Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation

Workshop on gravitational-wave Bayesian parameter estimation with PyCBC Inference

By

14 – 16 May 2019

In this workshop we will provide an introduction to gravitational-wave Bayesian parameter estimation, with specific focus on the PyCBC Inference toolkit. PyCBC Inference is a python-based parameter estimation tool for gravitational wave astronomy. It has been used in several publications to date, involving both multimessenger astrophysics, and tests of general relativity.

The goal of the workshop is to provide attendees with an understanding of the principles of gravitational-wave Bayesian parameter estimation and hands-on knowledge of PyCBC Inference. This will allow the attendees to be able to use this toolkit for a variety of analyses that they might want to perform on gravitational-wave data, whether using proprietary LIGO/Virgo data, or public data from GWOSC. The workshop will mix traditional presentations with hands-on tutorials, and will have time reserved for small-group hackathons. Topics covered will be:

  • Introduction to parameter estimation in gravitational-wave astronomy.
  • Overview of stochastic sampling techniques, including tests of convergence and practical considerations.
  • How to adapt the code for your project.
  • Parallelization and optimization techniques.

For more details see the program page

There is no registration fee for the workshop. For information about registration accommodation and travel, please see below.

Organizing team

Collin Capano (collin.capano@aei.mpg.de) is arranging the scientific content of this workshop. Please contact Collin for any questions on this aspect.

Ian Harry (ian.harry@port.ac.uk) is arranging the local organizational details. Please contact Ian for any questions on this aspect.

Registration

There is no fee for this workshop, but please do register so that we arrange a suitable room (it is exam period in Portsmouth, so we cannot just move to a larger room). To register please use this link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gravitational-wave-bayesian-inference-workshop-pycbc-inference-tickets-59170904769

Accommodation

Portsmouth is a moderate-size city in the UK. Everything is reasonably compact around the centre so most things are within walking distance. For reference we are situated at the Dennis Sciama building on Burnaby Road (type into Google Maps to see).

We generally recommend visitors use the Ibis Portsmouth Centre, which is quite comfortable, offers breakfast, and is a short walk from here and close to restaurants. But feel free to use your hotel finder of choice!

Travel

If travelling from within the UK then most likely the train is easiest. Portsmouth and Southsea train station is in the middle of Portsmouth and easy walk to the accommodation options and our building.

If travelling from within Europe then look for flights into Southampton or London Gatwick airports. The former takes flights from Air France/KLM, and the latter is one of the largest EasyJet hubs. From either of these airports you can take a train (either directly or with a simple connection) to Portsmouth. Use the http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ website to figure out train times (you can normally buy a flexible fair to avoid problems if planes are delayed).

If travelling from outside of Europe you have two choices.

OPTION 1: fly into London Heathrow, which is very well connected and will probably be cheaper if a direct flight, but is not so easily connected to Portsmouth. As above, the nationalrail website will help to find connections to Portsmouth, but the “Heathrow bus” terminal can be used, which is a bus to, normally, Woking, and then a train from there. The Heathrow bus option will *not* show if selecting Heathrow all terminals. This is quicker and cheaper than travelling through London (which involves swapping at Paddington and using the Tube to get to Victoria/Waterloo). (As a note this method is also effective when travelling to other places in the UK, e.g. Cardiff).

OPTION 2: Fly to Paris/Amsterdam/(other hubs??) and get a connecting flight to Southampton, or even Gatwick. This will be a bit more expensive for the flight, but is a simpler connection to Portsmouth.

Venue

We will be hosting the workshop in the “Future Technology Center” http://www2.port.ac.uk/realising-the-vision/major-projects/future-technology-centre/. We have the first floor of the building (remember that ground floor is floor 0 in the UK) to use for the workshop, including some breakout space if people want to have separate discussions.

Please see here for more details of how to find the venue:

https://github.com/gwastro/PyCBCInferenceWorkshopMay2019/wiki/Venue

Code of conduct

The workshop will be run according to the ICG’s code of conduct http://www.icg.port.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/ICGcodeofconductposter.pdf. We would ask participants to read over this to help ensure that the workshop is friendly and welcoming to all participants.

Donald Lynden-Bell: a tribute

By

It seems an obvious fact that galaxies formed through gravitational collapse. And we all know that quasars are powered by accretion onto supermassive black-holes. But perhaps not everyone knows whom we owe this knowledge to. Donald Lynden-Bell passed away in February 2018. Since the beginning of my studies I was intrigued by the notion of an early collapse that would explain why the Milky Way halo contains the most ancient stars and why the metal content increases towards the inner parts of galaxies. The monolithic collapse model of Donald has accompanied my thoughts  until I was lucky enough to be part of a Club where I could dine in his company  … In front of a rich chocolate pudding I remember a conversation where we shared the puzzling thinking that the biggest galaxies seem to be the oldest. How could we explain this? Did we need another Universe? Perhaps, but first we needed another chocolate … It was always a pleasure to dine in Donald’s company, his radiant optimism and open smile were illuminating the dining room as much as his articles have enlightened generations of astronomers …. As Ruth his wife says ‘Donald loved to attend the Club to be able to meet younger astronomers and see how the world was changing’ … He gave the impression to be happy, and this is how I want to remember him.  In admiration and memory of Professor Donald Lynden-Bell, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics, Gold and Eddington Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Director of the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy, Member of the Seven Samurai, and more.

Twitter

Facebook