Computational Relativity and Gravitation at Petascale: Simulating and Visualizing Astrophysically Realistic Compact Binaries

该奖项提供旅行资金，以支持Blue Waters项目团队和一组天体物理研究人员之间的技术协调，以探索在Blue Waters系统上使用的天体物理代码的准备情况。如果成功，预计该代码将用于调查与两个密度非常高的天体合并相关的一系列问题。其中包括：非对称黑洞双星、中子星双星的合并，以及黑洞和中子星的合并。研究人员希望通过精确的模拟来表征这些事件的重力波特征，以期在地球探测器接收到重力波信号时，提供有助于诊断重力波信号的信息。在中子星合并过程较慢的情况下，合并前中子星的振荡模式被认为与其内部结构有关，因此数值模拟和探测到的重力波信号的比较应该提供关于中子星内部结构的间接信息。进一步研究的主题是黑洞周围相对论吸积盘的动力学行为？中子星和中子星？中子星合并。后一项研究的目的之一是描述被破坏的中子星和吸积盘相互作用产生的高能电磁辐射的特征。将用Blue Waters进行的研究将涉及一些研究生和本科生。这项工作的结果将纳入本科生和研究生课程。除了科学出版物外，还将通过访客计划传播结果。该项目团队包括来自代表性不足群体的研究人员和年轻的研究人员。该项目团队计划通过演讲吸引当地高中班级的参与，并通过参与为期两周的高中生学术项目吸引高中生。

ABSTRACT/0832606This award provides travel funds to support technical coordination between the Blue Waters project team and a team of astrophysical researchers to explore the readiness of an astrophysics code for use on the Blue Waters system. If successful, it is anticipated that the code will be used for investigations of a series of problems associated with the merger of pairs of very dense astrophysical objects. These include: the merger of asymmetric black hole binaries, of neutron star binaries, and the merger of a black hole and a neutron star. Through accurate simulations, the researchers hope to characterize the gravity wave signatures of these events with a view to contributing information that will be useful in the diagnosis of gravity wave signals when these are received in terrestrial detectors. In the case of the slower process of neutron star merger, the oscillation modes of the neutron stars prior to merger are believed to be dependent on their internal structure so that comparison of numerical simulations and detected gravity wave signals should provide indirect information about the internal structure of neutron stars. A further topic of investigation is the dynamical behavior of relativistic accretion disks around black hole ? neutron star and neutron star ? neutron star mergers. One aim of these latter investigations is to characterize the highly energetic electromagnetic radiation generated through the interaction of the disrupted neutron star and the accretion disk.The research to be done with Blue Waters will involve a number of graduate students and undergraduates. Results of the work will be included in undergraduate and graduate courses. Results will be disseminated through a visitor program in addition to scientific publications. The project team includes researchers from under-represented groups and young investigators. The project team plans to engage local high-school classes through presentations and high-school students through participation in a two-week academic program for high-school students.