RUI: Sensitive Searches for Compact Binary Coalescence in LIGO Data

RUI：LIGO 数据中紧凑二元合并的敏感搜索

• 批准号: 1506254
• 负责人: Joshua Willis
• 金额: $ 15.24万
• 依托单位: Abilene Christian University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-09-01 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1506254&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Sensitive; Searches; Compact; Binary

This project continues the development and use of advanced software algorithms to search for gravitational waves - ripples in spacetime predicted by Einstein's theory of gravity - in data from the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). These are a predicted signature of some of the most energetic events in the universe, including neutron stars and black holes that orbit one another and spiral inwards and collide. The detection of gravitational waves from such collisions will allow a direct confirmation of this prediction of Einstein's theory, and will also allow measurement of the properties of the neutron stars or black holes whose collision generated the waves. Such properties are often difficult to measure indirectly through present observations with telescopes and satellites. The broader impacts of this proposal will include the training of undergraduate students in the nascent field of gravitational wave astronomy, and dissemination of the first results of that field to the broader public through short videos and public talks. The specific problem this proposal will address is the tuning and deployment of an offline, matched-filter search for compact binary coalescing sources for non-spinning and aligned-spin systems, and the development and testing of a search for precessing spin systems. This will be done using the PyCBC pipeline toolkit of which the PI is a developer, and the tuning studies and investigation of precessing searches will each test the detection sensitivity of their respective searches on Mock Data Challenge (MDC) data collected from earlier LIGO running and engineering runs. These detection sensitivity studies will in turn be used to decide on tuning choices, and for precessing searches, whether overall detection efficiency is improved by searching over a precessing waveform template parameter space. Broader impacts will be achieved by involving undergraduates in this research both locally at ACU, and by traveling to the Albert Einstein Institute in Hannover, Germany. Additionally, public outreach will continue the sequence of short, educational videos that the PI and his students have already made on relativity.

该项目继续开发和使用先进的软件算法，以在高级激光干涉仪引力波天文台（LIGO）的数据中搜索引力波----爱因斯坦引力理论预测的时空涟漪。这些是宇宙中一些最具能量的事件的预测特征，包括中子星和黑洞，它们相互绕轨道运行，向内螺旋并碰撞。 从这种碰撞中探测到引力波将直接证实爱因斯坦理论的这一预测，也将允许测量中子星或黑洞的性质，它们的碰撞产生了引力波。 这些特性通常很难通过目前的望远镜和卫星观测间接测量。 这一建议的更广泛影响将包括在引力波天文学这一新生领域培训本科生，并通过短视频和公开讲座向更广泛的公众传播这一领域的首批成果。这个建议将解决的具体问题是调整和部署一个离线，匹配过滤器搜索紧凑的二进制聚结源的非旋转和对准自旋系统，和一个旋进自旋系统的搜索的开发和测试。 这将使用PyCBC管道工具包来完成，PI是其开发人员，并且调整研究和处理搜索的调查将分别测试其各自搜索对从早期LIGO运行和工程运行中收集的模拟数据挑战（MDC）数据的检测灵敏度。 这些检测灵敏度研究又将用于决定调谐选择，并且对于处理搜索，是否通过在处理波形模板参数空间上搜索来提高总体检测效率。 更广泛的影响将通过让本科生参与这项研究来实现，无论是在当地的ACU，还是前往德国汉诺威的阿尔伯特爱因斯坦研究所。此外，公众宣传将继续简短的序列，教育视频，PI和他的学生已经对相对论。