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Accurate modeling of selection effects is a key ingredient to the success of gravitational-wave astronomy. The detection probability plays a crucial role in both statistical population studies, where it enters the hierarchical Bayesian likelihood, and astrophysical modeling, where it is used to convert predictions from population-synthesis codes into observable distributions. We review the most commonly used approximations, extend them, and present some recipes for a straightforward implementation. These include a closed-form expression capturing both multiple detectors and noise realizations written in terms of the so-called Marcum Q -function and a ready-to-use mapping between signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) thresholds and false-alarm rates from state-of-the-art detection pipelines. The bias introduced by approximating the matched filter SNR with the optimal SNR is not symmetric: sources that are nominally below threshold are more likely to be detected than sources above threshold are to be missed. Using both analytical considerations and software injections in detection pipelines, we confirm that including noise realizations when estimating the selection function introduces an average variation of a few %. This effect is most relevant for large catalogs and specific subpopulations of sources at the edge of detectability (e.g. high redshifts). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET) detectors improve the signal-to-noise ratio of PET images by limiting the position of the generation of two 511 keV gamma-rays in space using the arrival time difference between the two photons. Unfortunately, bismuth germanate (BGO), widely used in conventional PET detectors, was limited as a TOF PET scintillator due to the relatively slow decay time of the scintillation photons. However, prompt Cerenkov light in BGO has been identified in addition to scintillation photons. Using Cerenkov photons for timing has significantly improved the coincidence timing resolution (CTR) of BGO. Based on this, further research on improving the CTR for a BGO-based TOF PET system is being actively conducted. Wrapping materials for BGO pixels have primarily employed white reflectors to most efficiently collect scintillation light. White reflectors have customarily been used as reflectors for BGO pixels even after Cerenkov light began to be utilized for timing calculations in pixel-level experiments. However, when the arrival-time differences of the two 511 keV annihilations photons were measured with pure Cerenkov radiators, painting the lateral sides of the radiators black can improve CTR by suppressing the reflection of Cerenkov photons. The use of BGO for TOF PET detectors requires simultaneously minimizing scintillation loss for good energy information and suppressing reflected Cerenkov photons for better timing performance. Thus, reflectors for BGO pixels should be optimized for better timing and energy performance. In this study, colored polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tapes with discontinuous reflectance values at specific wavelengths were applied as a BGO reflector. We hypothesized that CTR could be enhanced by selectively suppressing reflected Cerenkov photons with an optimum colored reflector on the BGO pixel while minimizing scintillation photon loss. CTRs were investigated utilizing white and three colors (yellow, red, and green) PTFE tapes as a reflector. In addition, black-painted PTFE tape and enhanced specular reflector film were investigated as reference reflector materials. When 3 × 3 × 20 mm3 BGO pixels were wrapped with the yellow PTFE reflector, the CTR was significantly improved to 365 ± 5 ps from 403 ± 14 ps measured with the conventional white PTFE reflector. Adequate energy information was still obtained with only 4.1% degradation in light collection compared to the white reflector. Colored reflectors show the possibility to further improve CTR for BGO pixels with optimum reflectance design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore a method to assess the relative scale of the strain measured in the different detectors of the gravitational-wave (GW) network, using binary black hole (BBH) events detected during the third observing run (O3). The number of such signals is becoming sufficiently large to adopt a statistical approach based on the ratio of the signal-to-noise ratio of the events between the detectors and the number of observed events in each detector. We demonstrate the principle of the method on simulations of BBH signals and we present its application to published O3 events reported by the multi-band template analysis pipeline. Constraints on the relative calibration of the GW network for O3 are obtained at the level of ∼ 3.5 % between the two LIGO detectors and at the level of ∼ 10 % between the LIGO Livingston detector and the Virgo detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raman spectroscopy has been widely used to characterize the physical properties of two-dimensional materials (2DMs). