Physics and Astrophysics of Compact Binaries

2015年9月，高级LIGO首次探测到两个黑洞合并发出的引力波。在不久的将来，一个由地球和太空引力波探测器组成的网络将在很大的质量和质量比范围内观测由黑洞和/或中子星组成的双星系统。为了实现引力波天文学的突破性潜力，我们必须超越探测，尽可能多地提取有关引力波源的物理和天体物理信息。这是这个项目的主题，它将研究地球和太空探测器如何约束双星形成的天体物理学，并进一步加深我们对强场引力物理的理解。该奖项将支持密西西比大学的引力物理小组，这是一个位于地理和经济不利地区的领先研究中心，该地区的基础科学参与度低于全国平均水平。该项目将在新兴的引力波天文学领域的关键时刻加强引力物理界和更大的天体物理界之间的合作。该项目将在一个高度跨学科的领域培养学生和博士后，该领域需要在广义相对论、天体物理学、数据分析和高能物理学方面的专业知识。学生和博士后将受益于与世界领先的引力物理学专家组成的大型国际网络的互动。PI将研究可以从黑洞双星的自旋诱导进动中提取的天体物理信息；探索利用地基和天基引力波探测器约束双星形成情景的可能性；研究超相对论黑洞碰撞作为探索爱因斯坦理论极限的“数值实验”；研究黑洞物理中的吸收、散射和超辐射问题；并研究致密物体是否可以用来揭示广义相对论预测的可能的强场偏差。该提案的长期目标是：(1)探索第一次引力波观测的科学回报：我们可以从基本的引力物理学中学到什么，以及紧凑双星探测将如何有助于我们对宇宙的理解？(2)提高我们在广义相对论和修正的引力理论中对致密天体（无论是孤立的还是双星的）的理论认识。PI的小组是欧盟资助的研究与创新人员交流（RISE）行动“强重力和高能物理”（2015- 2020）的一部分，该行动包括欧洲、美国、加拿大和日本的8个节点。该网络将确保本计划资助的学生和博士后在充满活力的国际环境中接受培训。

In September 2015 Advanced LIGO made the first detection of the gravitational waves emitted from the merger of two black holes. In the near future, a network of Earth-based and space-based gravitational-wave detectors will observe binary systems composed of black holes and/or neutron stars over a wide range of masses and mass ratios. To realize the groundbreaking potential of gravitational-wave astronomy we must go beyond detection, extracting as much information as possible about the physics and astrophysics of the sources. This is the main theme of this project, that will study how Earth-based and space-based detectors can constrain the astrophysics of binary formation and further our understanding of strong-field gravitational physics. This award will support the gravitational physics group at the University of Mississippi, a leading research center located in a geographically and economically disadvantaged region, where engagement in the basic sciences is below national average. The project will strengthen collaborations between the gravitational physics community and the larger astrophysics community at a crucial time for the nascent field of gravitational-wave astronomy. The PI will train students and a postdoc in a highly interdisciplinary field that requires expertise in general relativity, astrophysics, data analysis and high-energy physics. The students and postdoc will benefit from interactions with a large international network of world-leading experts in gravitational physics.The PI will study the astrophysical information that can be extracted from the spin-induced precession of black-hole binaries; explore the possibility to constrain binary formation scenarios using Earth-based and space-based gravitational wave detectors; study ultra-relativistic black-hole collisions as "numerical experiments" probing the limits of Einstein's theory; investigate the problems of absorption, scattering and superradiance in black-hole physics; and study whether compact objects can be used to reveal possible strong-field deviations from the predictions of general relativity. The long-term goals of this proposal are: (1) to explore the scientific payoff of the first gravitational wave observations: what can we learn about fundamental gravitational physics, and how will compact binary detections contribute to our understanding of the Universe? (2) to improve our theoretical understanding of compact objects, whether isolated or in binaries, in general relativity and in modified theories of gravity. The PI's group is part of the European Union-funded Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) Action "Strong Gravity and High-Energy Physics" (2015- 2020), which includes 8 nodes in Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan. This network will ensure that the students and postdocs funded by this proposal will be trained in a vibrant international environment.