We report on a scale determination with gradient-flow techniques on the $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ HISQ ensembles generated by the MILC collaboration. The lattice scale $w_0/a$, originally proposed by the BMW collaboration, is computed using Symanzik flow at
four lattice spacings ranging from 0.15 to 0.06 fm. With a Taylor series ansatz, the results are simultaneously extrapolated to the continuum and interpolated to physical quark masses. We give a preliminary determination of the scale $w_0$ in physical units, along with associated systematic errors, and compare with results from other groups. We also present a first estimate of autocorrelation lengths as a function of flowtime for these ensembles.
We describe several studies to measure the charged track reconstruction efficiency and asymmetry of the BaBar detector. The first two studies measure the tracking efficiency of a charged particle using $tau$ and initial state radiation decays. The th
ird uses the $tau$ decays to study the asymmetry in tracking, the fourth measures the tracking efficiency for low momentum tracks, and the last measures the reconstruction efficiency of $K_S^0$ particles. The first section also examines the stability of the measurements vs BaBar running periods.
In the context of metric perturbation theory for non-spinning black holes, extreme mass ratio binary (EMRB) systems are described by distributionally forced master wave equations. Numerical solution of a master wave equation as an initial boundary va
lue problem requires initial data. However, because the correct initial data for generic-orbit systems is unknown, specification of trivial initial data is a common choice, despite being inconsistent and resulting in a solution which is initially discontinuous in time. As is well known, this choice leads to a burst of junk radiation which eventually propagates off the computational domain. We observe another unintended consequence of trivial initial data: development of a persistent spurious solution, here referred to as the Jost junk solution, which contaminates the physical solution for long times. This work studies the influence of both types of junk on metric perturbations, waveforms, and self-force measurements, and it demonstrates that smooth modified source terms mollify the Jost solution and reduce junk radiation. Our concluding section discusses the applicability of these observations to other numerical schemes and techniques used to solve distributionally forced master wave equations.
