Discovering Black Holes and Neutron Stars with LIGO

该奖项支持相对论和相对论天体物理学的研究，并解决了NSF“宇宙之窗”大理念的优先领域。该奖项支持通过一个新领域研究宇宙：引力波天文学。与传统天文学不同，传统天文学依赖于来自遥远天文源的光，引力波天文学测量由黑洞等大质量物体引起的空间结构中的微小涟漪。黑洞的强大引力甚至可以阻止光线逃脱它的控制，因此，引力波天文学通过发现以前不可见的现象来揭示宇宙的黑暗面。这个新领域始于2015年，当时NSF资助的LIGO天文台检测到两个黑洞在10亿光年外相撞，并已通过十几次确认的宇宙碰撞打开了宇宙的新窗口。发现数十亿光年外黑洞碰撞的微小涟漪需要复杂的数据分析。该奖项资助对LIGO数据的分析，其直接目标是在未来三年内探测数百个新的黑洞和中子星。这些新发现将有助于揭示恒星如何诞生、如何消亡，以及宇宙的黑暗面是否隐藏着任何东西。这里提出的工作进一步推进了LIGO科学合作组织的使命，该合作组织专注于直接探测引力波，利用它们探索引力的基础物理，并将新兴的引力波科学领域发展为天文发现的工具。该奖项将在未来三年内提供对LIGO数据的分析，从而探测到中子星、中子星星/黑洞双星和黑洞双星。这些新的引力波探测将包括迄今为止最深的引力波瞬态目录，在拟议的工作期间可能会有数百个新发现。每一次新的紧凑双星合并都将对广义相对论进行新的检验，总的来说，这些发现将对附近宇宙中紧凑天体的数量进行精确的评估。从这个人口可能推断的形成机制，检测到的双星，并在这样做揭示了他们的创建和演化的细节。 随着所有引力波的发现，有机会观察电磁波或中微子。新发现的中子星星与光学对应物（如GW 170817）合并将加深对重元素生产的理解，并确定宇宙的膨胀率。拟议中的研究有大量的内在机会，公众参与，因为黑洞经常遇到一个着迷的观众。该提案的工作人员致力于通过在宾夕法尼亚州中部举办引力波夏令营来产生直接影响。这个夏令营将吸引一群不同的高中生，他们将有机会与宾夕法尼亚州立大学的研究人员接触，了解引力波物理学和天文学。该奖项反映了NSF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 research in relativity and relativistic astrophysics and it addresses the priority areas of NSF's "Windows on the Universe" Big Idea. This award supports studying the universe through a new field: gravitational wave astronomy. Unlike conventional astronomy, which relies on light from distant astronomical sources, gravitational wave astronomy measures tiny ripples in the fabric of space itself caused by massive objects such as black holes. A black hole's strong gravity prevents even light from escaping its grasp, and consequently, gravitational wave astronomy reveals the dark side of the universe by enabling the discovery of phenomena that were previously invisible. This new field began in 2015 when the NSF-funded LIGO observatory detected two black holes crashing together a billion light years away and has since opened a new window on the universe with more than a dozen confirmed cosmic collisions. Discovering the tiny ripples of a black hole collision billions of light years away requires sophisticated data analysis. This award funds analysis of LIGO data with the direct goal of detecting hundreds of new black holes and neutron stars in the next three years. These new discoveries will help to reveal how stars are born, how they die, and if the universe has anything hidden in its dark side.The work proposed here furthers the mission of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, which is focused on the direct detection of gravitational waves, using them to explore the fundamental physics of gravity and developing the emerging field of gravitational wave science as a tool of astronomical discovery. The award will deliver analysis of LIGO data over the next three years, resulting in the detection of binary neutron stars, neutron star/black hole binaries and binary black holes. These new gravitational wave detections will comprise the deepest gravitational wave transient catalog to date, with potentially hundreds of new discoveries occurring during the period of the proposed work. Each new compact binary merger will provide a new test of General Relativity, and in aggregate, the discoveries will provide a precise assessment of the population of compact objects in the nearby universe. From this population it may be possible to infer the formation mechanism of the detected binaries and in doing so reveal details about their creation and evolution. With all gravitational wave discoveries, there is an opportunity to observe an electromagnetic or neutrino counterpart. New discoveries of binary neutron star mergers with optical counterparts like GW170817 will, among other things, deepen the understanding of heavy element production as well as pin down the expansion rate of the universe. The proposed research has substantial inherent opportunities for public engagement as black holes are often met by a captivated audience. The personnel on this proposal are committed to making a direct impact through hosting a gravitational wave summer camp in central Pennsylvania. This camp will attract a diverse group of high school students who will have an opportunity to engage with Penn State researchers and learn about gravitational wave physics and astronomy. They will also learn about the role of high performance computing in scientific discovery.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.