arXiv subjects

Vincenzo Pierro

Publications and source records attributed to Vincenzo Pierro.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Neural Network Aided Glitch-Burst Discrimination and Glitch Classification

We investigate the potential of neural-network based classifiers for discriminating gravitational wave bursts (GWBs) of a given canonical family (e.g. core-collapse supernova waveforms) from typical transient instrumental artifacts (glitches), in the data of a single detector. The further classification of glitches into typical sets is explored.In order to provide a proof of concept,we use the core-collapse supernova waveform catalog produced by H. Dimmelmeier and co-Workers, and the data base of glitches observed in laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory (LIGO) data maintained by P. Saulson and co-Workers to construct datasets of (windowed) transient waveforms (glitches and bursts) in additive (Gaussian and compound-Gaussian) noise with different signal-tonoise ratios (SNR). Principal component analysis (PCA) is next implemented for reducing data dimensionality, yielding results consistent with, and extending those in the literature. Then, a multilayer perceptron is trained by a backpropagation algorithm (MLP-BP) on a data subset, and used to classify the transients as glitch or burst. A Self-Organizing Map (SOM) architecture is finally used to classify the glitches. The glitch/burst discrimination and glitch classification abilities are gauged in terms of the related truth tables. Preliminary results suggest that the approach is effective and robust throughout the SNR range of practical interest. Perspective applications pertain both to distributed (network, multisensor) detection of GWBs, where someintelligenceat the single node level can be introduced, and instrument diagnostics/optimization, where spurious transients can be identified, classified and hopefully traced back to their entry points

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2011

Robust Gravitational Wave Burst Detection and Source Localization in a Network of Interferometers Using Cross Wigner Spectra

We discuss a fast cross-Wigner transform based technique for detecting gravitational wave bursts, and estimating the direction of arrival, using a network of (three) non co-located interferometric detectors. The performances of the detector as a function of signal strength and source location, and the accuracy of the direction of arrival estimation are investigated by numerical simulations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2011

Characterization of escape times of Josephson Junctions for signal detection

The measurement of the escape time of a Josephson junction might be used to detect the presence of a sinusoidal signal embedded in noise when standard signal processing tools can be prohibitive. We show that the prescriptions for the experimental set-up and some physical behaviors depend on the detection strategy. More specifically, by exploiting the sample mean of escape times to perform detection, two resonant regions are identified. At low frequencies there is a stochastic resonance/activation phenomenon, while near the plasma frequency a geometric resonance appears. The naive sample mean detector is outperformed, in terms of error probability, by the optimal likelihood ratio test. The latter exhibits only geometric resonance, showing monotonically increasing performance as the bias current approaches the junction critical current. In this regime the escape times are vanishingly small and therefore performance are essentially limited by measurement electronics. The behavior of the likelihood ratio and sample mean detector for different values of incoming signal to noise ratio are discussed, and a relationship with the error probability is found. The likelihood ratio test based detectors could be employed also to estimate unknown parameters in the applied input signal. As a prototypical example we study the phase estimation problem of a sinusoidal current, that is accomplished by using the filter bank approach. Finally we show that for a physically feasible detector the performances are found to be very close to the Cramer- Rao theoretical bound. Applications might be found for example in some astronomical detection problems or to analyze weak signals in the sub-terahertz range.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2010

Detection of noise-corrupted sinusoidal signals with Josephson junctions

We investigate the possibility of exploiting the speed and low noise features of Josephson junctions for detecting sinusoidal signals masked by Gaussian noise. We show that the escape time from the static locked state of a Josephson junction is very sensitive to a small periodic signal embedded in the noise, and therefore the analysis of the escape times can be employed to reveal the presence of the sinusoidal component. We propose and characterize two detection strategies: in the first the initial phase is supposedly unknown (incoherent strategy), while in the second the signal phase remains unknown but is fixed (coherent strategy). Our proposals are both suboptimal, with the linear filter being the optimal detection strategy, but they present some remarkable features, such as resonant activation, that make detection through Josephson junctions appealing in some special cases.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2010

Measurement of Thermal Noise in Multilayer Coatings with Optimized Layer Thickness

A standard quarter-wavelength multilayer optical coating will produce the highest reflectivity for a given number of coating layers, but in general it will not yield the lowest thermal noise for a prescribed reflectivity. Coatings with the layer thicknesses optimized to minimize thermal noise could be useful in future generation interferometric gravitational wave detectors where coating thermal noise is expected to limit the sensitivity of the instrument. We present the results of direct measurements of the thermal noise of a standard quarter-wavelength coating and a low noise optimized coating. The measurements indicate a reduction in thermal noise in line with modeling predictions.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Directive Emission from Defect-Free Dodecagonal Photonic Quasicrystals: A Leaky-Wave Characterization

In this paper, we study the radiation from embedded sources in two-dimensional finite-size "photonic-quasicrystal" (PQC) slabs made of dielectric rods arranged according to a 12-fold symmetric aperiodic tiling. The results from our investigation, based on rigorous full-wave simulations, show the possibility of achieving broadside radiation at multiple frequencies, with high-directivity (e.g., 15 dB) and low-sidelobes (e.g., -12 dB). We also show that leaky waves are supported by a PQC slab, and that the beamwidth is directly proportional to the leaky-wave attenuation constant, which provides a physically-incisive interpretation of the observed radiation characteristics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2008

