Search for Continuous Gravitational Waves from Isolated and Binary Neutron Stars

这一研究项目将侧重于与激光干涉仪引力波观测站实验有关的若干领域：1)共同领导正在进行的对连续引力波的合作搜索；2)开发用于探测孤立中子星和双星中子星的准周期源的新算法；以及3)高级引力波干涉仪的探测器特性，侧重于谱线识别和缓解。因此，将开展的工作既包括在现有的LIGO数据中搜索我们银河系附近快速旋转的非轴对称中子星的证据，也包括准备搜索高级LIGO预计将提供的更敏感的数据。来自天体物理对象的引力波的发现将标志着科学上的一个重大里程碑，同时证实了引力物理学的基本预测之一，同时开辟了一个全新的天文学领域。来自旋转中子星的这种波的探测将特别有趣，因为许多这样的源预计将持续发射很长时间，从而使后续研究能够提高精度，而且因为人们相信这些波将提供对这些奇异恒星鲜为人知的结构的洞察。将在仪器和分析两方面进行的研究将为本科生和研究生提供最新科学知识前沿方面的培训。

This research project will focus on a number of areas related to the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Experiment: 1) co-leading the ongoing collaboration search for continuous gravitational waves; 2) developing new algorithms for detecting quasi-periodic sources from both isolated and binary neutron stars and 3) detector characterization of Advanced LIGO interferometers focused on spectral line identification and mitigation. The work to be carried out thus includes both searching in existing LIGO data for evidence of rapidly spinning, non-axisymmetric neutron stars in our galactic neighborhood and preparations for searches in the far more sensitive data expected from Advanced LIGO.Discovery of gravitational waves from astrophysical objects will mark a major milestone in science, simultaneously confirming one of the fundamental predictions of gravitational physics, while opening up an entirely new field of astronomy. The detection of such waves from rotating neutron stars would be especially interesting because many such sources are expected to continue emitting for long durations, allowing follow-up investigation of increasing precision, and because it is believed that these waves will provide insight into the poorly known structure of these exotic stars. The research to be carried out, on both the instrumental and analytical sides, will provide training to undergraduate and graduate students in state-of-the-art science at the frontier of knowledge.