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR or S/N ratio) of Raman signal usually serves as an important indicator to evaluate the instrumental performance rather than Raman intensity itself. Multichannel detectors with outstanding sensitivity, rapid acquisition speed and low noise level have been widely equipped in Raman instruments for the measurement of Raman signal. In this mini-review, we first introduce the recent advances of Raman spectroscopy of 2DMs. Then we take the most commonly used CCD detector and IGA array detector as examples to overview the various noise sources in Raman measurements and analyze their potential influences on SNR of Raman signal in experiments. This overview can contribute to a better understanding on the SNR of Raman signal and the performance of multichannel detector for numerous researchers and instrumental design for industry, as well as offer practical strategies for improving spectral quality in routine measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance ultraviolet (UV) detectors with both high responses and fast speeds are hard to make on homogeneous crystal semiconductor materials. Here, the UV response characteristics of mixed-phase MgZnO thin films with different internal structure distributions are studied. The mixed-phase MgZnO-based detector with the given crystal composition has a high response at both deep UV light (96 A W−1 at 240 nm) and near UV light (80 A W−1 at 335 nm). Meanwhile, because of the quasi-tunneling breakdown mechanism within the device, the high-response UV detector also shows a fast response speed (tr = 0.11 μs) and recovery speed (td1 = 26 μs) at deep UV light, which is much faster than both low-response mixed-phase MgZnO-based UV detectors with other structure constitutions and reported high-response UV devices on homogenous crystal materials. The Idark of the device is just 4.27 pA under a 5 V bias voltage, so the signal-to-noise ratio of the device reached 23852 at 5.5 uW cm−2 235 nm UV light. The new quasi-tunneling breakdown mechanism is observed in some mixed-phase MgZnO thin films that contain both c-MgZnO and h-MgZnO parts, which introduce a high response, signal-to-noise ratio, and fast speed into mixed-phase MgZnO-based UV detectors at weak deep UV light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black-holes are known to span at least 9 orders of magnitude in mass: from the stellar-mass objects observed by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration, to supermassive black-holes like the one observed by the Event Horizon Telescope at the heart of M87. Regardless of the mass scale, all of these objects are expected to form binaries and eventually emit observable gravitational radiation, with more massive objects emitting at ever lower gravitational-wave frequencies. We present the tool, gwent , for modeling the sensitivities of current and future generations of gravitational wave detectors across the entire gravitational-wave spectrum of coalescing black-hole binaries (BHBs). We provide methods to generate sensitivity curves for pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) using a novel realistic PTA sensitivity curve generator (Hazboun, Romano and Smith 2019 Phys. Rev. D 100 104028), space-based interferometers using adaptive models that can represent a wide range of proposed detector designs (Amaro-Seoane et al 2017 arXiv:1702.00786), and ground-based interferometers using realistic noise models that can reproduce current (Abbott et al 2016 Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 061102), second, and third generation designs (Hild et al 2011 Class. Quantum Grav. 28 094013), as well as novel variations of the essential design parameters. To model the signal from BHBs at any mass scale, we use phenomenological waveforms capable of modeling the inspiral, merger, and ringdown for sources with varying mass ratios and spins (Khan et al 2016 Phys. Rev. D 93 044007; Husa et al 2016 Phys. Rev. D 93 044006). Using this adaptable framework, we produce signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) for the combination of any modeled parameter, associated with either the detector or the source. By allowing variation across each detector and source parameter, we can pinpoint the most important factors to determining the optimal performance for particular instrument designs. The adaptability of our detector and signal models can easily be extended to new detector designs and other models of gravitational wave signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of today's pump–probe experiments, which rely on two-dimensional detectors, suffer from low read-out rates that prevent the implementation of fast lock-in techniques to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. The first cameras running at true kHz-frame rates are available at large-scale facilities, but require sophisticated data management strategies. Here we present a scheme for high-speed spatial encoding of modulated pump–probe signals using slow area detectors at full repetition rate of a laser system without an increase in data rate or change of the sample environment. Towards that end we block the probe light in front of the detector alternatingly with two inverted masks at the same frequency as the signal is modulated, e.g. the chopping frequency of the pump light. Modulation frequencies up to 500 Hz are demonstrated using a commercial mechanical chopper and have been applied to a time-resolved Faraday microscopy experiment probing all-optical magnetic switching of a GdFe-alloy with femtosecond temporal resolution. We believe that our concept bridges the gap between today's slow area detectors and the upcoming generation of true kHz-frame-rate cameras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel design method for a fiber-optic Fabry–Perot (FP) acoustic sensor based on a flywheel-like diaphragm has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Through theory analysis and simulation, we have established a sensing model based on the flywheel-like diaphragm and illustrated the acoustic sensor's resonant frequency regulation method. A flywheel-like diaphragm-based acoustic sensor has been fabricated and a dual-wavelength system is used to demodulate the phase fluctuation caused by the acoustic wave. Experimental results show that the proposed acoustic sensor has an acoustic pressure sensitivity of 1.3967 rad Pa−1 and noise-limited minimum detectable pressure of. