Gravitational Wave Modeling Using Time-Domain Black Hole Perturbation Theory

来自黑洞和中子星星双星系统的引力波观测现在是NSF的LIGO和其他国际探测器的例行工作。除了了解宇宙中最神秘的物体之外，这些努力还产生了重要的副产品技术，并帮助公众和年轻人将注意力转向STEM学科。该研究项目有助于计算工具和理论的发展，这些工具和理论不仅在LIGO的使命中起着非常关键的作用，而且在下一代探测器中也起着非常关键的作用。主要目标是利用理论和计算技术来了解双黑洞系统的重要方面。该项目包括对学生的支持，因此直接有助于学生在一个重要的STEM领域的指导，培训和保留。学生们培养的计算能力是高度“便携”的，因此将使他们能够获得各种职业选择，包括在国家急需的领域。该奖项是关于时域点粒子黑洞微扰理论方法的发展和应用，该方法模拟了大质量比黑洞双星系统的引力波发射。将对近似引力波形模型（如数据驱动的“替代”模型、有效单体方法等）的开发做出重大贡献，这将最终影响当前和未来探测器（如LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA和未来的3G探测器和空间飞行任务）的数据分析工作。此外，与引力自力和数学相对论社区的合作工作将得以完成，并在引力物理领域的一些具有挑战性和重要性的问题上取得进展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Observations of gravitational waves from a black hole and neutron star binary systems are now routine by the NSF's LIGO alongside other international detectors. Beyond learning about the most mysterious objects in the Universe, such efforts have generated significant spin-off technologies, and helped turn public and youth attention towards STEM disciplines. This research project aids in the development of the computational tools and the theory that plays a very critical role in not only LIGO’s mission, but also that of next generation detectors. The main objective is to understand important aspects of binary black hole systems using theoretical and computational techniques. The project includes support for students and therefore directly contributes to student mentorship, traineeship and retention in an important STEM area. The computational skills that students develop are highly “portable”, and therefore will allow them access to a variety of career options, including in areas of great national need.This award is about the development and application of the time-domain point-particle black hole perturbation theory approach that models the gravitational wave emission from large mass-ratio black hole binary systems. Significant contributions will be made to the development of approximate gravitational waveform models (such as data-driven “surrogate” models, the effective-one-body approach, and others), that will ultimately impact the data analysis effort of current and future detectors (such as LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA and future 3G detectors and space-borne missions). Additionally, collaborative work will be completed with the gravitational self-force and mathematical relativity communities, and progress will be made on a number of challenging and important problems in the area of gravitational physics.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.