New sensitivity curves for gravitational-wave signals from cosmological phase transitions

Gravitational waves (GWs) from strong first-order phase transitions (SFOPTs) in the early Universe are a prime target for upcoming GW experiments. In this paper, I construct novel peak-integrated sensitivity curves (PISCs) for these experiments, which faithfully represent their projected sensitivities to the GW signal from a cosmological SFOPT by explicitly taking into account the expected shape of the signal. Designed to be a handy tool for phenomenologists and model builders, PISCs allow for a quick and systematic comparison of theoretical predictions with experimental sensitivities, as I illustrate by a large range of examples. PISCs also offer several advantages over the conventional power-law-integrated sensitivity curves (PLISCs); in particular, they directly encode information on the expected signal-to-noise ratio for the GW signal from a SFOPT. I provide semianalytical fit functions for the exact numerical PISCs of LISA, DECIGO, and BBO. In an appendix, I moreover present a detailed review of the strain noise power spectra of a large number of GW experiments. The numerical results for all PISCs, PLISCs, and strain noise power spectra presented in this paper can be downloaded from the Zenodo online repository [1]. In a companion paper [2], the concept of PISCs is used to perform an in-depth study of the GW signal from the cosmological phase transition in the real-scalar-singlet extension of the standard model. The PISCs presented in this paper will need to be updated whenever new theoretical results on the expected shape of the signal become available. The PISC approach is therefore suited to be used as a bookkeeping tool to keep track of the theoretical progress in the field.

Integração de parâmetros geomorfológicos e biológicos no desenvolvimento do Índice Integrado de Sensibilidade do Litoral (IISL) (Integration of geomorphological and biological parameters to develop a Coastal Integrated Sensitivity Index (CISI))

No contexto da indústria petrolífera e suas relações com os ecossistemas enquadram-se os instrumentos de políticas públicas, desenvolvidos a fim de prevenir e minimizar os efeitos de acidentes com óleo e derivados, como as Cartas de Sensibilidade Ambiental ao Derramamento de Óleo (Cartas SAO). Dentre as principais informações contidas nas Cartas SAO está o Índice de Sensibilidade do Litoral (ISL). Este índice mede a sensibilidade dos diferentes ambientes costeiros ao contato com óleo de acordo com as características geomorfológicas da região: exposição às forçantes hidrodinâmicas, tipo de substrato e declividade do litoral. Nesse estudo foi desenvolvida uma metodologia específica que integrou dados geomorfológicos e biológicos no desenvolvimento de um Índice Integrado de Sensibilidade do Litoral (IISL). Tal metodologia desenvolveu previamente dois índices distintos, o Índice Geomorfológico de Sensibilidade (IG) e o Índice Biológico de Sensibilidade (IB), os quais tiveram suas variáveis bem definidas permitindo a integração para desenvolvimento do IISL. Três regiões da Bacia de Pelotas, sul do Brasil, foram escolhidas para a aplicação dessa metodologia. Os resultados indicaram alteração nos valores de sensibilidade ao óleo em seis trechos de linha de costa analisados, apurando o mapeamento destas áreas. Assim, o presente estudo buscou apresentar elementos que venham subsidiar o aprimoramento metodológico de mapeamento de sensibilidade ao óleo no país, contribuindo na gestão de incidentes e no gerenciamento costeiro. A B S T R A C TIn the context of oil industry and its relations with ecosystems the instruments of public policy are framed, which are developed to prevent and minimize the effects accidents involving oil and its derivatives, such as the Environmental Sensibility to Oil (ESO charts). The main information in the ESO charts is the Coastal Integrated Sensitivity Index (CISI), which measures the sensitivity of different coastal environments to contact with oil according to geomorphological characteristics, such as exposure to hydrodynamic forces, substrate type and coastal slope. The concept of sensibility used for the characterization of the coastline does not include in its methodological scope biological information, therefore, a new specific methodology was developed, which integrated geomorphological and biological data to develop a Coastal Integrated Sensitivity Index (CISI). This methodology previously developed two different indexes, the Geomorphological Sensitivity Index (GSI) and Biological Sensitivity Index (BSI), which had their well-defined variables allowing the integration of CISI. Three regions of the Pelotas Basin, south of Brazil, were chosen to test this methodology. The results indicated a change in sensibility values in six coastline segments analyzed, improving the mapping of these áreas. This way, the present study effectively contributed to upgrade the methodology for mapping the sensibility to oil spills, also contributing on the management of accidents involving oil and on coastal management.Keyword: Oil spill, ESO charts, coastal sensitivity, biological and geomorphological data.