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 1 kHz, 9 kHz, and 20 kHz are achieved to be 10.39 dB, 60.51 dB, and 37.14 dB, respectively. Over a fairly broad response range (1 kHz to 20 kHz), the average SNR is up to 45.57 dB. Moreover, our acoustic sensor's directivity map approximates to a heart shape. Its excellent frequency response characteristics, sensitivity, and directivity pattern are believed to have bright application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a systematic investigation on the enhancement of the quality (Q) factors for guided-mode resonance (GMR) sensors with shallow subwavelength grating structures. By introducing the coupled-mode model, a theoretical high-Q factor can be achieved by choosing the proper geometric structure. Based on this method, a GMR sensor with a Q factor up to 8000, which is an order of magnitude larger than those of typical GMR sensors with Q factors within 100 ∼ 300, was demonstrated experimentally. Besides, the approached GMR sensor achieved a bulk sensitivity of 135 nm RIU−1 with a high signal to noise ratio, which supports a detection limit of 1 ng ml−1 for bovine serum albumin detection. This high performance GMR sensor paves the way towards high-throughput industrial mass production, and shows great potential for other applications, such as optical filters, spectrometer, and bio-imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain PET, which has led research in molecular imaging and diagnosis of brain cancer, epilepsy and neurodegenerative disorders, is being spotlighted again to promote earlier diagnosis of dementia with the advent of amyloid and tau tracers. To meet this demand, in this paper, we developed a brain-dedicated PET imaging device with a hemispherical detector arrangement, which provides comparable sensitivity with fewer detectors than conventional cylindrical geometries. The introduction of the time-of-flight (TOF) measurement capability was a key point for the development to get a gain in the image signal-to-noise ratio. Currently, whole-body PET scanners with around 200–400 ps coincidence resolving time (CRT) are commercially available. In order to obtain the same TOF gain which can be obtained with 400 ps CRT for a 30 cm diameter object, 267 ps CRT will be required for a 20 cm diameter object such as the human head. In this work, therefore, we aimed at developing a TOF brain-dedicated PET prototype with the hemisphere detector arrangement and the CRT faster than 267 ps. The detector was composed of a 12 × 12 lutetium fine silicate (LFS) array coupled with a 12 × 12 multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) array. Each LFS crystal with a size of 4.14 × 4.14 × 10 mm3 was individually coupled to a separate MPPC. Singles list-mode data from each detector were stored, and coincidences were identified using a coincidence-detection software algorithm. The CRT of 245 ps was finally achieved as the system average after a fine timing correction. For image reconstruction, we implemented the list-mode TOF-OSEM. For a small rod phantom, rods of 3 mm diameter were clearly separated. Also, images of the 3D Hoffman brain phantom, which demonstrated clear contrast between gray and white matter, supported the effect of TOF information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use the Cramér-Rao lower uncertainty bound to estimate the maximum precision that could be achieved on the joint simultaneous (or two-dimensional) estimation of photometry and astrometry of a point source measured by a linear CCD detector array. We develop exact expressions for the Fisher matrix elements required to compute the Cramér-Rao bound in the case of a source with a Gaussian light profile. From these expressions, we predict the behavior of the Cramér-Rao astrometric and photometric precision as a function of the signal and the noise of the observations, and compare them to actual observations--finding a good correspondence between them. From the Cramér-Rao bound, we obtain the well-known fact that the uncertainty in flux on a Poissondriven detector, such as a CCD, goes approximately as the square root of the flux. However, more generally, higherorder correction factors that depend on the ratio B/F or F/B (where B is the background flux per pixel, and F is the total flux of the source), as well as on the properties of the detector (pixel size) and the source (width of the light profile), are required for a proper calculation of the minimum expected uncertainty bound in flux. Overall, the Cramér-Rao bound predicts that the uncertainty in magnitude goes as (S/N)-1 under a broad range of circumstances. As for the astrometry, we show that its Cramér-Rao bound also goes as (S/N)-1 but, additionally, we find that this bound is quite sensitive to the value of the background--suppressing the background can greatly enhance the astrometric accuracy. We present a systematic analysis of the elements of the Fisher matrix in the case when the detector adequately samples the source (oversampling regime), leading to closed-form analytical expressions for the Cramér-Rao bound. We show that, in this regime, the joint parametric determinations of photometry and astrometry for the source become decoupled from each other, and furthermore, it is possible to write down expressions (approximate to first order in the small quantities F/B or B/F) for the expected minimum uncertainty in flux and position. These expressions are shown to be quite resilient to