CAREER: Developing Next Generation Gravitational Waveforms for Generic Black-Hole Binaries

高级激光干涉仪引力波天文台(LIGO)对引力波的测量随着时间的推移变得越来越精确。如果我们希望在高精度天文观测方面实现广泛的潜在应用，例如确定整个宇宙中黑洞双星的形成机制，或者寻找与广义相对论的微小偏差，那么对更准确和更有效的黑洞双星引力波形模型的需求是非常重要和迫切的。该项目将通过创建更加准确和高效的波形模型，帮助实现未来高级LIGO测量的全部潜力。除了科学部分，这项建议还将有助于促进一项推广计划，该计划将覆盖整个西弗吉尼亚州的学校和普通公众。PI的小组将应用当前的向后一体(BOB)模型来研究反冲，为动机良好的替代理论生成合并模型，并与少数可用的数值相对论(NR)结果进行比较。这项工作将与单独资助的在LALSuite内开发一种新的近似物的工作同时进行，该工作在球坐标下进化出最先进的有效一体机(EOB)模型SEOBNRv4P，并用Bob取代Rundown附件。然后，该团队将修改灵感进化以利用协同处理框架，分离相关的动态时间尺度，并创建集成例程以最大化时间步长。最后，他们将开发一个具有演化背景时空的新版本的BOB，以确保早期时间的准确性，从而创建一个具有与NR相当的精度但完全独立于NR的模型。他们将应用该模型与现有的NR校准模型进行详细比较，以便更好地确定系统不确定性。这项工作将确保未来的引力波观测只受仪器灵敏度的限制，而不是受建模误差的存在的限制。此外，这项提议将有助于促进一项推广计划，该计划将接触到西弗吉尼亚州的学校和普通公众，通过在西弗吉尼亚州Spot计划和西弗吉尼亚大学天文俱乐部内开发新的演示和演示并培训学生来展示它们，还通过将一项大型推广活动--先前在西弗吉尼亚大学举办的庆祝爱因斯坦表演的更新版--带到多个地点，并向包括全州学校的全体学生在内的众多观众颁发。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。

The measurements of gravitational waves by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO) are becoming ever more precise with time. The need for more accurate and efficient gravitational waveform models for black-hole binaries (BHBs) is substantial and urgent if we hope to realize a wide range of potential applications in terms of performing high precision astronomical observations, such as determining the formation mechanism of BHBs throughout the Universe, or searching for small deviations from General Relativity. This project will help realize the full potential of future Advanced LIGO measurements, by creating a far more accurate and efficient waveform model. In addition to the scientific components, this proposal will help facilitate a program of outreach that will reach schools and venues for the general public throughout the state of West Virginia.The PI's group will apply the current Backwards One-Body (BOB) model to study recoil, generate merger models for well-motivated alternative theories, and compare to the small number of available numerical relativity (NR) results. This work will be concurrent with, but independent from, the separately funded work developing a new approximant within LALSuite that evolves the most state-of-the-art Effective One-Body (EOB) model, SEOBNRv4P, in spherical coordinates, and replaces the ringdown attachment with BOB. The team will then modify the inspiral evolution to utilize a co-precessing frame, separate the relevant dynamical timescales, and create an integration routine to maximize timesteps. Finally, they will develop a new version of BOB with an evolving background spacetime in order to ensure accuracy at earlier times, and thereby create a model with comparable accuracy to NR, but entirely independent from NR. They will apply this model to conduct a detailed comparison with existing NR-calibrated models, in order to better establish systematic uncertainties. This work will ensure that future gravitational-wave observations are only limited by the sensitivity of the instrument, and not by the presence of modeling error. In addition, this proposal will help facilitate a program of outreach that will reach schools and venues for the general public throughout the state of West Virginia, by developing new demonstrations and presentations and training students within the WV SPOT program and the WVU Astronomy Club to present them, and also by bringing a major outreach event, an updated version of the Celebrating Einstein performances previously hosted at WVU, to multiple venues, and to numerous audiences including entire classes of students from schools throughout the state.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.