RUI: Multi-Messenger Astronomy and Detector Characterization in LIGO

随着先进的LIGO最近对引力波的直接观测，当前先进的引力波干涉仪时代是引力波天体物理学史上最激动人心的时期。在探测器特性方面的努力，如在这个项目中所进行的工作和多信使天文学，将加强LIGO科学及其与其他天文社区的联系，同时为学生提供许多参与的机会。该基金支持的研究人员包括不同教育水平的学生，从小学课堂访问到高中研究实习，再到安柏瑞德大学普雷斯科特校区的第一位物理学博士候选人。本科生研究仍然是安柏瑞德航空大学的一个特别重点，许多高级论文和其他本科生项目将从美国国家科学基金会的财政支持中受益。Embry-Riddle的LIGO小组继续加大其推广力度，利用亚利桑那州北部的机会，包括靠近纳瓦霍保留地。识别与电磁（如光学或无线电）信号的时间和位置相一致的瞬态引力波，将提供关于源的丰富信息，这些信息无法通过单一天体物理信使获得。核心坍缩超新星是这种多信使天文学方法的一个令人兴奋的目标。来自同一颗超新星的引力波和光学观测的结合将解决天体物理学中的许多悬而未决的问题，包括爆炸本身的机制，以及关于中微子相互作用和中子星状态方程的基本问题。LIGO已经开始研究的另一个多信使天文学领域是寻找与持续时间以毫秒为尺度的射电瞬变天体物理来源相吻合的引力波。从中子星星震学到宇宙弦尖端，这些可能与引力波同时发射。引力波天文学有可能揭示几种类型的射电发射，可能包括快速射电爆发。由于环境干扰和干涉仪本身的行为相结合，瞬态地面背景的存在使寻找引力波爆发变得更加困难。了解这些环境干扰并将其从干涉测量数据中去除对于进行引力波的敏感搜索至关重要。通过参与LIGO的探测器表征工作组，这笔资金将用于识别和减轻干涉仪中的非天体物理背景，并应用否决权来消除它们。

With Advanced LIGO's recent direct observation of gravitational waves, the current era of advanced gravitational wave interferometers is the most exciting period in the history of gravitational wave astrophysics. Efforts in detector characterization such as those undertaken in this project and multi-messenger astronomy will enhance LIGO science and its ties to the rest of the astronomical community while providing many opportunities for student engagement. Researchers supported by this grant are involving students at various levels of education, from elementary class visits, to high school research internships, to the first physics PhD candidate on Embry-Riddle's Prescott campus. Undergraduate research remains a particular focus at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and multiple senior theses and other undergraduate projects will benefit from NSF financial support. Embry-Riddle's LIGO group continues to increase its outreach efforts, taking advantage of opportunities in northern Arizona, including close proximity to the Navajo reservation.Identification of a gravitational wave transient consistent with the time and location of an electromagnetic (e.g. optical or radio) signal will provide a wealth of information about the source that would not be available through means of a single astrophysical messenger. Core Collapse Supernovae are an exciting target for this multi-messenger astronomy approach. The combination of a gravitational wave and optical observation from the same supernova would address a number of open questions in astrophysics, including the mechanism of the explosion itself as well as fundamental questions about neutrino interactions and the neutron star equation of state. Another area of multi-messenger astronomy that LIGO has begun to investigate is the search for gravitational waves in coincidence with astrophysical sources of radio transients of duration on the scale of milliseconds. These could be emitted simultaneously with gravitational waves due to scenarios ranging from neutron star asteroseismology to cosmic string cusps. Gravitational wave astronomy has the potential to shed light on several types of radio emission, possibly including fast radio bursts. The search for gravitational wave bursts is made more difficult by the presence of transient terrestrial background, resulting from a combination of environmental disturbances and behavior of the interferometers themselves. Understanding these environmental disturbances and removing them from interferometric data is critical in conducting sensitive searches for gravitational waves. This grant funds substantial effort in identifying and mitigating the non-astrophysical background in the interferometers and application of vetoes to eliminate them through participation in LIGO's detector characterization working group.