Discovering Neutron Stars and Black Holes with LIGO

该奖项支持相对论和相对论天体物理学的研究，并解决了NSF“宇宙之窗”大理念的优先领域。通过NSF的LIGO天文台发现中子星和黑洞，通过引力波物理学和天文学推进了对宇宙的认识。与传统天文学不同，传统天文学依赖于遥远的天文源发出的光，引力波天文学测量由黑洞等大质量物体引起的空间结构中的微小涟漪。因此，即使黑洞的强大引力阻止了光逃离它的控制，科学家们也能够在看不到黑洞的情况下观察它们。直接观察黑洞和中子星在太空中产生的涟漪，为以前不可能的物理推断开辟了巨大的潜力。 这一新领域始于2015年，当时LIGO天文台探测到两个黑洞在10亿光年外相撞，此后通过大约100次确认的宇宙碰撞打开了宇宙的新窗口。 发现数十亿光年外黑洞碰撞的微小涟漪需要复杂的数据分析。 该奖项资助对LIGO数据的分析，其直接目标是在未来三年内探测数百个新的黑洞和中子星。 这些新发现将有助于揭示恒星如何诞生，如何死亡，以及宇宙的黑暗面是否隐藏着任何东西。该团队致力于通过在宾夕法尼亚州中部举办引力波夏令营来产生直接影响。 该夏令营将吸引来自不同领域的高中生，他们将有机会与宾夕法尼亚州立大学的研究人员接触，了解引力波物理学和天文学。该奖项支持的项目进一步推进了LIGO科学合作组织的使命，该合作组织专注于引力波的直接探测，利用它们来探索引力的基本物理学，并发展新兴的引力波科学领域，作为天文发现的工具。该奖项将在未来三年内对LIGO数据进行分析，从而发现中子星、中子星星/黑洞双星和黑洞双星。 这些新的引力波探测将包括迄今为止最深的引力波瞬态目录，在拟议的工作期间可能会有数百个新发现。 每一次新的紧凑双星合并都将为广义相对论提供一个新的测试，总的来说，这些发现将对附近宇宙中紧凑天体的数量进行精确的评估。从这个人口可能推断的形成机制，检测到的双星，并在这样做揭示了他们的创建和演化的细节。 随着所有引力波的发现，有机会观察电磁波或中微子。 双星中子星星与光学对应物（如GW 170817）合并的新发现将加深对重元素产生的理解，并确定宇宙的膨胀率。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。

This award supports research in relativity and relativistic astrophysics, and it addresses the priority areas of NSF's "Windows on the Universe" Big Idea. Discovering Neutron Stars and Black Holes with the NSF's LIGO observatory advances knowledge of the universe through gravitational wave physics and astronomy. Unlike conventional astronomy, which relies on light emitted by distant astronomical sources, gravitational wave astronomy measures tiny ripples in the fabric of space caused by massive objects such as black holes. Therefore, even though a black hole's strong gravity prevents light from escaping its grasp, scientists are able to observe black holes without seeing them. Directly observing the ripples in space from black holes and neutron stars has opened a tremendous potential for physical inferences that were impossible previously. This new field began in 2015 when LIGO observatory detected two black holes crashing together a billion light years away and has since opened a new window on the universe with about one hundred confirmed cosmic collisions. Discovering the tiny ripples of a black hole collision billions of light years away requires sophisticated data analysis. This award funds analysis of LIGO data with the direct goal of detecting hundreds of new black holes and neutron stars in the next three years. These new discoveries will help to reveal how stars are born, how they die, and if the universe has anything hidden in its dark side. The team are committed to making a direct impact through hosting a gravitational wave summer camp in central Pennsylvania. This camp will attract a diverse group of high school students who will have an opportunity to engage with Penn State researchers and learn about gravitational wave physics and astronomy.The projects supported by this award furthers the mission of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration which is focused on the direct detection of gravitational waves, using them to explore the fundamental physics of gravity and developing the emerging field of gravitational wave science as a tool of astronomical discovery. The award will deliver analysis of LIGO data over the next three years resulting in the detection of binary neutron stars, neutron star / black hole binaries and binary black holes. These new gravitational wave detections will comprise the deepest gravitational wave transient catalog to date with potentially hundreds of new discoveries occurring during the period of the proposed work. Each new compact binary merger will provide a new test of General Relativity, and in-aggregate, the discoveries will provide a precise assessment of the population of compact objects in the nearby universe. From this population it may be possible to infer the formation mechanism of the detected binaries and in doing so reveal details about their creation and evolution. With all gravitational wave discoveries, there is an opportunity to observe an electromagnetic or neutrino counterpart. New discoveries of binary neutron star mergers with optical counterparts like GW170817 will, among other things, deepen the understanding of heavy element production as well as to pin down the expansion rate of the universe. The proposed research has substantial inherent opportunities for public engagement as black holes are often met by a captivated audience.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.