Collaborative Research: Automated Search and Follow-Up of Electromagnetic Counterparts to Gravitational-Wave Events in O4

爱因斯坦最先预言合并的恒星会产生引力波。探测这些引力波的能力只是在最近几年才出现的。美国和欧洲的大型探测器，很快也会在日本，定位这些波来自天空的位置。然后，望远镜在天空的这些部分搜索可见光。2017年，使用单口径望远镜发现了第一个引力波事件的光学对应物。该项目提议将努力扩大到10台搜索望远镜和近24台后续望远镜，横跨四大洲和五个国家。通过这一努力，将探索宇宙中最重的元素是如何产生的，并探索一种测量宇宙膨胀速度的新方法。该项目还通过让学生(包括理科和非理科专业的学生)从望远镜网络收集和分析数据来进行具体的科学测量，从而在本科课程中进行了创新。此外，PI计划升级莫尔黑德天文馆和科学中心的动态天空展览。该项目实施了一个大规模、多组件的观测计划，旨在利用O4中≈100MPC内较小的LIGO/VIEGO/KAGRA局部化来更快地识别引力波(GW)事件的光学对应物；收集识别前的测量结果以及密集的多波长识别后的光曲线；以及收集识别后的光谱。这项观察工作将利用规划中设施的独特设计和广泛的地理分布，以及已证明的成功，以尽快确定这些对应设施。对应的信息将立即报告给更广泛的天文学社区，如果即时发射足够明亮，可能只在LIGO/处女座/KAGRA触发后几分钟内报告。早期的观察对于理解NS-NS和NS-BH、合并事件和r-过程核合成至关重要。测量抛射物相对于潮汐分量的极分量，或测量非热余辉，也可以得到视角信息，与GW数据相结合，可以得到距离的“干净”测量，从而产生一种测量哈勃常数的新的局部方法(这里将研究其中一种方法的系统学)。该项目支持研究生，将研究内容嵌入到本科课程中，并将在当地天文馆的时变天空的公开演示中做出改进。该项目推进了宇宙大理想之窗的目标。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Einstein first predicted that merging stars produce gravitational waves. The capability to detect these gravitational waves has only existed in the last few years. Large detectors in the US and Europe, and soon also in Japan, localize where in the sky these waves are coming from. Telescopes then search these parts of the sky for visible light. In 2017 the first such optical counterpart to a gravitational-wave event was discovered using a single aperture telescope This project proposes to expand the effort to ten search telescopes and nearly two dozen follow-up telescopes, spanning four continents and five countries. Through this effort, investigation of how the heaviest elements in the universe are produced, and a new means to measure how quickly the universe is expanding will be explored. This project also provides innovation in undergraduate curriculum by having students (both science majors and non-majors) collect and analyze data from a telescope network to make specific scientific measurements. Additionally, the PI plans to upgrade the dynamic-sky exhibit of the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.This project implements a large-scale, multi-component observing program designed to take advantage of smaller LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA localizations within ≈100 Mpc in O4 to identify the optical counterparts of gravitational wave (GW) events more quickly; to collect pre-identification measurements as well, and dense, multi-wavelength post-identification light curves; and to collect post-identification spectroscopy. This observing effort will capitalize on the planned facilities’ unique design and broad geographic distribution, and proven success, to identify these counterparts as quickly as possible. Counterpart information will be reported to the broader astronomical community immediately, and possibly within only minutes of LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA triggers if prompt emission is sufficiently bright. Earlier observations are critical to understanding NS-NS, and NS-BH, merger events, and r-process nucleosynthesis. Measurements of the ejecta's polar component relative to its tidal component, or of the non-thermal afterglow, could also yield viewing-angle information, which in combination with the GW data could result in a “clean” measurement of the distance, and hence in a new, local method of measuring Hubble's constant (the systematics of one such approach will be studied here). This project supports graduate students, embeds research aspects into the undergraduate curriculum, and will make improvements in public demonstrations of the time variable sky at a local planetarium.This project advances the goals of the Windows on the Universe Big Idea.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.