Evidence of local effects in anomalous refraction and focusing properties of dodecagonal photonic quasicrystals

We present the key results from a comprehensive study of the refraction and focusing properties of a two-dimensional dodecagonal photonic ``quasicrystal'' (PQC), carried out via both full-wave numerical simulations and microwave measurements on a slab made of alumina rods inserted in a parallel-plate waveguide. We observe anomalous refraction and focusing in several frequency regions, confirming some recently published results. However, our interpretation, based on numerical and experimental evidence, differs substantially from the one in terms of ``effective negative refractive-index'' that was originally proposed. Instead, our study highlights the critical role played by short-range interactions associated with local order and symmetry.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2007

Perspectives on Beam-Shaping Optimization for Thermal-Noise Reduction in Advanced Gravitational-Wave Interferometric Detectors: Bounds, Profiles, and Critical Parameters

Suitable shaping (in particular, flattening and broadening) of the laser beam has recently been proposed as an effective device to reduce internal (mirror) thermal noise in advanced gravitational wave interferometric detectors. Based on some recently published analytic approximations (valid in the infinite-test-mass limit) for the Brownian and thermoelastic mirror noises in the presence of arbitrary-shaped beams, this paper addresses certain preliminary issues related to the optimal beam-shaping problem. In particular, with specific reference to the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) experiment, absolute and realistic lower-bounds for the various thermal noise constituents are obtained and compared with the current status (Gaussian beams) and trends ("mesa" beams), indicating fairly ample margins for further reduction. In this framework, the effective dimension of the related optimization problem, and its relationship to the critical design parameters are identified, physical-feasibility and model-consistency issues are considered, and possible additional requirements and/or prior information exploitable to drive the subsequent optimization process are highlighted.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2006

On the Analytic Structure of a Family of Hyperboloidal Beams of Potential Interest for Advanced LIGO

For the baseline design of the advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), use of optical cavities with non-spherical mirrors supporting flat-top ("mesa") beams, potentially capable of mitigating the thermal noise of the mirrors, has recently drawn a considerable attention. To reduce the severe tilt-instability problems affecting the originally conceived nearly-flat, "Mexican-hat-shaped" mirror configuration, K. S. Thorne proposed a nearly-concentric mirror configuration capable of producing the same mesa beam profile on the mirror surfaces. Subsequently, Bondarescu and Thorne introduced a generalized construction that leads to a one-parameter family of "hyperboloidal" beams which allows continuous spanning from the nearly-flat to the nearly-concentric mesa beam configurations. This paper is concerned with a study of the analytic structure of the above family of hyperboloidal beams. Capitalizing on certain results from the applied optics literature on flat-top beams, a physically-insightful and computationally-effective representation is derived in terms of rapidly-converging Gauss-Laguerre expansions. Moreover, the functional relation between two generic hyperboloidal beams is investigated. This leads to a generalization (involving fractional Fourier transform operators of complex order) of some recently discovered duality relations between the nearly-flat and nearly-concentric mesa configurations. Possible implications and perspectives for the advanced LIGO optical cavity design are discussed.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2005

Radiation Properties of One-Dimensional Quasirandom Antenna Arrays Based on Rudin-Shapiro Sequences

The development of exotic new materials, such as metamaterials, has created strong interest within the electromagnetics (EM) community for possible new phenomenologies and device applications, with particular attention to periodicity-induced phenomena, such as photonic bandgaps (PBG). Within this context, motivated by the fairly recent discovery in X-ray crystallography of "quasicrystals," whose diffraction patterns display unusual characteristics that are associated with "aperiodic order," we have undertaken a systematic study of how these exotic effects manifest themselves in the radiation properties of aperiodically-configured antenna arrays. The background for these studies, with promising example configurations, has been reported in a previous publication [V. Pierro et al., IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 635-644, Feb. 2005]. In the present paper, we pay attention to various configurations generated by Rudin-Shapiro (RS) sequences, which constitute one of the simplest conceivable examples of deterministic aperiodic geometries featuring quasirandom (dis)order. After presentation and review of relevant background material, the radiation properties of one-dimensional RS-based antenna arrays are analyzed, followed by illustrative numerical parametric studies to validate the theoretical models. Design parameters and potential practical applications are also given attention.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2005

Parameterizing Quasiperiodicity: Generalized Poisson Summation and Its Application to Modified-Fibonacci Antenna Arrays

The fairly recent discovery of "quasicrystals", whose X-ray diffraction patterns reveal certain peculiar features which do not conform with spatial periodicity, has motivated studies of the wave-dynamical implications of "aperiodic order". Within the context of the radiation properties of antenna arrays, an instructive novel (canonical) example of wave interactions with quasiperiodic order is illustrated here for one-dimensional (1-D) array configurations based on the "modified-Fibonacci" sequence, with utilization of a two-scale generalization of the standard Poisson summation formula for periodic arrays. This allows for a "quasi-Floquet" analytic parameterization of the radiated field, which provides instructive insights into some of the basic wave mechanisms associated with quasiperiodic order, highlighting similarities and differences with the periodic case. Examples are shown for quasiperiodic infinite and spatially-truncated arrays, with brief discussion of computational issues and potential applications.

physics.optics↗