A Search for Gravitational Radiation at LIGO: Oregon Experimental Relativity Group

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。俄勒冈州实验相对论小组继续在LIGO科学合作组织（LSC）内努力寻找引力辐射爆发源（GWB）。该小组将继续把工作重点放在识别和改善LIGO干涉仪中的噪声源上，这是实现科学发现的先决条件。该计划涉及LSC内GWB科学活动的两个互补领域：（1）数据分析和（2）探测器表征和改进。在数据分析领域，将完成对LIGO科学运行S6中与伽马射线暴（GRB）相关的GWB的搜索。探测器特性鉴定和改进工作将继续侧重于环境影响。将继续努力查明和减少环境影响，以提高干涉仪的灵敏度，并降低假事件率。我们的努力将超越这两个主要领域，并为所有LIGO搜索和Advanced LIGO的成功做出重要贡献。这项研究对社会做出了重大贡献，因为它具有深刻的基础性，并为广泛参与科学事业提供了机会。引力辐射的发现将是推进爱因斯坦广义相对论应用的重大成就，并开启了发现和理解的新时代。科学成果的发表将标志着人类对宇宙本质的启蒙的伟大时刻。俄勒冈州小组作出特别努力，通过将最先进的技术方面与外联活动相结合，扩大这项工作的影响。其中包括本科生参与该小组的研究，为有才华的高中生提供暑期研究计划，与俄勒冈州高中教师合作，将研究经验带入高中（夸克网计划的一部分），并向社区团体发表演讲。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The Oregon experimental relativity group continues its efforts within the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) to search for burst sources of gravitational radiation (GWBs). The group will continue to focus a significant fraction of its effort on the identification and amelioration of noise sources in the LIGO interferometers, as a prerequisite to the realization of a scientific discovery. The program involves two complementary areas of activity in GWB science within the LSC: (1) data analysis and (2) detector characterization and improvement. In the area of data analysis, the search for GWBs produced in association with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in the LIGO science run S6 will be completed. The detector characterization and improvement effort will continue to focus on environmental influences. Work will continue on identifying and reducing environmental influences in order to improve interferometer sensitivity, and to decrease false event rates. Efforts will extend beyond these two primary areas, and have important contributions to all LIGO searches and the success of Advanced LIGO.This research contributes significantly to society, due to its profound, fundamental nature, and the opportunities which are associated to enable broad participation in the scientific enterprise. The discovery of gravitational radiation would be a major achievement in advancing the applications of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, and initiate a new age of discovery and understanding. Publications of the scientific results would mark a great moment of human enlightenment regarding the nature of the universe. The Oregon group makes a special effort to broaden the impact of this work by integrating the most advanced, technical aspects with outreach activities. These include undergraduate participation in the group's research, summer research programs for talented high school students, work with Oregon high school teachers to bring the research experience into thehigh school (part of the Quark Net program), and speaking engagements to community groups.