Advancing the Understanding of Compact Binary Formation Through Gravitational-Wave Observations

最近LIGO和Virgo GW探测器对合并的双黑洞（BBH）和双中子星（BNS）的引力波（GW）的直接探测改变了天文学家观察和理解宇宙的方式。 尽管有许多这样的紧凑物体合并的探测和丰富的信息，天文学家仍然对合并天体的形成机制和环境知之甚少。密西西比大学的一个研究小组将利用GW观测的数据来更深入地了解这些问题。这项工作是及时的，将大大扩大GW探测器所能实现的天体物理学和天文学的范围。 研究人员将以两种不同的方式加强这一新兴领域在科学上的更广泛影响。首先，他们将通过在每月的校园天文学开放日期间开展与GW天文学有关的活动，加强当地所有年龄段的社区对天文学和天体物理学的参与。第二，每年通过为期一周的研讨会，向高中生介绍GW科学和数据分析技术，重点吸引女学生、有色人种学生和社会经济地位较低的学生。研究团队将开发方法并构建精确的计算机软件代码，以探索准圆形和偏心轨道上进动BBH的完整演化历史。同时，他们将探索包含低质量间隙（~3 - 5个太阳质量）黑洞的双星的形成场景。最先进的模型和计算优化的代码将使他们能够约束所有三种类型的二元合并（BBH，BNS和中子星黑洞）的各种形成通道及其天体物理环境。 测量BBH中的自旋旋进对于限制这些双星的形成通道以及区分每个可能的形成通道对观测到的BBH种群的相对贡献至关重要。虽然GW数据中还没有明确的偏心率迹象，但在未来的检测中，任何非零偏心率的证据都将为区分各种地层通道带来额外的区分能力，并有助于探索新的地层通道。此外，发展和测试低质量能隙中的黑洞（BH）双星的真实天体物理模型，可以消除这些低质量能隙BH与中子星和类似质量的原始BH混淆的差异。该项目由刺激竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）和宇宙大创意窗口（Windows on the Universe Big Idea）共同资助，该奖项反映了NSF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。

Recent direct detections of gravitational waves (GW) from merging binary black holes (BBH) and binary neutron stars (BNS) by the LIGO and Virgo GW detectors have transformed the way astronomers observe and understand the Universe. Despite many detections of such compact object mergers and the wealth of information now available, astronomers still know very little about the formation mechanisms and environments of merging astrophysical objects. A research group at the University of Mississippi will use data from GW observations to gain a deeper understanding of such questions. This work is timely and will significantly enhance the scope of astrophysics and astronomy enabled by GW detectors. The researchers will strengthen the broader impact of this emerging area in science in two distinct ways. First, they will enhance the engagement of the local community of all ages in astronomy and astrophysics by conducting activities related to GW astronomy during the monthly campus Astronomy Open House. Second, they will introduce high school students to GW science and data analysis techniques through a week-long workshop every year, with a focus on attracting female students, students of color, and students of low socioeconomic status.The research team will develop methods and build accurate computer software codes to probe the full evolution history of precessing BBHs on both quasi-circular and eccentric orbits. In parallel, they will explore the formation scenarios of binaries that contain black holes in the low-mass gap (~3 – 5 solar masses). The state-of-the-art models and computationally optimized codes will allow them to constrain various formation channels of all three types of binary mergers (BBH, BNS, and neutron star-black hole), and their astrophysical environments. Measurement of spin precession in BBHs will be crucial in constraining these binaries’ formation channel as well as discriminating the relative contributions of each possible formation channel to the observed BBH population. Although there is no definite sign of eccentricity in GW data yet, any evidence for non-zero eccentricity in future detections will bring additional discriminatory power in distinguishing various formation channels as well as help in exploring the new ones. Furthermore, the development and testing of realistic astrophysical models for binaries hosting black holes (BHs) in the so-called low-mass gap can remove the discrepancy of these low-mass-gap BHs being confused with neutron stars and primordial BHs of similar masses.This project is jointly funded by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Windows on the Universe Big Idea, as this award advances the goals of Windows on the Universe.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.