the oversampling condition, and become thus very valuable benchmark tools to estimate the approximate behavior of the maximum photometric and astrometric precision attainable under prespecified observing conditions and detector properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance of gravitational wave (GW) detectors can be characterized by several figures of merit (FOMs) which are used to guide the detector’s commissioning and operations, and to gauge astrophysical sensitivity. One key FOM is the range in Mpc, averaged over orientation and sky location, at which a GW signal from binary neutron star inspiral and coalescence would have a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 8 in a single detector. This fixed-SNR approach does not accurately reflect the effects of transient noise (glitches), which can severely limit the detectability of transient GW signals expected from a variety of astrophysical sources. We propose a FOM based instead on a fixed false-alarm probability (FAP). This is intended to give a more realistic estimate of the detectable GW transient range including the effect of glitches. Our approach applies equally to individual interferometers or a network of interferometers. We discuss the advantages of the fixed-FAP approach, present examples from a prototype implementation, and discuss the impact it has had on the recent commissioning of the GW detector GEO 600. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lateral resolution (LR) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are the essential factors in the applications of scanning probe microscopy in quantitative measurement of surface charge distribution, potential profile, and dielectric properties. We use a model system to comprise Au nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in a polystyrene (PS) matrix to study the effects of various experimental parameters, such as modulation bias voltage, tip-sample distance, and actual tip shape, on the electrostatic interactions between the tips and samples. The results show that LR and SNR decrease when the tip-sample distance increases, while SNR increases with tip modulation voltage. LR is less sensitive to tip modulation voltage, but shows complex dependence on the sample geometric structure. In combination with a numerical simulation based on the integral capacitance model, the electrostatic force interaction between tip and sample was quantitatively analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The method of dual-frequency (DF) difference excitation is capable of generating a low-frequency envelope component as the driving force of commercial contrast microbubbles by using a high-frequency pulse. Although the DF difference excitation method provides good lateral resolution in high-frequency contrast imaging, it suffers from degraded axial resolution because a longer-than-usual envelope component is required to induce the oscillation of microbubbles. In this study, a coded excitation technique (i.e. chirp waveform) is combined with the DF difference excitation method (also referred to as the DF chirp excitation method) to improve the axial resolution of contrast imaging while maintaining the impinging insonation energy. B-mode images were constructed to compare the performance of the DF chirp excitation method with the conventional tone-burst pulse method. Results indicate that the proposed DF chirp excitation method can provide better axial resolution after pulse compression. Moreover, as compared to the tone-burst pulse with the same pulse duration, the pulse compression results in a higher signal-to-noise ratio because of the temporal concentration of the received energy. Nevertheless, images with the DF chirp excitation method demonstrated noticeable image artefacts resulting from the range sidelobes. The DF chirp excitation method also produced obvious tissue harmonic generation that could degrade the contrast-to-tissue ratio at higher acoustic pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inherent trade-off among the level of sensing electromagnetic (EM)-energy and the performance parameters, and consequently, the inevitable nonlinearity at high-sensitivity renders the performance-optimization of a micro-fabricated microwave resonant sensor very difficult. This paper presents a shunt capacitor-based EM-energy splitting technique to generate three distinct levels of coupled EM-energies in micro-fabricated microwave LC resonant ethanol sensors and investigate the quantitative correlation among the resulting energy level, sensitivity, linearity, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Gallium arsenide (GaAs)-based micro-fabrication technique is used to implement the proposed microwave LC resonators employing an air-bridged circular spiral inductor and meandered-line coupling capacitors. The experimental results reveal that the performance-optimized sensor rapidly and accurately quantifies the wide range of nanoliter (200 nl) ethanol concentrations (5%–50% vol.) with a high-sensitivity (1.817 MHz/% vol.), good linearity, and SNR; thus, highlighting the significance of the proposed method to develop a high-performance ethanol sensor. In addition, ethanol-dependent complex permittivity, which is calculated using the measured central frequencies and loaded-quality factors, reveals a negative correlation between the real-permittivity and ethanol concentration of the aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a novel method for fast image simulation of flat panel detectors, based on the photon energy deposition efficiency and the optical spread function (OSF). The proposed method, FastEPID, determines the photon