In Search of Gravitational Waves: Modeling the Inspiral, Merger and Ringdown of Spinning Compact Binaries

这些项目涵盖了广义相对论、引力波物理和数据分析等几个主题。主要目标是：(i)计算紧致双星引力辐射中更高阶的自旋效应，并利用这些结果，与引力自力计算的输入一起，改进有效的一体形式化；（ii）校准加工、旋转、紧凑双星的有效一体模板，使其在可比和小质量比限制下达到精确的数值模拟；（iii）在LIGO软件中实现这些有效的一体模板；（iv）制定旋转、紧凑双星的探测策略，并利用LIGO数据进行搜索。对于激光干涉仪引力波天文台（LIGO）等探测器来说，合并致密双星是最有希望的引力波来源之一。用于检测非旋转、合并和紧凑双星的模板已经建立并用于LIGO搜索。升级到高级LIGO配置已经开始，并将于2014-2015年完成，将设备的灵敏度提高到LIGO的十倍，从而将许多天体物理源的事件率提高到一千倍。本文提出的研究旨在建立在这些进展的基础上，开发高度精炼的模板，用于检测处理，旋转紧凑二进制，从而提取这些二进制产生的波中编码的独特物理。因此，拟议中的研究将增强高级LIGO探测器做出重要发现的潜力。

The projects span several topics in general relativity, gravitational-wave physics, and data analysis. The principal goals are to: (i) compute spin effects at higher post-Newtonian order in the gravitational radiation from compact binaries, and use these results, together with inputs from gravitational self-force calculations, to improve the effective-one-body formalism; (ii) calibrate effective-one-body templates of precessing, spinning, compact binaries to accurate numerical simulations in the comparable and small mass-ratio limits; (iii) implement these effective-one-body templates in LIGO software; and (iv) develop detection strategies for spinning, compact binaries and carry out searches with LIGO data.Coalescing compact binaries are among the most promising sources of gravitational waves for detectors such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO). Templates for detecting non-spinning, merging, compact binaries have been built and used in LIGO searches. The upgrade to the Advanced LIGO configuration has already started and will be completed in 2014-2015, improving the facility's sensitivity by a factor of ten with respect to LIGO, thus increasing the event rates for many astrophysical sources by a factor of one thousand. The research proposed herein seeks to build on these progresses, develop highly refined templates for detecting precessing, spinning compact binaries, thereby extracting the unique physics encoded within the waves that such binaries produce. Thus, the proposed research would enhance the potential of Advanced LIGO's detectors to make important discoveries.