Launching the Cosmic Explorer Conceptual Design

引力波天文学为我们打开了一扇了解宇宙的新窗口。在爱因斯坦预测引力波一个世纪后，NSF激光干涉仪引力波天文台(LIGO)通过直接观测来自合并的黑洞和中子星的引力波，回报了数十年的投资。宇宙探索者是美国下一代引力波天文台的构想，它是一个拟议中的项目，旨在将引力波天文学的研究范围推向可观测宇宙的边缘。这笔赠款将通过建立一个宇宙探索者项目办公室并协调所有国内和国际合作伙伴，使这个宇宙探索者观测站的设计过程迈出第一步。整个项目的公平性、多样性和包容性将是这项授权的重点。计划工作的总体目标是启动宇宙探索者的设计过程。天文台概念将与单独资助的关于子系统和网站搜索工作的工作协作制定。通过提供一个协调所有宇宙探索者相关活动的中心枢纽，这项工作将巩固概念设计，并将其推进到可以发布工程和设计合同以巩固项目执行计划的程度。这将为所有与CE相关的研究工作提供集中的资源，用于沟通、协调、文档、培训和促进公平、多样性和包容性。该奖项反映了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。

Gravitational-wave astronomy has opened a new window on the universe. A century after Einstein predicted gravitational waves, the NSF Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) rewarded decades of investment with direct observations of gravitational waves from merging black holes and neutron stars. Cosmic Explorer, a concept for a next-generation gravitational-wave observatory in the United States, is a proposed project to push the reach of gravitational-wave astronomy to the edge of the observable universe. This grant will enable the first steps in the design process for this Cosmic Explorer observatory, by establishing a Cosmic Explorer Project Office and coordinating all the domestic and international partners. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for the totality of the Project will be a focus of this grant.The overarching objective of the planned work is to initiate the design process for Cosmic Explorer. The observatory concept will be developed in collaboration with the separately funded work on subsystems and on the site search efforts. By providing a central hub for coordinating all Cosmic Explorer-related activity, this effort will consolidate the conceptual design, and advance it to the point that engineering and design contracts can be issued to solidify the Project Execution Plan. This will provide all CE-related research efforts with centralized resources for communication, coordination, documentation, training, and promotion of equity, diversity and inclusion.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.