A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of many incoherent sources of gravitational waves, of either cosmological or astrophysical origin. This background is a target for the current generation of ground-based detectors. In this article we present the first joint search for a stochastic background using data from the LIGO and Virgo interferometers. In a frequency band of 600-1000 Hz, we obtained a 95% upper limit on the amplitude of $\Omega_\text{GW}(f)=\Omega_3(f/900\text{ Hz})^3$, of $\Omega_3<0.32$, assuming a value of the Hubble parameter of $h_{100}=0.71$. These new limits are a factor of seven better than the previous best in this frequency band.

We report on a search for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries using LIGO and Virgo observations between July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010. We searched for signals from binaries with total mass between 2 and 25 solar masses; this includes binary neutron stars, binary black holes, and binaries consisting of a black hole and neutron star. The detectors were sensitive to systems up to 40 Mpc distant for binary neutron stars, and further for higher mass systems. No gravitational-wave signals were detected. We report upper limits on the rate of compact binary coalescence as a function of total mass, including the results from previous LIGO and Virgo observations. The cumulative 90%-confidence rate upper limits of the binary coalescence of binary neutron star, neutron star- black hole and binary black holes systems are $1.3 \times 10^{-4}$, $3.1 \times 10^{-5}$ and $6.4 \times 10^{-6} \text{ Mpc}^{-3}\text{ yr}^{-1}$, respectively. We also report on results from a blind injection challenge.

We report on an all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves in the frequency band 50-800 Hz and with the frequency time derivative in the range of 0 through $-6\times 10^{-9} \text{ Hz}/\text{s}$. Such a signal could be produced by a nearby spinning and slightly non-axisymmetric isolated neutron star in our galaxy. After recent improvements in the search program that yielded a 10x increase in computational efficiency, we have searched in two years of data collected during LIGO's fifth science run and have obtained the most sensitive all-sky upper limits on gravitational wave strain to date. Near 150 Hz our upper limit on worst-case linearly polarized strain amplitude $h_0$ is $1\times 10^{-24}$, while at the high end of our frequency range we achieve a worst-case upper limit of $3.8\times 10^{-24}$ for all polarizations and sky locations. These results constitute a factor of two improvement upon previously published data. A new detection pipeline utilizing a Loosely Coherent algorithm was able to follow up weaker outliers, increasing the volume of space where signals can be detected by a factor of 10, but has not revealed any gravitational wave signals. The pipeline has been tested for robustness with respect to deviations from the model of an isolated neutron star, such as caused by a low-mass or long-period binary companion.

Aims. A transient astrophysical event observed in both gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM)
channels would yield rich scientific rewards. A first program initiating EM follow-ups to possible transient GW
events has been developed and exercised by the LIGO and Virgo community in association with several
partners. In this paper, we describe and evaluate the methods used to promptly identify and localize GW event
candidates and to request images of targeted sky locations. Methods. During two observing periods (Dec 17
2009 to Jan 8 2010 and Sep 2 to Oct 20 2010), a low-latency analysis pipeline was used to identify GW event
candidates and to reconstruct maps of possible sky locations. A catalog of nearby galaxies and Milky Way
globular clusters was used to select the most promising sky positions to be imaged, and this directional
information was delivered to EM observatories with time lags of about thirty minutes. A Monte Carlo simulation
has been used to evaluate the low-latency GW pipeline's ability to reconstruct source positions correctly.
Results. For signals near the detection threshold, our low-latency algorithms often localized simulated GW burst
signals to tens of square degrees, while neutron star/neutron star inspirals and neutron star/black hole inspirals
were localized to a few hundred square degrees. Localization precision improves for moderately stronger signals.
The correct sky location of signals well above threshold and originating from nearby galaxies may be observed
with ~50% or better probability with a few pointings of wide-field telescopes.

We present the results of a search for gravitational waves associated with 154 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) that were detected by satellite-based gamma-ray experiments in 2009-2010, during the sixth LIGO science run and the second and third Virgo science runs. We perform two distinct searches: a modeled search for coalescences of either two neutron stars or a neutron star and black hole; and a search for generic, unmodeled gravitational-wave bursts. We find no evidence for gravitational-wave counterparts, either with any individual GRB in this sample or with the population as a whole. For all GRBs we place lower bounds on the distance to the progenitor, under the optimistic assumption of a gravitational-wave emission energy of $10^{-2} \text{ }M_\odot\text{ } c^2$ at 150 Hz, with a median limit of 17 Mpc. For short hard GRBs we place exclusion distances on binary neutron star and neutron star-black hole progenitors, using astrophysically motivated priors on the source parameters, with median values of 16 Mpc and 28 Mpc respectively. These distance limits, while significantly larger than for a search that is not aided by GRB satellite observations, are not large enough to expect a coincidence with a GRB. However, projecting these exclusions to the sensitivities of Advanced LIGO and Virgo, which should begin operation in 2015, we find that the detection of gravitational waves associated with GRBs will become quite possible.

