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，并阐述了美国国家科学基金会“宇宙之窗”大构想的优先领域。利用NSF的LIGO天文台发现中子星和黑洞，通过引力波物理和天文学促进了对宇宙的了解。与传统天文学不同的是，传统天文学依赖于遥远的天文来源发出的光，引力波天文学测量的是黑洞等大质量物体在空间结构中引起的微小涟漪。因此，即使黑洞的强大引力阻止了光线逃脱它的控制，科学家们仍然能够在没有看到黑洞的情况下观察到它们。直接观测黑洞和中子星在太空中的涟漪，为物理推断打开了巨大的潜力，这在以前是不可能的。这个新领域始于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一扇新的宇宙之窗。要发现数十亿光年外黑洞碰撞的微小涟漪，需要进行复杂的数据分析。该奖项资助了对LIGO数据的分析，直接目标是在未来三年内发现数百个新的黑洞和中子星。这些新发现将有助于揭示恒星是如何诞生的，它们是如何消亡的，以及宇宙的黑暗面是否隐藏着什么。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。这个夏令营将吸引不同的高中生群体，他们将有机会与宾夕法尼亚州立大学的研究人员接触，学习引力波物理和天文学。由该奖项支持的项目进一步推动了LIGO科学合作的使命，该合作专注于直接探测引力波，利用它们来探索引力波的基本物理，并发展作为天文发现工具的引力波科学这一新兴领域。该奖项将在未来三年对LIGO数据进行分析，从而探测到双星中子星、中子星/黑洞双星和双星黑洞。这些新的引力波探测将构成迄今为止最深的引力波瞬变目录，在拟议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对广义相对论进行新的测试，总的来说，这些发现将提供对附近宇宙中致密天体数量的精确评估。从这个群体中，有可能推断出探测到的双星的形成机制，并在这样做的过程中揭示它们的创建和进化的细节。有了所有引力波的发现，就有机会观察到电磁或中微子的对应物。双中子星与GW170817等光学对应星合并的新发现，除其他外，将加深对重元素产生的理解，并确定宇宙的膨胀率。这项拟议的研究有很大的内在机会让公众参与进来，因为黑洞经常会被吸引住观众。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.