WoU-MMA: The Electromagnetic Counterparts of Gravitational Wave Sources

WoU-MMA：引力波源的电磁对应物

• 批准号: 2206110
• 负责人: Edo Berger
• 金额: $ 46.87万
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2206110&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: WoU; MMA; Electromagnetic; Counterparts; Gravitational

A research group at Harvard University will carry out a program to rapidly search for optically-detected counterparts to gravitational wave (GW) events detected by the LIGO, Virgo and Kagra (LVK) GW experiments. The rapid follow up utilizes the Dark Energy Camera and the MMT and Magellan 6.5-meter telescopes to search for optical/near-infrared counterparts. These large-aperture telescopes enable wide-field and galaxy-targeted sensitive searches from both hemispheres on Earth, critical for the discovery of electromagnetic (EM) counterparts (with typical GW localizations of roughly 100 square degrees on the sky and distances of up to a few hundred magaparsecs). Identified counterparts will be studied with multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopy using radio to X-ray facilities. Students will gain an unparalleled experience in this emerging new field. They will lead the acquisition, analysis, and publication of data across the EM spectrum, and jointly with GW data, thereby providing a broad training in observational astronomy. The project will also integrate this new GW view of the universe into undergraduate education, and narrow the gap between classroom learning and hands-on research through the active participation of students in observing with Harvard-Smithsonian telescopes and through analysis of public GW data.While the GW data for binary neutron stars (BNS) and neutron star-black hole (NS-BH) mergers provide unprecedented insight — the mass and spin distributions of neutron stars and black holes, the merger rates, and sensitive tests of general relativity — the joint detection of EM counterparts will uniquely extend the scientific impact by providing accurate positions, precise distances, an astrophysical context for the binary systems, a probe of matter ejection and nucleosynthesis, and the potential to measure cosmological parameters via the “standard siren” technique. The key optical counterpart for BNS and NS-BH mergers is emission due to the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the merger ejecta – a “kilonova”, already observed in association with the short gamma-ray burst GRB 130603B and with GW170817. The kilonova optical emission is faint and fades rapidly and so large-aperture telescopes are essential for effective follow-up at larger distances than GW170817 (at only 40 Mpc). Advanced LIGO-Virgo (ALV) has demonstrated the ability to detect BNS and NS- BH mergers, and the detectability of EM counterparts has been proven; the event rate is expected to be at least a few per year as ALV and Kagra reach design sensitivity; and the required EM follow-up programs and computational resources are active. 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.

哈佛大学的一个研究小组将开展一项计划，以快速搜索LIGO、Virgo和Kagra (LVK) GW实验探测到的引力波（GW）事件的光学探测对应物。快速跟踪利用暗能量相机、MMT和麦哲伦6.5米望远镜来搜索光学/近红外对应物。这些大口径望远镜可以从地球的两个半球进行宽视场和针对星系的敏感搜索，这对于发现电磁（EM）对应体至关重要（典型的GW定位在天空上大约100平方度，距离高达几百兆秒差距）。确定的对应物将使用无线电到x射线设备进行多波长成像和光谱学研究。学生将在这一新兴领域获得无与伦比的体验。他们将领导EM光谱数据的采集、分析和发布，并与GW数据一起，从而提供观测天文学的广泛培训。该项目还将把这种新的GW宇宙观整合到本科教育中，并通过学生积极参与哈佛-史密森尼望远镜的观测和对公共GW数据的分析，缩小课堂学习和实践研究之间的差距。而双中子星（BNS）和中子星-黑洞（NS-BH）合并的GW数据提供了前所未有的洞察力-中子星和黑洞的质量和自旋分布，合并率，以及广义相对论的敏感测试-通过提供精确的位置、精确的距离、双星系统的天体物理背景、物质抛射和核合成探针，以及通过“标准siren”技术测量宇宙参数的潜力，EM对偶的联合探测将独特地扩展科学影响。BNS和NS-BH合并的关键光学对应是由于合并抛射物中合成的r过程核的放射性衰变而产生的发射-一种“千新星”，已经在短伽马射线爆发GRB 130603B和GW170817中观察到。千新星的光学发射微弱且衰减迅速，因此大口径望远镜对于比GW170817（仅40 Mpc）更大距离的有效跟踪是必不可少的。先进的LIGO-Virgo （ALV）已经证明了探测BNS和NS- BH合并的能力，并且已经证明了EM对应物的可探测性；随着ALV和Kagra达到设计灵敏度，预计事件发生率至少为每年几次；所需的EM后续程序和计算资源是活跃的。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。