Research in Gravitation Theory and Relativistic Astrophysics

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This award supports research in general relativity theory, and related problems in mathematical astrophysics, in which strong gravitational fields play an interesting role. The general scope of this research includes problems in gravitational astrophysics in which insights from analytical, applied, and computational mathematics can be used to help interpret gravitational waves detections by Advanced LIGO. In particular, the projects supported here will improve our understanding of neutron star collisions, providing insights into the nuclear composition of such objects. They will also study the impact of solving the Einstein equations, which govern the dynamics of black holes and neutron stars, in spacetimes of different geometrical characteristics. The research projects can be grouped in three specific areas: neutron star physics, gravitational-wave data analysis, and numerical relativity. These studies will allow observations of neutron stars and our understanding of strong gravitational fields to be used to determine the neutron-star equation of state in a way that is free from any assumptions about the microphysics of neutron star matter. They will also help the gravitational wave simulation community determine the accuracy of their waveform models that play an essential role in detecting and interpreting astrophysical gravitational wave signals. The studies in numerical relativity described here involve developing techniques for solving Einstein's equations on manifolds with arbitrary spatial topologies. These methods will be used to study a variety of problems, including an effort to explore the gravitational analog of the turbulent cascade seen in fluid systems, and exploring cosmological models numerically to determine whether and how non-trivial topology could be recognized through observations.