Unveiling the Formation and Evolution of Neutron Star and Black Hole Binaries

玛格丽特·拉扎里尼（Margaret Lazzarini）获得了美国国家科学基金会天文学和天体物理学奖学金，在加州理工学院开展了一项研究和教育计划。利用红外、光学、紫外线和x射线波长的观测，拉扎里尼将研究高质量x射线双星（HMXB）系统的特性，该系统包含一颗恒星和一个大质量致密天体（CO），如中子星或黑洞。这个项目的结果将使天文学家更好地了解双星的演化，以及hmxb如何产生双星COs，这些双星COs可以通过合并产生引力波。拉扎里尼还将开展每周课后充实计划，为来自服务不足社区的高中生提供天文学研究经验。Lazzarini将使用光度法、时间分辨光谱学和计算双星演化模型，对三个邻近星系（M31、M33和小麦哲伦星云）中超过200个hmxb的普通包膜效率和超新星踢星等进行精确的限制。通过在大范围星系环境中的大量hmxb样本中限制这两个参数，该项目将极大地改进通过孤立的双星演化的CO合并的形成模型，并能够精确估计产生GWs的合并事件的速率。这个项目推进了NSF宇宙大构想窗口的目标。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。

Margaret Lazzarini is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the California Institute of Technology. Using observations at infrared, optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray wavelengths, Lazzarini will study properties of high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) systems containing a star and a massive compact object (CO) such as a neutron star or a black hole. Results from this project will allow astronomers to better understand binary stellar evolution and how HMXBs yield binary COs which can undergo mergers to produce gravitational waves. Lazzarini will also conduct a weekly after school enrichment program which will provide astronomy research experiences to high school students from underserved communities.Lazzarini will use photometry, time-resolved spectroscopy, and computational binary evolution modeling to place precise constraints on the allowed common envelope efficiency and supernova kick magnitudes of over 200 HMXBs in three nearby galaxies: M31, M33, and the Small Magellanic Cloud. By constraining these two parameters in a large sample of HMXBs in a wide range of galactic environments, this project will greatly improve formation models of CO mergers via isolated binary stellar evolution and enable precise estimates of the rates of merger events producing GWs. 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.