On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0×10(-21). It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203,000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5.1σ. The source lies at a luminosity distance of 410(-180)(+160)  Mpc corresponding to a redshift z=0.09(-0.04)(+0.03). In the source frame, the initial black hole masses are 36(-4)(+5)M⊙ and 29(-4)(+4)M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 62(-4)(+4)M⊙, with 3.0(-0.5)(+0.5)M⊙c(2) radiated in gravitational waves. All uncertainties define 90% credible intervals. These observations demonstrate the existence of binary stellar-mass black hole systems. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.

/pdf/the-observation-of-gravitational-waves-from-a-binary-black-58srpupgg9.pdf

The Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger

Networked control systems (NCSs) are spatially distributed systems for which the communication between sensors, actuators, and controllers is supported by a shared communication network. We review several recent results on estimation, analysis, and controller synthesis for NCSs. The results surveyed address channel limitations in terms of packet-rates, sampling, network delay, and packet dropouts. The results are presented in a tutorial fashion, comparing alternative methodologies

/pdf/a-survey-of-recent-results-in-networked-control-systems-2vqnhq8czm.pdf

A Survey of Recent Results in Networked Control Systems

A stylized compressed sensing radar is proposed in which the time-frequency plane is discretized into an N times N grid. Assuming the number of targets K is small (i.e., K Lt N2), then we can transmit a sufficiently ldquoincoherentrdquo pulse and employ the techniques of compressed sensing to reconstruct the target scene. A theoretical upper bound on the sparsity K is presented. Numerical simulations verify that even better performance can be achieved in practice. This novel-compressed sensing approach offers great potential for better resolution over classical radar.

High-Resolution Radar via Compressed Sensing

The emerging area of control with limited data rates incorporates ideas from both control and information theory The data rate constraint introduces quantization into the feedback loop and gives the interconnected system a two-fold nature, continuous and symbolic In this paper, we review the results available in the literature on data-rate-limited control For linear systems, we show how fundamental tradeoffs between the data rate and control goals, such as stability, mean entry times, and asymptotic state norms, emerge naturally While many classical tools from both control and information theory can still be used in this context, it turns out that the deepest results necessitate a novel, integrated view of both disciplines

Feedback Control Under Data Rate Constraints: An Overview

a ) p. 131 The discussion between eqs. (5.14) and (5.15) is incorrect (dA should be made as large as possible!). b ) p. 256 In the figure, the numbers 6) and 7) occur twice. c ) p. 292 At the end of section 12.5, it should be the space of isospectral 0Hermitian matrices. d ) p. 306 A ”Tr” is missing in eq. (13.43). e ) p. 327, Eq. (14.64b) is 〈Trρ〉B = N(14N+10) (5N+1)(N+3) should be 〈Trρ〉B = 8N+7 (N+2)(N+4)

https://chaos.if.uj.edu.pl/~karol/erratum10.pdf

Geometry of Quantum States

It is well known in the field of dynamical systems that entropy can be defined rigorously for completely deterministic open-loop systems. However, such definitions have found limited application in engineering, unlike Shannon's statistical entropy. In this paper, it is shown that the problem of communication-limited stabilization is related to the concept of topological entropy, introduced by Adler et al. as a measure of the information rate of a continuous map on a compact topological space. Using similar open cover techniques, the notion of topological feedback entropy (TFE) is defined in this paper and proposed as a measure of the inherent rate at which a map on a noncompact topological space with inputs generates stability information. It is then proven that a topological dynamical plant can be stabilized into a compact set if and only if the data rate in the feedback loop exceeds the TFE of the plant on the set. By taking appropriate limits in a metric space, the concept of local TFE (LTFE) is defined at fixed points of the plant, and it is shown that the plant is locally uniformly asymptotically stabilizable to a fixed point if and only if the data rate exceeds the plant LTFE at the fixed point. For continuously differentiable plants in Euclidean space, real Jordan forms and volume partitioning arguments are then used to derive an expression for LTFE in terms of the unstable eigenvalues of the fixed point Jacobian.

