Compact Object Binaries and Gravitational Radiation

一旦像LIGO这样的引力波干涉仪探测到第一束光，天文学的新时代将开始。这些探测器将提供一个革命性的宇宙观，其中信使是引力波，携带有关黑洞，超新星，旋转中子星，超新星和伽马射线爆发等现象的宝贵信息。为支持观测工作，该项目的工作旨在继续开发一种通用数字代码，能够模拟预计最重要的引力辐射源之一，即由黑洞和/或中子星组成的双星系统。这项工作的具体重点是探索在涉及旋转、质量不等的黑洞的双星的轨道和碰撞过程中产生的引力波形的复杂性，此外，研究中子星的分裂和短伽马射线中分裂的作用，射线暴。调查不仅将进一步加强，而且还将通过创建灵活和可重复使用的计算工具，作为多信使天文学的一个组成部分，解释引力波观测的基本工具。这些模拟的引力辐射源将丰富学习环境的跨学科培训的本科生和研究生在引力波现象学的新领域。此外，这项工作将为协同努力提供关键贡献，从数值和数学相对论到引力波天体物理学。

A new era in astronomy will begin once gravitational wave interferometers like LIGO detect first light. These detectors will provide a revolutionary view of the Universe where the messengers are gravitational waves carrying valuable information about phenomena such as black holes, supernovae, spinning neutron stars, collapsars and gamma-ray bursts. In support of the observational efforts, the work in this project is aimed at continuing the development of a generic numerical code capable of modeling what is expected to be one of the most important sources of gravitational radiation, namely binary systems consisting of black holes and/or neutron stars. The specific focus of the work is to explore the complexity of the gravitational waveforms produced during orbits and collisions of binaries involving spinning, unequal mass black holes and, in addition, to investigate the disruption of neutron stars and the role of the disruption in short gamma-ray bursts.The investigation will not only further enhance but also develop new infrastructure for research and collaboration through the creation of flexible and reusable computational tools, essential tools for the interpretation of gravitational wave observations as a component of multi-messenger astronomy. These simulations of sources of gravitational radiation will enrich the learning environment for interdisciplinary training of undergraduate and graduate students in the new field of gravitational wave phenomenology. The work will, in addition, provide key contributions to synergistic efforts, ranging from numerical and mathematical relativity to gravitational wave astrophysics.