Gravitational Waves from Compact Objects

该奖项支持相对论和相对论天体物理学的研究，并解决了NSF“宇宙之窗”大构想的优先领域。LIGO（激光干涉仪引力波天文台）通过探测到几个双黑洞合并和一个双中子星合并而创造了历史。后者尤其令人兴奋，因为它也被光学望远镜和其他电磁望远镜探测到，因为它为大爆炸以来物质在最极端状态下的行为提供了新的见解。探测到来自单个中子星的连续引力波，一个持续多年的微弱信号，可以告诉我们更多关于这种物质的信息——它有多坚固，它导热和导电的能力如何，甚至可能是粒子物理学预测的奇异状态的存在。该奖项支持对先进的LIGO数据进行搜索，以寻找来自银河系中最年轻的中子星的连续引力波，利用现有的望远镜观测指向可能的目标。它还支持将构成下一代科学家的研究生和本科生的培训。具体的科学目标是(1)对年轻的非脉冲中子星（如Cas A）的定向搜索，(2)对脉冲星（如蟹状星云）中r模式振荡的窄带搜索，以及(3)对连续引力波（特别是中子星r模式）搜索的理论指导和解释。搜索将使用德克萨斯理工集团基于匹配过滤的长期代码管道执行，该代码管道将随着合同的进展而升级。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports research in relativity and relativistic astrophysics and it addresses the priority areas of NSF's "Windows on the Universe" Big Idea. LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) has made history by detecting several binary black hole mergers and a binary neutron star merger. The latter was especially exciting because it was also detected by optical and other electromagnetic telescopes and because it provided new insights into the behavior of matter at its greatest extremes since the Big Bang. Detection of continuous gravitational waves from a single neutron star, a faint signal lasting many years, could tell us even more about such matter - how solid it is, how well it conducts heat and electricity, maybe even the existence of exotic states predicted by particle physics. This award supports searches of Advanced LIGO data for continuous gravitational waves from the youngest neutron stars in our galaxy, using existing telescope observations to point toward likely targets. It also supports the training of graduate and undergraduate students who will constitute the next generation of scientists.Specific science goals are (1) directed searches for young non-pulsing neutron stars such as Cas A, (2) narrow band searches for r-mode oscillations in pulsars such as the Crab, and (3) theoretical guidance and interpretation of searches for continuous gravitational waves, particularly from neutron-star r-modes. Searches will be performed with the Texas Tech group's longstanding code pipeline based on matched filtering, which will be upgraded as the award progresses.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.