detection using photon energy deposition and replaces particle transport within the detector with precalculated OSFs. The FastEPID results are validated against experimental measurement and conventional Monte Carlo simulation in terms of modulation transfer function (MTF), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), contrast, and relative difference of pixel value, obtained with a slanted slit image, Las Vegas phantom, and anthropomorphic pelvis phantom. Excellent agreement is observed between simulation and measurement in all cases. Without degrading image quality, the FastEPID method is capable of reducing simulation time up to a factor of 150. Multiple applications, such as imager design optimization for planar and volumetric imaging, are expected to benefit from the implementation of the FastEPID method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a magnetic field sensor based on a multilongitudinal mode fiber laser has been proposed by employing a rotary apparatus modulated by an external magnetic field. Due to the remarkable birefringence change caused by the fiber twist, the polarimetric mode beat frequency (PMBF) of the laser is sensitive to the applied magnetic field intensity. Experimental results show that the PMBF linearly shifts with the variation of the magnetic field intensity and the sensitivity reaches up to 10.4 KHz Oe−1 in the range of 0–270 Oe. Moreover, such a device has the advantages of easy fabrication, low cost and high resolution, offering potentials in the weak magnetic field applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operation of solid-state qubits often relies on single-shot readout using a nanoelectronic charge sensor, and the detection of events in a noisy sensor signal is crucial for high fidelity readout of such qubits. The most common detection scheme, comparing the signal to a threshold value, is accurate at low noise levels but is not robust to low-frequency noise and signal drift. We describe an alternative method for identifying charge sensor events using wavelet edge detection. The technique is convenient to use and we show that, with realistic signals and a single tunable parameter, wavelet detection can outperform thresholding and is significantly more tolerant to and low-frequency noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sub-land/sub-pit affects the characteristic of the tracking error signal which is generated by the conventional differential phase detection (DPD) method in the signal waveform modulation multi-level (SWML) read-only disc. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a new tracking error detection method using amplitude difference. Based on the diffraction theory, the amplitude difference is proportional to the tracking error and is feasible to be used for obtaining the off-track information. The experimental system of the amplitude difference detection method is developed. The experimental results show that the tracking error signal derived from the new method has better performance in uniformity and signal-to-noise ratio than that derived from the conventional DPD method in the SWML read-only disc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the difficulty of direct observation, mergers of intermediate-mass black hole binaries are relatively less understood compared to stellar-mass binaries; however, the gravitational waves from their last few orbits and ringdown fall in the band of ground-based detectors. Because the typical source is expected to circularize prior to entering LIGO or VIRGO's range, inspiral searches concentrate on circularized binaries. It is possible that events will be missed if there are sources with residual eccentricity. We study the variation of the signal to noise present in the dominant mode of the eccentric evolutions as a function of mass and eccentricity and also the relative contribution of the signal in the various spherical harmonic modes. The energy radiated in gravitational waves increases with eccentricity until the eccentricity becomes too high, leading to plunging trajectories, at which point the energy radiated decreases. This enhancement of the energy for initial eccentricities near the transition value translates into larger signal-to-noise ratios. Consequently despite the anticipated loss in the signal-to-noise ratio due to the use of quasi-circular detection templates, some eccentric signals potentially may be seen farther out than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A search for periodic gravitational-wave signals from isolated neutron stars in the NAUTILUS detector data is presented. We have analyzed half a year of data over the frequency band [?]922.2; 923.2[?] Hz, the spindown range [?] [?] 1.463 × 10[?]8; 0[?] Hz/s and over the entire sky. We have divided the data into two day stretches and we have analyzed each stretch coherently using matched filtering. We have imposed a low threshold for the optimal detection statistic to obtain a set of candidates that are further examined for coincidences among various data stretches. For some candidates we have also investigated the change of the signal-to-noise ratio when we increase the observation time from 2 to 4 days. Our analysis has not revealed any gravitational-wave signals. Therefore we have imposed upper limits on the dimensionless gravitational-wave amplitude over the parameter space that we have searched. Depending on frequency, our upper limit ranges from 3.4 × 10[?]23 to 1.3 × 10[?]22. We have attempted a statistical verification of the hypotheses leading to our conclusions. We estimate that our upper limit is accurate to within 18%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]