Unmasking the Remnants of Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Era of Gravitational Wave Astronomy

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。引力波多信使天文学的时代始于2017年8月17日，当时LIGO（激光干涉仪引力波天文台）发现了一个名为GW170817的事件。这是第一次直接观测到螺旋状双中子星的引力波，同时还探测到了所有波长的光。GW170817的多信使观测对包括引力物理学、核物理学、宇宙学和相对论天体物理学在内的许多领域至关重要。尽管取得了令人瞩目的进展，但仍有几个问题有待解决。一个关键的问题是，合并后剩下的恒星物体是一颗寿命较短的中子星，还是一颗寿命较长的中子星，还是一个迅速形成的黑洞。该奖项支持对LIGO数据的特征搜索，旨在揭示合并遗迹的性质。研究残骸的性质如何取决于合并物体的特性，可以解开密度比地球实验室大得多的物质的基本物理学，并阐明恒星墓地中一些最奇特物体的物理学。该项目还支持培养将成为下一代科学家的研究生和本科生，以及一些旨在向公众和K12学生展示LIGO结果的推广活动。具体的智力目标是：(i)通过寻找新形成的中子星发出的引力波，揭开伴随伽马射线爆发的紧密天体合并的残余；（ii）评估新开发的相互关联算法（CoCoA）在探测来自合并残余的所有可能的引力波信号方面的效率，及其在探测后参数估计方面的效率；量化未来升级的引力波探测器从长伽马射线暴形成的中子星发现引力波的可能性。更广泛的影响目标是：(i)通过利用TTU荣誉学院-贝勒斯小学指导计划，为代表性不足的群体提供适合年龄的演讲和与ligo相关的外展活动；（ii）向南平原地区科学博览会颁发LIGO奖；（iii）在TTU的Astronight期间向公众展示LIGO结果。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. The era of gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy started on 2017 August 17, when LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) discovered an event dubbed GW170817. This was the very first direct observation of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star in-spiral, which was accompanied by the detection of light at all wavelengths. The multi-messenger observations of GW170817 have crucially informed a large variety of fields including gravitational physics, nuclear physics, cosmology, and relativistic astrophysics. In spite of the spectacular progress, several questions remain open. A key one is whether the stellar object leftover from the merger is a short-lived neutron star, a long-lived neutron star, or a promptly formed black hole. This award supports searches of LIGO data for signatures aimed at uncovering the nature of the merger remnant. Studying how the nature of the remnant depends on the properties of the merging objects can unlock the fundamental physics of matter at densities much larger than those that can be probed in Earth-based laboratories and clarify the physics of some of the most exotic objects in the stellar graveyard. This project also supports the training of graduate and undergraduate students who will constitute the next generation of scientists, and several outreach activities aimed at presenting LIGO results to the general public and K12 students. Specific intellectual goals are: (i) Unmasking the remnants of compact object mergers accompanied by gamma-ray bursts by carrying out searches for gravitational waves from newly formed neutron stars; (ii) Assessing the efficiency of the newly-developed Cross-Correlation Algorithm (CoCoA) in detecting the full zoo of possible gravitational wave signals from merger remnants, and its efficacy in post-detection parameter estimation; (iii) Quantifying the potential for discovery of gravitational waves from neutron stars formed in long gamma-ray bursts by future upgraded gravitational wave detectors. Broader impact goals are: (i) Bringing age-appropriate presentations and LIGO-related outreach activities to under-represented groups by leveraging the TTU Honors College-Bayless Elementary School mentoring program; (ii) Presenting a LIGO prize to the South Plains Regional Science Fair; (iii) Presenting LIGO results to the general public during the Astronight at TTU.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.