Collaborative Research: Automated Search and Follow-Up of Electromagnetic Counterparts to Gravitational-Wave Events in O4

爱因斯坦最早预言恒星合并会产生引力波。探测这些引力波的能力只是在最近几年才存在的。 美国和欧洲的大型探测器，很快也会在日本，定位这些波来自天空的位置。 然后望远镜在天空的这些部分搜寻可见光。 2017年，第一个这样的光学对应引力波事件被发现使用单孔径望远镜该项目建议扩大到十个搜索望远镜和近二十多个后续望远镜，跨越四大洲和五个国家。 通过这项努力，将探索宇宙中最重元素是如何产生的，以及测量宇宙膨胀速度的新方法。该项目还通过让学生（科学专业和非专业）收集和分析来自望远镜网络的数据来进行具体的科学测量，从而在本科课程中提供创新。 此外，PI计划升级Morehead天文馆和科学中心的动态天空展览，该项目实施了一个大规模的多组件观测计划，旨在利用O 4中100 Mpc以内的较小LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA定位，更快地识别引力波事件的光学对应物;收集识别前的测量值和密集的多波长识别后光变曲线;以及收集识别后的光谱学。这一观测工作将利用计划中设施的独特设计和广泛的地理分布以及已证明的成功，尽快确定这些对应机构。对应的信息将立即报告给更广泛的天文学界，如果即时发射足够明亮，可能在LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA触发后的几分钟内。早期的观测对于理解NS-NS、NS-BH、并合事件和r-过程核合成是至关重要的。测量喷出物的极性分量相对于其潮汐分量，或非热余辉，也可以产生视角信息，与GW数据相结合，可以导致距离的“干净”测量，因此在一个新的，当地的方法来测量哈勃常数（一个这样的方法的系统将在这里研究）。 该项目支持研究生，将研究方面嵌入到本科课程中，并将在当地天文馆的时变天空的公开演示中做出改进。该项目推进了宇宙大创意窗口的目标。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Einstein first predicted that merging stars produce gravitational waves. The capability to detect these gravitational waves has only existed in the last few years. Large detectors in the US and Europe, and soon also in Japan, localize where in the sky these waves are coming from. Telescopes then search these parts of the sky for visible light. In 2017 the first such optical counterpart to a gravitational-wave event was discovered using a single aperture telescope This project proposes to expand the effort to ten search telescopes and nearly two dozen follow-up telescopes, spanning four continents and five countries. Through this effort, investigation of how the heaviest elements in the universe are produced, and a new means to measure how quickly the universe is expanding will be explored. This project also provides innovation in undergraduate curriculum by having students (both science majors and non-majors) collect and analyze data from a telescope network to make specific scientific measurements. Additionally, the PI plans to upgrade the dynamic-sky exhibit of the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.This project implements a large-scale, multi-component observing program designed to take advantage of smaller LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA localizations within ≈100 Mpc in O4 to identify the optical counterparts of gravitational wave (GW) events more quickly; to collect pre-identification measurements as well, and dense, multi-wavelength post-identification light curves; and to collect post-identification spectroscopy. This observing effort will capitalize on the planned facilities’ unique design and broad geographic distribution, and proven success, to identify these counterparts as quickly as possible. Counterpart information will be reported to the broader astronomical community immediately, and possibly within only minutes of LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA triggers if prompt emission is sufficiently bright. Earlier observations are critical to understanding NS-NS, and NS-BH, merger events, and r-process nucleosynthesis. Measurements of the ejecta's polar component relative to its tidal component, or of the non-thermal afterglow, could also yield viewing-angle information, which in combination with the GW data could result in a “clean” measurement of the distance, and hence in a new, local method of measuring Hubble's constant (the systematics of one such approach will be studied here). This project supports graduate students, embeds research aspects into the undergraduate curriculum, and will make improvements in public demonstrations of the time variable sky at a local planetarium.This project advances the goals of the 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.