Numerical Studies of Compact-Object Binaries

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。该项目继续开发模拟两颗中子星或两个黑洞合并所需的数值代码，并对这些现象产生的引力波进行建模。特别是，这项工作集中在中子星建模中更现实的物理研究，包括中微子辐射的影响和初始数据集的创建，这些数据集将包括具有任意自旋（大小和方向）的中子星。黑洞合并的研究将继续进行，这一次将通过与NINJA小组的合作得到加强：NINJA小组是一个大型（超过80名研究人员）的国际努力，致力于将数值生成的重力波形引入LIGO和VIRGO的数据分析管道。鉴于新一代引力波探测器（如LIGO）的出现，这项工作尤为重要。直接探测引力波的可能性创造了天文学的一个新分支。对这些引力波的直接探测将提供对宇宙中一些最迷人的物体的独特见解：黑洞和中子星。由于中子星与黑洞或其他中子星合并时的云层，引力波和中微子辐射是唯一可以传递有关双星系统最后时刻、合并和新物体（很可能是黑洞）产生的信息的工具。此外，该项目还支持佛罗里达大西洋大学（Florida Atlantic University）一个发展中研究机构最近成立的相对论小组，该机构的学生来自不同文化背景。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This project continues the development of the numerical codes necessary to simulate the merger of two neutron stars or two black holes and the modeling of the gravitational waves generated by these phenomena. In particular, the work concentrates of the study of more realistic physics in the modeling of the neutron stars, including the effects of neutrino radiation and the creation of initial data sets that will include neutron stars with arbitrary spins (in magnitude and orientation). Research on black hole mergers will continue, this time enhanced by a collaboration with the NINJA Group: a large (more than 80 investigators) international effort dedicated to ease the introduction of numerically generated gravitational waveforms into the data analysis pipeline of LIGO and VIRGO.This work is particularly important in the light of the advent of the new generation of gravitational wave detectors such as LIGO. The possibility of detecting gravitational waves directly has created a new branch of astronomical sciences. Direct detection of these waves will provide unique insights into some of the most fascinating objects in the universe: black holes and neutron stars. Due to the matter that clouds the mergers of neutron stars with black holes or other neutron stars, gravitational waves and neutrino radiation are the only vehicles that can convey information about the last few moments of a binary system, the merger and the creation of a new object (most likely a black hole). Furthermore, this project supports a recently-formed relativity group at a developing research institution, Florida Atlantic University with a culturally diverse student body.