Probing Gravitational Physics with Event Horizon Telescope and Gravitational Wave Observations of Black Holes

利娅·梅德罗斯被授予美国国家科学基金会天文学和天体物理学博士后奖学金，以在高级研究所开展研究和教育计划。她将使用数值模拟来拟合用事件视界望远镜(EHT)获得的高分辨率黑洞图像，并测试爱因斯坦广义相对论预测的黑洞附近重力是如何改变的。作为广义相对论的补充测试，她将模拟黑洞合并等引力波事件的电磁对应物，并将使用这些模拟来预测合并事件的特征。除了这项研究，她还将为中学生开展实践教育活动，以提高他们在科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)领域的潜在招生和留存能力。拟议的研究计划旨在通过观测黑洞和引力波的电磁对应物来增进我们对引力的理解。Medeiros建议通过比较数值射线跟踪、辐射传输和广义相对论磁流体(GRMHD)模拟与观测来检验广义相对论。她将使用EHT观测来推导出一套偏离标准克尔度规的广义相对论时空度规。她还将使用与时间相关的GRMHD模拟来生成图像和光谱，以便与合并事件的观察结果进行比较。她工作的教育部分包括为当地中学生提供计算机编程课程和丰富活动，重点是增加女孩在STEM领域的参与。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Lia Medeiros is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct a program of research and education at the Institute for Advanced Study. She will use numerical simulations to fit high-resolution black hole images obtained with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and test how gravity is modified near a black hole, as predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. As a complementary test of general relativity, she will simulate electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave events such as black hole mergers, and she will use these simulations to predict signatures of merger events. Alongside this research, she will develop hands-on educational activities for middle school students to improve their potential recruitment and retention in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).The proposed research program seeks to advance our understanding of gravity using observations of black holes and electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves. Medeiros proposes to test general relativity by comparing numerical ray tracing, radiative transfer, and general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations with observations. She will use EHT observations to derive a set of general relativistic spacetime metrics that deviate from the standard Kerr metric. She will also use time-dependent GRMHD simulations to generate images and spectra for comparison with observations of merger events. The educational component of her work involves computer coding classes and enrichment activities for local middle school students, with an emphasis on increasing the participation of girls in STEM fields.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.