/pdf/topological-feedback-entropy-and-nonlinear-stabilization-6fhas5vc37.pdf

Topological feedback entropy and Nonlinear stabilization

We describe a method of constructing a sequence (pulse train) of phase-coded waveforms, for which the ambiguity function is free of range sidelobes along modest Doppler shifts. The constituent waveforms are Golay complementary waveforms which have ideal ambiguity along the zero Doppler axis but are sensitive to nonzero Doppler shifts. We extend this construction to multiple dimensions, in particular to radar polarimetry, where the two dimensions are realized by orthogonal polarizations. Here we determine a sequence of two-by-two Alamouti matrices where the entries involve Golay pairs and for which the range sidelobes associated with a matrix-valued ambiguity function vanish at modest Doppler shifts. The Prouhet-Thue-Morse sequence plays a key role in the construction of Doppler resilient sequences of Golay complementary waveforms.

/pdf/doppler-resilient-golay-complementary-waveforms-14yuiyp26h.pdf

Doppler Resilient Golay Complementary Waveforms

We investigate the theory of the finite Heisenberg-Weyl group in relation to the development of adaptive radar and to the construction of spreading sequences and error-correcting codes in communications. We contend that this group can form the basis for the representation of the radar environment in terms of operators on the space of waveforms. We also demonstrate, following recent developments in the theory of error-correcting codes, that the finite Heisenberg-Weyl groups provide a unified basis for the construction of useful waveforms/sequences for radar, communications, and the theory of error-correcting codes.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1155/ASP/2006/85685.pdf

The finite Heisenberg-Weyl groups in radar and communications

The dynamic adaptation of waveforms for transmission by active radar has been facilitated by the availability of waveform-agile sensors. In this paper, we propose a method to employ waveform agility to improve the detection of low radar-cross section (RCS) targets on the ocean surface that present low signal-to-clutter ratios due to high sea states and low grazing angles. Employing the expectation-maximization algorithm to estimate the time-varying parameters for compound-Gaussian sea clutter, we develop a generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detector and identify a range bin of interest. The clutter estimates are then used to dynamically design a phase-modulated waveform that minimizes the out-of-bin clutter contributions to this range bin. A simulation based on parameters derived from real sea clutter data demonstrates that our approach provides around 10 dB improvement in detection performance over a nonadaptive system

Adaptive Waveform Design for Improved Detection of Low-RCS Targets in Heavy Sea Clutter

Gravitational wave searches for continuous-wave signals from neutron stars are especially challenging when the star's spin frequency is unknown a priori from electromagnetic observations and wanders stochastically under the action of internal (e.g., superfluid or magnetospheric) or external (e.g., accretion) torques. It is shown that frequency tracking by hidden Markov model (HMM) methods can be combined with existing maximum likelihood coherent matched filters like the F-statistic to surmount some of the challenges raised by spin wandering. Specifically, it is found that, for an isolated, biaxial rotor whose spin frequency walks randomly, HMM tracking of the F-statistic output from coherent segments with duration T-drift = 10 d over a total observation time of T-obs = 1 yr can detect signals with wave strains h(0) > 2 x 10(-26) at a noise level characteristic of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (Advanced LIGO). For a biaxial rotor with randomly walking spin in a binary orbit, whose orbital period and semimajor axis are known approximately from electromagnetic observations, HMM tracking of the Bessel-weighted F-statistic output can detect signals with h(0) > 8 x 10(-26). An efficient, recursive, HMM solver based on the Viterbi algorithm is demonstrated, which requires similar to 10(3) CPU hours for a typical, broadband (0.5-kHz) search for the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1, including generation of the relevant F-statistic input. In a "realistic" observational scenario, Viterbi tracking successfully detects 41 out of 50 synthetic signals without spin wandering in stage I of the Scorpius X-1 Mock Data Challenge convened by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration down to a wave strain of h(0) = 1.1 x 10(-25), recovering the frequency with a root-mean-square accuracy of <= 4.3 x 10(-3) Hz.

William Moran

Papers

Topological feedback entropy and Nonlinear stabilization

Doppler Resilient Golay Complementary Waveforms

The finite Heisenberg-Weyl groups in radar and communications

Adaptive Waveform Design for Improved Detection of Low-RCS Targets in Heavy Sea Clutter

Hidden Markov model tracking of continuous gravitational waves from a neutron star with wandering spin