Mississippi participation in LIGO's search for gravitational waves

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The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is designed to observe gravitational waves in the intermediate-high frequency regime. Inspiral and merger of stellarmass compact objects and black holes are leading candidate sources for detection. This award provides support for the LIGO research activities of the University of Mississippi (UMISS) group. The UMISS group contributes to LIGO efforts in the areas of data analysis, detector characterization, and outreach. The supported program focuses on these areas. Its main goals are: (1) Investigate the effect of different instrumental and signal-based proposed vetoes in current and future searches and to develop and implement possible optimization methods that may result from these studies; (2) Contribute to the investigation and mitigation of environmental disturbances at the LIGO Observatories; (3) Contribute to the LIGO outreach program by developing educational material and coordinating LIGO outreach activities in Mississippi. A theoretical component of this program focuses on the possible detection of ringdown signals and exotic compact objects by Enhanced and Advanced LIGO. These investigations will pave the way to extract astrophysical information and test fundamental physics with next-generation LIGO detectors.The proposed research will successfully contribute to LIGO near-, intermediate- and longterm science goals by contributing to LIGO?s efforts in achieving the first-ever detection of a gravitational-wave and by exploring in depth LIGO?s potential for measuring astrophysical parameters and testing the fundamental nature of gravitation. The broader impact of this project is to increase research and educational opportunities in a geographical region of the United States where engagement in basic sciences is below national average. This project will expand Mississippi?s involvement in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and will create new opportunities for public outreach initiatives at local and regional scale.