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

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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.