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，美国的地面干涉仪Advanced LIGO将首次探测到引力波。LIGO的关键任务之一是测试爱因斯坦的广义相对论，这是它以前从未被测试过的地方：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相撞时，引力波编码了关于这种作用力的信息。该项目有两个主要目标：(I)计算准确的波形，帮助从致密的双星激发星探测引力波；(Ii)开发最好的、通用的、与模型无关的框架，以测试爱因斯坦的理论并寻找引力波数据中的异常偏差。上面描述的研究具有创造性和潜在的变革性，构成了用引力波检验爱因斯坦理论的首批专门努力之一，这是充分利用引力波探测潜力的关键一步。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。发出系统偏离爱因斯坦预测的信号的引力波的影响显然令人惊叹。但没有偏离爱因斯坦的理论也将构成科学的一大步，这将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外展计划，其中包括组织“庆祝爱因斯坦”：一个身临其境的艺术展，融合了引力波的声音和模拟、管弦乐队和舞蹈表演，以及一个科学研讨会。届时将有公众讲座和当地中学生讲座。另一项外展活动是在蒙大拿州博兹曼创建一家“宇宙咖啡馆”，它将积极组织各种活动，如“危险边缘”式的物理竞赛。

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.