Strong-gravity compact objects and fundamental gravity tests in the era of gravitational-wave astronomy

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Four binary black hole and one binary neutron star merger events have been confirmed by gravitational-wave observations so far. With advanced LIGO reaching design sensitivity in a couple of years, detections are expected to arrive on a monthly or weekly basis. New data will bring amazing scientific opportunities to decipher important astrophysical phenomena of very compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes, and push tests of General Relativity to the most extreme limits and allow discoveries in fundamental physics. My research program will focus on unraveling information for “known unknowns” with incoming data, as well as propose new developments in source modelling and data analysis for discovering “unknown unknowns”.******This proposal contains an ambitious 5-year plan which targets some of the most important questions in gravitational-wave (astro)physics, taking advantage of upcoming observations. Part of the program also develops science goals for 3rd-generation detectors to enable even more exciting discoveries, strengthening Canadian leadership in this worldwide effort of gravitational-wave community. The proposal comprises two driving themes:******1) Strong-field gravitational astrophysics and detector design. The objectives are to unravel physics buried within the detector's data stream, provide new insights to guide observations, and propose methods to improve data quality. I will conduct research in the dynamics of compact object systems in connection to gravitational-wave emissions. I will also study electromagnetic counterparts of binaries that include neutron star(s) in relation to multi-messenger observations. In addition, I shall actively pursue ideas to aid in advanced detector designs and new data analysis approaches for detecting specific characteristics in the signals. ******2) Fundamental physics with strongly-gravitating systems. I will examine dynamical signatures of modified theories of gravity and methods to measure, or constrain, violations of General Relativity based on observed gravitational-wave data. Such a task also benefits from measurements using electromagnetic-wave telescopes, e.g., the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. In the longer term, to boost the detectability of non-General Relativity effects that are maximized in the strong-gravity regime, I shall construct phenomenological waveform templates that include the entire inspiral-merger-ringdown stage of compact binary mergers in modified theories of gravity.******Through these scientific developments, I will train students and postdocs to acquire scientific and communication skills, by performing research in this amazing era of gravitational-wave astronomy. They will gain invaluable expertise, make contributions to the cutting-edge frontier of astrophysics and revolutionize our understanding of strongly-gravitating astrophysical systems.