We have obtained spectra for 1273 stars using the 0.9 m coudé feed telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. This telescope feeds the coudé spectrograph of the 2.1 m telescope. The spectra have been obtained with the no. 5 camera of the coudé spectrograph and a Loral 3K ; 1K CCD. Two gratings have been used to provide spectral coverage from 3460 to 9464 8, at a resolution of $1 8 FWHM and at an original dispersion of 0.44 8 pixel À1 . For 885 stars we have complete spectra over the entire 3460 to 9464 8 wavelength region (neglecting small gaps of less than 50 8), and partial spectral coverage for the remaining stars. The 1273 stars have been selected to provide broad coverage of the atmospheric parameters T eff , log g, and [Fe/H], as well as spectral type. The goal of the project is to provide a comprehensive library of stellar spectra for use in the automated classification of stellar and galaxy spectra and in galaxy population synthesis. In this paper we discuss the characteristics of the spectral library, viz., details of the observations, data reduction procedures, and selection of stars. We also present a few illustrations of the quality and information available in the spectra. The first version of the complete spectral library is now publicly available from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) via ftp and http.

Around the globe several observatories are seeking the first direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs). These waves are predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity and are generated, for example, by black-hole binary systems. Present GW detectors are Michelson-type kilometre-scale laser interferometers measuring the distance changes between mirrors suspended in vacuum. The sensitivity of these detectors at frequencies above several hundred hertz is limited by the vacuum (zero-point) fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. A quantum technology--the injection of squeezed light--offers a solution to this problem. Here we demonstrate the squeezed-light enhancement of GEO600, which will be the GW observatory operated by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration in its search for GWs for the next 3-4 years. GEO600 now operates with its best ever sensitivity, which proves the usefulness of quantum entanglement and the qualification of squeezed light as a key technology for future GW astronomy

Context. Empirical libraries of stellar spectra play an important role in different fields. For example, they are used as reference for the automatic determination of atmospheric parameters, or for building synthetic stellar populations to study galaxies. The CFLIB (Coudé-feed library, Indo-US) database is at present one of the most complete libraries, in terms of its coverage of the atmospheric parameters space (T eff , log g and [Fe/H]) and wavelength coverage 3460-9464 Å at a resolution of ∼1 Å FWHM. Although the atmospheric parameters of most of the stars were determined from detailed analyses of high-resolution spectra, for nearly 300 of the 1273 stars of the library at least one of the three parameters is missing. For the others, the measurements, compiled from the literature, are inhomogeneous. Aims. In this paper, we re-determine the atmospheric parameters, directly using the CFLIB spectra, and compare them to the previous studies. Methods. We use the ULySS program to derive the atmospheric parameters, using the ELODIE library as a reference. Results. Based on comparisons with several previous studies we conclude that our determinations are unbiased. For the 958 F, G, and K type stars the precision on T eff , log g, and [Fe/H] is respectively 43 K, 0.13 dex and 0.05 dex. For the 53 M stars they are 82 K, 0.22 dex and 0.28 dex. And for the 260 OBA type stars the relative precision on T eff is 5.1%, and on log g, and [Fe/H] the precision is respectively 0.19 dex and 0.16 dex. These parameters will be used to re-calibrate the CFLIB fluxes and to produce synthetic spectra of stellar populations.

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This paper presents results of an all-sky searches for periodic gravitational waves in the frequency range [50, 1190] Hz and with frequency derivative ranges of [-2 x 10^-9, 1.1 x 10^-10] Hz/s for the fifth LIGO science run (S5). The novelty of the search lies in the use of a non-coherent technique based on the Hough-transform to combine the information from coherent searches on timescales of about one day. Because these searches are very computationally intensive, they have been deployed on the Einstein@Home distributed computing project infrastructure. The search presented here is about a factor 3 more sensitive than the previous Einstein@Home search in early S5 LIGO data. The post-processing has left us with eight surviving candidates. We show that deeper follow-up studies rule each of them out. Hence, since no statistically significant gravitational wave signals have been detected, we report upper limits on the intrinsic gravitational wave amplitude h0. For example, in the 0.5 Hz-wide band at 152.5 Hz, we can exclude the presence of signals with h0 greater than 7.6 x 10^-25 with a 90% confidence level

Compact binary systems with neutron stars or black holes are one of the most promising sources for ground-based gravitational-wave detectors. Gravitational radiation encodes rich information about source physics; thus parameter estimation and model selection are crucial analysis steps for any detection candidate events. Detailed models of the anticipated waveforms enable inference on several parameters, such as component masses, spins, sky location and distance, that are essential for new astrophysical studies of these sources. However, accurate measurements of these parameters and discrimination of models describing the underlying physics are complicated by artifacts in the data, uncertainties in the waveform models and in the calibration of the detectors. Here we report such measurements on a selection of simulated signals added either in hardware or software to the data collected by the two LIGO instruments and the Virgo detector during their most recent joint science run, including a "blind injection" where the signal was not initially revealed to the collaboration. We exemplify the ability to extract information about the source physics on signals that cover the neutron-star and black-hole binary parameter space over the component mass range 1 M⊙-25 M⊙ and the full range of spin parameters. The cases reported in this study provide a snapshot of the status of parameter estimation in preparation for the operation of advanced detectors. © 2013 American Physical Society