Christopher Berry

@cplberry.bsky.social

4176 Followers 614 Following

Gravitational-wave astrophysicist. University of Glasgow Senior Lecturer. Science, education, LEGO & cake. May contain traces of nuts 🐘 https://mastodon.online/@cplberry 📚 https://cplberry.com

xkcd: Survivorship bias Transcript courtesy of Explain xkcd: [Hairy, holding an arm out towards an unseen crowd, is standing on a podium with five large bags around him, each having a dollar sign on it.] Hairy: Never stop buying lottery tickets, no matter what anyone tells you. Hairy: I failed again and again, but I never gave up. I took extra jobs and poured the money into tickets. Hairy: And here I am, proof that if you put in the time, it pays off! [Caption below the panel:] Every inspirational speech by someone successful should have to start with a disclaimer about survivorship bias.
Graph using Freedom on Information data showing breakdown of STFC costs. Grants are basically flat. Projects are similar (with potential bumps from supercomputing). International commitments like CERN have grown, reflecting currency fluctuations, etc. The biggest change is in facilities and subscriptions, which have doubled since 2018.
Two simulated versions of the chirp of GW240925. The first is recorded with a properly calibrated detector, the second with a miscalibrated detector. Here, the miscalibration of the Hanford detector has been greatly exaggerated (magnified 1000 times) so that you can hear the difference (our analysis can pick up much smaller details)
Visualisation of two gravitational-wave chirps. These characteristic signals sweep up from low frequencies to high, as binaries merge. These plots show data from LIGO Hanford, LIGO Livingston and Virgo for two exceptionally loud signals: GW240925 and GW250207. These signals allowed us to infer the calibration of the LGIO Hanford detector.
5.a. A culinary, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, or other preparation resembling milk, esp. in colour. Usually with the principal ingredient or use specified by a preceding or following word. a1425– soya, tree milk, etc.: see the first element; almond milk n., rice milk n. † milk of mercury noun Obsolete mercuric chloride dissolved in the sap of a fumitory.
Screen shot of textbook "with beam-pattern factors (cf. Forward 1978, Rudenko and Sazhin 1980, Estabrook 1985, Schuyz and Tinto 1987) F+ = [a combination of trig functions depending on source position and polarisation angle], F× = [a similar function, replacing sin with cos and vice versa for functions of the polarisation angle]. “
Research momentum across Europe, showing the number of field growing vs declining Italy: +623 Spain: +548 Germany: +513 Austria: + 300 UK: + 56 Switzerland: +44 Netherlands: −48 Sweden: −310 Belgium: −520 France: −925
Screen shot from letter "Re: STFC – reprioritisation of PPAN investments" Excerpts: "In response to STFC’s indicative allocation, UKRI will need to ensure that investments across the portfolio are aligned to a sustainable level over the Spending Review period. For STFC this means striking the right balance between long-term discovery science, our major national facilities, and applied research and innovation. To achieve this, we will need to focus our efforts on a more concentrated set of priorities, funded at a level that can be maintained over time. As part of this, STFC is reviewing its entire portfolio, including facilities and laboratories, to understand how best to deliver a sustainable programme for the future. Within the PPAN programme – now operating fully within STFC’s curiosity-driven research portfolio – we will need to model further adjustments, building on last year’s 15% reduction in new grants, to bring the programme into long-term balance. This prioritisation process will inevitably require some difficult choices. A moresustainable level for STFC's PPAN budget is likely to be around 70% of what this budget grew to in 24/25 off the back of steep inflation and rises in cost of operations in the last Spending Review." "To manage the challenges ahead, we will need to make difficult choices between scientifically excellent projects, this will include ceasing or reducing investments in many of the projects that STFC currently supports in order to continue funding others at a sustainable level. To support a comprehensive appraisal of options, we will be asking individual projects within our PPAN portfolio to identify how their project would respond to flat cash and reductions of 20%, 40% and 60%, and also identify the funding point at which the project becomes non-viable. This will enable Science Board to advise on redistribution and optimise returns."
Initial sky localization. 90% area 1,700 sq deg.
Initial sky localiation. 90% area 790 sq deg.
The waveform explained infographic It explains how the amplitude is related to the distance to the source. Having twice the distance makes the signal half as loud. The amplitude also depends on the position on the sky relative to the detectors. We are most sensitive to sources directly above or below the detectors.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 1,200 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area is 1,500 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 700 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 720 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 980 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 170 sq deg.
Updated sky localization. 90% area 740 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 3,700 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 1,500 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 230 sq deg.
Updated sky localization. 90% 1,400 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 110 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 2,200 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 1,600 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 180 sq deg.
arXiv screenshot for a preprint entitled: "Can you fall into a McVittie black hole? Will you survive?" by Brien C. Nolan arXiv:2509.18903 [gr-qc]
Updated sky localization. 90% area 5216 sq deg.
Updated sky localization. 90% area 300 sq deg.
Updated sky localization. 90% area 950 sq deg.
Infographic illustrating different features of a gravitational-wave signal and what they tell us about the source
Initial sky localization. 90% area 11,000 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 520 sq deg.
S250904cv initial sky localization. 90% area 1,200 sq deg.
S250904br's initial sky localization. 90% area about 970 sq deg.
S250904ae initial sky localization. 90% area 1,000 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 700 sq deg.
Updated sky localization. 90% area 4 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 3,100 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 970 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 1,100 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 380 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 18 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 3,500 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 4,500 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 23 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 380 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 1,000 sq deg.
S250725l initial sky localization. 90% area 2000 sq deg.
S250725j initial sky localization. 90% area 28 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% 310 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 3,000 sq deg.
Talk poster: Prof. Carole Mundell European Space Agency Direcotr of Science From Earth to the Fabric of SpaceTime FREE ADMISSION Wednesday 16 July 19:30 to 20:30 The Clyde Auditorium, SEC, Glasgow
Initial sky localization. 90% area 510 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 77 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area about 1,900 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 24,000 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 24,000 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 3,000 sq deg.
Initial sky localization. 90% area 3,200 sq deg.