CAREER: An Integrated Research and Education Program in Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy

该奖项通过与激光干涉仪引力波天文台（LIGO）的研究工作以及为高中和早期职业本科生建立引力波物理学和天文学领域桥梁的教育计划，支持引力波物理学和天文学领域的项目。 在我们对宇宙的理解中，一些最令人兴奋的进展可能来自于对引力波和电磁信号的联合观测，正如LIGO和Virgo科学合作组织以及世界各地的电磁望远镜在2017年8月对合并中子星的探测所证明的那样。 该项目将通过提高校准LIGO探测器的引力波数据并将其传播到天体物理分析的速度和准确性，使电磁望远镜能够迅速跟踪探测到的引力波信号。 除了能够从即时多信使天文学中获得科学进步外，该项目还将引导下一代科学家进入这一令人兴奋的领域。 该项目资助无线电和光学天文学研究（ROAR）小组的发展和扩大，该小组为凯尼恩学院和周边社区的高中和早期职业本科生提供无障碍进入研究的机会。 该研究小组已经启动了几个本科生参与LIGO相关的研究项目，该项目将使该管道得以扩展，并改善对更广泛学生的访问。引力波数据分析的第一步是准确和及时地重建或校准探测器应变h（t）。目前，经校准的应变数据可用于快速响应的重力波搜索，时间约为10秒，有关探测器数据质量的信息极少。该项目将通过非常低延迟的校准应变数据、减去校准应变数据中的噪声以及有关应变数据质量的可靠信息，推动未来的LIGO数据生产。然后，这种转换后的数据产品将在快速响应的引力波搜索中触手可及，从而提高这些搜索在数据中发现和量化引力波的能力。 该项目将本科生和高中生纳入这一前沿领域。 本科生将参与实施低延迟方法，以从应变数据中去除噪音，并使用机器学习算法来提供对数据中存在巨大、瞬时噪音事件的概率的预测。 高中生和早期的本科生将通过凯尼恩学院的无线电和光学天文学研究（ROAR）小组开始进入天文学和引力波物理学领域。 注重成果的年度报告的学生将进行天文学观测和脉冲星候选者识别，这将有助于脉冲星计时领域。 因此，该计划建立了一个研究管道，通过它学生可以从事早期的研究机会，并过渡到先进的研究领域。 注重成果的年度报告方案为农村地区的高中生提供了科学研究和教育机会，否则他们将很少接触现代科学研究。该奖项反映了国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports projects in the field of gravitational-wave physics and astronomy through research endeavors with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and an education program that builds a bridge into the field of gravitational-wave physics and astronomy for high school and early-career undergraduate students. Some of the most exciting advancements in our understanding of the universe can come from joint observations of gravitational-wave and electromagnetic signals, as was evident from the detection of merging neutron stars in August of 2017 by the LIGO and Virgo Scientific Collaborations as well as electromagnetic telescopes around the world. This project will enable prompt follow-up of detected gravitational-wave signals with electromagnetic telescopes by increasing the speed and accuracy with which gravitational-wave data from the LIGO detectors can be calibrated and disseminated to astrophysical analyses. In addition to enabling the advancements in science that will be obtained from prompt multi-messenger astronomy, this project will also shepherd the next generation of scientists into this exciting field. The project funds the development and expansion of a Radio and Optical Astronomy Research (ROAR) group that serves as a no-barrier-to-entry research opportunity for high school and early-career undergraduate students at Kenyon College and in the surrounding community. This group has already launched several undergraduates into LIGO-related research projects, and this project will allow that pipeline to expand and improve access to a wide range of students.The first step in gravitational-wave data analysis is the accurate and prompt reconstruction, or calibration, of the detector strain h(t). Currently the calibrated strain data is available to quick-response gravitational-wave searches in approximately 10 seconds with minimal information about the quality of the detector data. This project will propel LIGO data production into the future with very low-latency calibrated strain data, subtraction of noise in the calibrated strain data, and robust information about the quality of the strain data. This transformed data product would then be at the fingertips of quick-response gravitational-wave searches, thereby improving the ability of these searches to both find and quantify gravitational waves in the data. The project incorporates undergraduates and high school students into this cutting-edge field. Undergraduate students will be involved in implementing low-latency methods for removing noise from the strain data and using machine learning algorithms to provide predictions about the probability of loud, transient noise events being present in the data. High school students and early undergraduate students will be initiated into the fields of astronomy and gravitational-wave physics through the Radio and Optical Astronomy Research (ROAR) group at Kenyon College. ROAR students will perform astronomy observations and pulsar candidate identification that will contribute to the field of pulsar timing. This program thereby establishes a research pipeline through which students can engage early in research opportunities and transition into advanced research areas. The ROAR program brings scientific research and education opportunities to high school students in a rural area who would otherwise have little exposure to modern scientific research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.