In Search of Gravitational Waves: Modeling the Inspiral, Merger and Ringdown of Spinning Compact Binaries

这些项目涉及广义相对论、引力波物理和数据分析等几个主题。主要目标是：(I)计算致密双星引力辐射中较高后牛顿量级的自旋效应，并利用这些结果和引力自力计算的输入，改进有效一体式；(Ii)在可比和小质量比限制下，校准进动、自转、致密双星的有效一体模板，以进行精确的数值模拟；(Iii)在LIGO软件中实现这些有效一体模板；以及(Iv)开发自转、紧凑双星的探测策略，并利用LIGO数据进行搜索。聚结紧凑双星是激光干涉仪引力波天文台(LIGO)等探测器最有希望的引力波来源之一。已经构建了用于检测非旋转、合并、压缩二进制文件的模板，并将其用于LIGO搜索。对高级LIGO配置的升级已经开始，将于2014-2015年完成，将该设施对LIGO的灵敏度提高到原来的十倍，从而将许多天体物理源的事故率提高到一千倍。这里提出的研究试图在这些进展的基础上，开发用于检测进动、旋转的紧凑双星的高度精炼的模板，从而提取在这些双星产生的波中编码的独特物理。因此，拟议的研究将增强Advanced LIGO探测器取得重要发现的潜力。

The projects span several topics in general relativity, gravitational-wave physics, and data analysis. The principal goals are to: (i) compute spin effects at higher post-Newtonian order in the gravitational radiation from compact binaries, and use these results, together with inputs from gravitational self-force calculations, to improve the effective-one-body formalism; (ii) calibrate effective-one-body templates of precessing, spinning, compact binaries to accurate numerical simulations in the comparable and small mass-ratio limits; (iii) implement these effective-one-body templates in LIGO software; and (iv) develop detection strategies for spinning, compact binaries and carry out searches with LIGO data.Coalescing compact binaries are among the most promising sources of gravitational waves for detectors such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO). Templates for detecting non-spinning, merging, compact binaries have been built and used in LIGO searches. The upgrade to the Advanced LIGO configuration has already started and will be completed in 2014-2015, improving the facility's sensitivity by a factor of ten with respect to LIGO, thus increasing the event rates for many astrophysical sources by a factor of one thousand. The research proposed herein seeks to build on these progresses, develop highly refined templates for detecting precessing, spinning compact binaries, thereby extracting the unique physics encoded within the waves that such binaries produce. Thus, the proposed research would enhance the potential of Advanced LIGO's detectors to make important discoveries.