmission steps. The two steps can automatically compensate the time delay of the subsonic anti-symmetric Lamb wave relative to the specular wave and within-mode dispersion in the forward wave propagation.     

Dynamic response analysis of a floating mooring system

An innovative floating mooring system with two or more independent floating mooring platforms in the middle and one rigid platform on each side is proposed for improving efficiency and safety in shallow water. For this new system, most of collision energy is absorbed through the displacement of floating platforms. In order to illustrate the validity of the system, a series of model tests were conducted at a scale of 1:40. The coupled motion characteristics of the floating mooring platforms were discussed under regular and irregular waves, and the influences of wave direction and other characteristics on dynamic response of the system were analyzed. The results show that the mooring system is safest at 0° of wave incident angle, whereas the most dangerous mooring state occurs at 90° of wave incident angle. Motion responses increase with the increase of wave height, but are not linearly related to changes in wave height.     

影响广播中波转播站防雷系统作用的几个关键技术

电台中波转播站多建于城市近郊区,由于天线高耸落雷几率高,因而易受雷击干扰。针对建站时原已通过防雷验收的转播站设施在投入使用后依然频遭雷击受损的状况,分析了其防雷系统的内在布设技术问题,认为广播中波转播站原有防雷系统的一些关键技术缺漏是遭雷击受损的主要原因,并从转播站的实际情况出发,提出了转播站防雷设计的几个关键技术问题的解决方法：接地网逐级分流、屏蔽馈线再加设外屏蔽环群技术以及不同的线路、不同系统保护的配合方法等,从而形成广播转播站完整的防雷保护系统框架。     

Ion acceleration and Alfvén wave generation at the Earth’s bow shock

The processes of ion acceleration and Alfvén wave generation by accelerated particles at the Earth’s bow shock are studied within a quasi-linear approach. Steady-state ion and wave spectra are shown to be established in a time of 0.3–4 h, depending on the background level of Alfvénic turbulence in the solar wind. The Alfvén waves produced by accelerated ions are confined within the frequency range 10^?2–1 Hz and their spectral peak with a wave amplitude βB ～ B comparable to the interplanetary magnetic field strength B corresponds to the frequency v = (2–3) × 10^?2 Hz. The high-frequency part of the wave spectrum (v > 0.2 Hz) undergoes damping by thermal ions. The calculated spectra of the accelerated ions and the Alfvén waves generated by them reproduce the main features observed in experiments.     

GRB 170817A的洛伦兹因子和观测角

伴随着引力波事件GW170817的短暴GRB (Gamma-Ray Burst) 170817A首次提供了双中子星并合与短暴相联系的直接证据.但是短暴GRB 170817A具有非常弱的光度,意味着观测的视线方向可能偏离喷流轴方向.根据短暴静止系的峰值能量E_(p,i)和各向同性光度L_(iso)。之间的关系以及洛伦兹因子Γ和L_(iso)。之间的关系估算了短暴GRB 170817A以及长短暴GRB 060614观测角与喷流边缘的夹角θ'_(obs)和洛伦兹因子Γ,结果表明GRB 170817A的Γ=45±27,θ'_(obs)=2.2±0.5°,而GRB 060614的Γ=214±93,θ'_(obs)=0.5±0.1°.这个结果相当于GRB 170817A的正轴各向同性光度L_(iso,on)=(2.1±0.7)×10~(49) erg·s~(-1),比典型的短暴少2-3个数量级.GRB 060614的L_(iso,on)=(5.12±1.91)×10~(51) erg·s~(-1)与典型短暴相当.这意味着GRB 060614可能属于短暴类型,而GRB 170817A可能本质上就是一个弱暴.     

在97.8GHz处测量地球大气的不透明度

用研制的全自动辐射计在97．8GHz上测量南京市内大气的不透明度以及这种不透明度随时间的变化．辐射计记录大气在不同天顶高度的辐射温度,由此测出天顶方向的大气不透明度。在56小时的测量时间内,取得了1400多组数据,拟合得到了在观测时段内天顶方向的大气不透明度在0．2至0．7之间,典型值为0．4,表明测试地点的大气条件允许进行3mm波段的射电天文观测．由于在工作频段内大气不透明度的主要来源是对流层水汽的吸收,测量的不透明度可用来直接反映大气内水汽的含量,并实时校准大气吸收．     

A cryogenic payload for the 3rd generation of gravitational wave interferometers

Thermal noise is a limiting factor of interferometric gravitational wave detectors sensitivity in the low and intermediate frequency range. A concrete possibility for beating this limit, is represented by the development of a cryogenic last stage suspension to be integrated within a complex seismic isolation system. To this purpose a last stage payload prototype has been designed and built. It has been suspended within a dedicated cryostat with the same technique adopted for the VIRGO payload and making use of two thin wires in a cradle configuration to support a mirror made of silicon.The cooling strategy, the thermal behaviour and the system mechanical response have been deeply studied while a measurement characterization campaign has been performed both at room temperature and at cryogenic temperature. In this paper, the preliminary results obtained together with the first cooling down of the 300 kg overall mass payload at about 25 K, are reported. This study will play a driving role in the design of the third generation gravitational wave detector.