CAREER: Gravitational Waves from Compact Binaries as Probes of the Universe

引力波天体物理学正在进入一个发现和探索的新时代，预计在未来几年内将通过美国的地面干涉仪Advanced LIGO进行首次探测。LIGO的关键任务之一是测试爱因斯坦的广义相对论，这是以前从未测试过的：相对于地球或太阳的引力，引力是巨大的。这样的任务是可以实现的，因为当黑洞和中子星在银河系和附近星系中碰撞时，引力波会编码这种力的信息。该项目有两个主要目标：（i）计算精确的波形，以帮助从紧凑的双螺旋探测引力波;（ii）开发最好的，通用的和独立于模型的框架，以测试爱因斯坦的理论和寻找引力波数据中的异常偏差。上述研究具有创造性和潜在的变革性，构成了用引力波测试爱因斯坦理论的第一批专门努力之一，这是利用引力波探测的全部潜力的重要一步。鉴于即将到来的先进探测器和引力波天体物理学的曙光，这种类型的研究也是及时和相关的。引力波的影响标志着系统性地偏离爱因斯坦的预测显然是惊人的。但是，没有偏离爱因斯坦的理论也将构成科学的一大步，一劳永逸地证明爱因斯坦的理论在最极端的引力场景中也是有效的。我们还有一个雄心勃勃的推广计划，其中包括组织“庆祝爱因斯坦”：一个沉浸式的艺术展览，包括引力波声音和模拟，管弦乐队和舞蹈表演，以及科学研讨会。届时还将为公众举办讲座，并为当地中学生举办讲座。另一项推广活动是在蒙大拿州博兹曼建立一个“宇宙咖啡馆”，定期组织有关物理学的危险竞赛等活动。

Gravitational wave astrophysics is entering a new era of discovery and exploration, with first detections expected within the next few years with Advanced LIGO, the ground-based interferometer in the United States. One of the key missions of LIGO is to test Einstein's theory of General Relativity where it has never been tested before: where the gravitational force is enormous relative to Earth's or the Sun's pull. Such a task is achievable because gravitational waves encode information about this force when black holes and neutron stars collide in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. This project has 2 main goals: (i) to calculate accurate waveforms that aid in the detection of gravitational waves from compact binary inspirals and (ii) to develop the best, generic and model-independent framework to test Einstein's theory and search for anomalous deviations in gravitational wave data. The research described above is creative and potentially transformative, constituting one of the first dedicated efforts to test Einstein's theory with gravitational waves, an essential step to exploit the full potential of gravitational wave detection. This type of research is also timely and relevant, in view of upcoming, advanced detectors and the dawn of gravitational wave astrophysics. The impact of gravitational waves signaling a systematic departure from Einstein's predictions is clearly breathtaking. But the lack of a departure from Einstein's theory would also constitute a huge step for Science, proving for once and for all that Einstein's theory is also valid in the most extreme gravitational scenarios. We also have an ambitious outreach plan that includes the organization of "Celebrating Einstein": an immersive art exhibit that incorporates gravitational waves sounds and simulations, orchestra and dance performances, and a scientific workshop. There will be accompanying talks for the public and lectures for local middle school students. Another outreach initiative is the creation of a "Cosmic Café" in Bozeman, Montana, that will reagularly organize activities such as Jeopardy-type contests about Physics.