Multiple Approaches to Multiple-Messenger Astronomy

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A research group at the University of California, Santa Cruz will train two graduate students in observational and theoretical astrophysics, focusing on the new field of multi-messenger, gravitational wave (GW) astronomy. The students will work with the two lead investigators and other senior scientists to combine multiple approaches to solve new problems in this nascent field. One student will primarily work with data from several telescopes for which the researchers have preferential access, and will also use National Optical Astronomy Observatory telescopes, telescopes through collaborations, and public data when appropriate. The other student will primarily produce theoretical models and numerical simulations. The main scientific goals are to (1) discover and characterize new electromagnetic (EM) counterparts to GW events, (2) produce new models starting with hydrodynamical models of the merger to predict the EM emission, (3) study the demographics of compact-object mergers, (4) combine data and theory to understand the physics of rapid neutron-capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis, or the production of atomic elements, and (5) measure the local expansion rate of the universe using standard sirens. An education and public outreach program associated with the research will cross-fertilize the training of scientists and students in the visual arts and digital media using state-of-art astrophysical simulations and observations as common ground. The team will build a group environment that significantly increases the number of under-represented students trained in astrophysics. The resulting visual products will be used to disseminate results, inform the public about science and the Universe, and provide raw material for science curricula, documentaries, and presentations. The team will work directly with existing partners in California, including the NSF-funded Lamat Summer Research Program on High Performance Computing in Astrophysics, which recruits and mentors students from under-represented groups. Key components of the Lamat program include intensive research instruction through summer internships, academic counseling and mentoring, and workshops that integrate family members. The overriding questions addressed by this proposal are: What are the EM counterparts to GW events? What are the demographics of compact-object mergers? What environments produce neutron-star mergers? What elements are generated and expelled by these events? What is the local cosmic expansion rate and is there tension between it and the expansion rate inferred from distant probes? How can we best use all GW and EM data with advanced theoretical models to improve our answers to these questions? The research group discovered SSS17a, the first optical counterpart to a GW source. Knowledge of gravity, nuclear physics, the origin of the heaviest elements, and cosmology were all dramatically expanded by this discovery. The results of the new research project will address some similarly important physics. This project advances the goals of the NSF Windows on the Universe Big Idea.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.