IRES: Expanding the Reach of the International Pulsar Timing Array

国际脉冲星计时阵列（IPTA）是天文学家的合作项目，他们将使用射电望远镜探测和研究引力波，引力波是爱因斯坦广义相对论的基本预测。最近，激光干涉引力波天文台（LIGO）探测到两个恒星质量黑洞合并产生的引力波（GW）。IPTA合作将通过称为射电脉冲星的宇宙时钟的精确计时，从合并星系核心的更大更重的黑洞中探测GW。天文学家预计，低频GW将在未来五年内被探测到，这将为我们对宇宙的增长和结构的理解带来一场革命。美国本科生和研究生将全面参与该项目的各个方面。他们将与不同国家的杰出科学家合作，在本世纪可能具有变革性的科学发现之一中发挥关键作用，并培养在当今相互联系的世界中取得成功的全球能力。该项目将使用分布在全球的大型射电望远镜网络监测许多射电脉冲星，并寻找低频引力波在脉冲星脉冲到达时间中的小扰动。IPTA目前由来自澳大利亚、欧洲和北美的联盟组成，总共使用7台望远镜。为了进一步提高IPTA的灵敏度，使其能够探测并最终表征GW宇宙，该合作将扩大到包括中国、印度和南非的研究人员和望远镜。这次扩展为美国学生提供了在这些不同国家获得脉冲星计时项目发展经验的机会。IRES奖学金将资助两名本科生和一名研究生前往这三个国家进行为期10周的国际研究。本科学生将从美国的一系列机构中挑选，包括少数民族服务机构和农村地区的机构。他们将与同样接受过IPTA研究培训的美国研究生以及他们在东道国的外国导师和学生密切合作。学生们将接受天体物理学、大数据分析和无线电仪器方面的培训，为将来从事一系列职业做好准备。

The International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) is a collaboration of astronomers who will use radio telescopes to detect and study gravitational waves, a fundamental prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity. Gravitational waves (GW) from the merger of two stellar-mass black holes were recently detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). The IPTA collaboration will detect GW from vastly larger and heavier black holes at the cores of merging galaxies, via the precise timing of cosmic clocks called radio pulsars. The astronomers anticipate that low-frequency GW will be detected within the next five years, ushering in a revolution in our understanding of the growth and structure of our Universe. U.S. undergraduate and graduate students will be fully involved in all aspects of the project. They will collaborate with prominent scientists in different countries, play a critical role in one of the potentially transformative scientific discoveries of the century, and develop global competencies to succeed in today's interconnected world. The project will monitor a number of radio pulsars using a network of large radio telescopes distributed across the globe, and search for small perturbations in the arrival times of pulsar pulses due to low-frequency gravitational waves. The IPTA currently consists of consortia from Australia, Europe, and North America, using a total of seven telescopes. In order to further increase the sensitivity of the IPTA so that it can detect and, ultimately, characterize the GW universe, the collaboration will be expanded to include researchers and telescopes in China, India, and South Africa. This expansion offers the opportunity for U.S. students to gain experience in the development of pulsar timing programs in these varied countries. The IRES award will fund two undergraduate students and one graduate student to travel to all three countries for 10-week international research experiences. The undergraduate students will be drawn from a range of U.S. institutions, including minority serving institutions and those in rural areas. They will work closely with both a U.S. graduate student also trained in IPTA research and their foreign mentor and students in the host country. The students will be trained in astrophysics, big data analysis, and radio instrumentation, preparing them for a range of careers.