We present the first multi-wavelength follow-up observations of two candidate gravitational-wave (GW) transient events recorded by LIGO and Virgo in their 2009-2010 science run. The events were selected with low latency by the network of GW detectors and their candidate sky locations were observed by the $\mathit{Swift}$ observatory. Image transient detection was used to analyze the collected electromagnetic data, which were found to be consistent with background. Off-line analysis of the GW data alone has also established that the selected GW events show no evidence of an astrophysical origin; one of them is consistent with background and the other one was a test, part of a 'blind injection challenge'. With this work we demonstrate the feasibility of rapid follow-ups of GW transients and establish the sensitivity improvement joint electromagnetic and GW observations could bring. This is a first step toward an electromagnetic follow-up program in the regime of routine detections with the advanced GW instruments expected within this decade. In that regime multi-wavelength observations will play a significant role in completing the astrophysical identification of GW sources. We present the methods and results from this first combined analysis and discuss its implications in terms of sensitivity for the present and future instruments.

Between 2007 and 2010 Virgo collected data in coincidence with the LIGO and GEO gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. These data have been searched for GWs emitted by cataclysmic phenomena in the universe, by non-axisymmetric rotating neutron stars or from a stochastic background in the frequency band of the detectors. The sensitivity of GW searches is limited by noise produced by the detector or its environment. It is therefore crucial to characterize the various noise sources in a GW detector. This paper reviews the Virgo detector noise sources, noise propagation, and conversion mechanisms which were identified in the three first Virgo observing runs. In many cases, these investigations allowed us to mitigate noise sources in the detector, or to selectively flag noise events and discard them from the data. We present examples from the joint LIGO-GEO-Virgo GW searches to show how well noise transients and narrow spectral lines have been identified and excluded from the Virgo data. We also discuss how detector characterization can improve the astrophysical reach of GW searches.

Gravitational waves are predicted by the Einstein's theory of General Relativity. The direct detection of gravitational waves is one of the most challenging tasks in modern science and engineering due to the 'weak' nature of gravity. Recent development of the laser interferometer technology, however, makes it possible to build a detector on Earth that is sensitive up to 100-1000 Mpc for strong sources. It implies an expected detection rate of neutron star mergers, which are one of the most important targets for ground-based detectors, ranges between a few to a few hundred per year. Therefore, we expect that the gravitational-wave observation will be routine within several years. Strongest gravitational-wave sources include tight binaries composed of compact objects, supernova explosions, gamma-ray bursts, mergers of supermassive black holes, etc. Together with the electromagnetic waves, the gravitational wave observation will allow us to explore the most exotic nature of astrophysical objects as well as the very early evolution of the universe. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the theory of gravitational waves, principles of detections, gravitational-wave detectors, astrophysical sources of gravitational waves, and future prospects.

불과 에너지의 순환에 대한 정확한 해석은 수문학, 기후학, 생태학적인 과정을 이해하는데 있어 매우 중요하다. 수문 순환 환경변화의 정확한 예측을 위해 사용되고 있는 모형들 중 Common Land Model(CLM}은 물과 에너지수지 방정식을 기반으로 한 최신 Soi1-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer(SVAT) 모형 중 하나로써, 비교적 간단한 매개변수를 이용하여 현실적이고 신뢰할 만한 결과를 산출해낼 수 있다. CLM 모형은 전 세계적으로 널리 이용되고 있으나, 국내에서는 정보의 부재와 입력자료의 미흡으로 인하여 실제적인 적용사례가 부촉한 실정이다. 본 연구에서는 CLM의 국내 적용성 검증을 위하여 해남 Korea Flux Network(KoFlux}의 자료와 Korea Land Data Assimilation System(KLDAS}의 자료를 이용하여 수문순환 환경인자들의 모형 결과를 산출하였다. 모형의 결과와 관측자료의 비교에서 KoFlux와 KLDAS의 두 입력 자료를 사용한 결과 모두 회귀분석에서의 결정계수 값이 0.73~1.00의 신뢰할 만한 수준으로 나타났다. 본 연구에서 CLM의 국내 적용 가능성을 확인하였고 지점자료가 존재하지 않는 지역에 대한 KLDAS의 이용가능성을 또한 확인하였다.

Accurate assessment of the water and energy cycles is essential to understand hydrologic, climatologic, and ecological processes. Common Land Model (CLM) is one of the well-developed Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer (SVAT) models based on the water and energy balance equation for accurate prediction of hydro-environmental cycles. The CLM can estimate realistic and reliable results using relatively simple parameters. It has been widely used in the world, however in Korea practical applications of the CLM are rare due to lack of information and input data. In this study, the CLM with Korea Flux network (KoFlux) and Kore Land Data Assimilation System (KLDAS) data were individually validated for domestic applications. This study showed that all comparisons between observations and model results from KoFlux and KLDAS had reasonable correlation with determination coefficient of 0.73~1.00 via regression. The results confirmed the applicability of the CLM and the possibility of the KLDAS usage for the region where input data are not existed.