CAREER: Integrated Gravitational Wave and Multimessenger Astronomy and Education

该奖项支持引力波科学的研究，并阐述了美国国家科学基金会“宇宙之窗”大构想的优先领域。从高级激光干涉仪引力波天文台(LIGO)和法国-意大利处女座探测器首次探测到来自双星合并的黑洞引力波(GW)开始，继续到第一次探测到与伽马射线暴(GRB)GRB 170817A有关的双星中子星合并GW，真正的GW万能天文学的时代已经开始。这一事件的电磁后续活动在整个电磁光谱中发现了相关的余辉，并对理解短伽玛暴、千新星和中子星的内部状态产生了重大影响。该奖项支持一项综合研究和教育计划，重点是在全球GW探测器网络将从3个扩大到5个探测器期间，继续寻找与极端能量天文事件有关的GW，包括伽玛暴和快速射电爆发(FRB)，其灵敏度范围将显著增加。这一能力的扩展将极大地提高GW天文学深入探索这些事件的来源并揭示它们创造的细节的能力。该奖项支持本科生和硕士学生研究人员进行这些搜索，继续分析探测器和搜索性能，并通过在当地弗吉尼亚生活博物馆举行的四次年度外展活动，让弗吉尼亚州汉普顿路社区参与进来。这些外展活动将与现有的免费天文观测计划捆绑在一起，并为当地社区的数百名成员提供机会，通过动手演示和讲座-演示相结合的方式，在一个引人入胜的、积极的学习环境中了解万能信使天文学。该奖项支持发展一支多元化的、具有全球竞争力的STEM劳动力队伍，方法是让所有年龄段的学生参与这些活动，并培训本科生和硕士学生成为合格的科学研究人员，使其能够作为下一代引力波天文学家在国际公认的水平上进行研究。正如GW170817的多信使观测所证明的那样，将GWS探测与电磁探测相结合极大地促进了对高能事件天体物理学的理解。在LIGO、Virgo、Kamioka引力波探测器(KAGRA)和LIGO-India数据的第四次和第五次观测中额外探测到与伽玛暴有关的GW，将使中子星的天体物理性质和双中子星合并源的完整电磁发射模型得到更好的约束。任何与FRB有关的GW的探测都将大大增加对这些神秘事件的天体物理起源的理解。FRB前体模型的约束非常差，最近对与磁星SGR 1935+2154相关的FRB的观察表明，可能存在多个种群。如果在这次搜索中没有找到一致的探测，它将更好地约束FRB前体的模型。最后，通过持续的探测器特性工作提高LIGO干涉仪的灵敏度，将直接导致检测到的GW数量增加。该奖项支持使用PyGRB数据分析管道对与伽玛暴相关的GW进行快速搜索和更高延迟、更深入的搜索，该管道执行连贯的匹配过滤器搜索，从而扩展GW检测网络的有效灵敏度。即时搜索将允许向天文团体宣布检测到的GW，以便立即进行后续处理。该奖项还支持基于模板的搜索和对与GRB相关的GW的未建模搜索，并领导对影响GRB和FRB搜索的LIGO干涉仪中的噪声进行表征的工作，特别关注提高搜索灵敏度和评估GW检测的有效性。将这项研究的方法和结果整合到将在当地弗吉尼亚生活博物馆举行的四项年度外展活动中，不仅将提高公众的科学素养和公众对科学技术的参与，还将向参与研究的学生灌输让公众参与的重要性。通过在多元化的城市培训学生和公众参与，这项工作还扩大了女性和未被充分代表的少数群体在科学领域的参与。这一奖项反映了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。

This award supports research in gravitational wave science and it addresses the priority areas of NSF's "Windows on the Universe" Big Idea. Starting with the initial detection of gravitational waves (GW) from a binary black hole merger by The Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and the French-Italian Virgo detector, and continuing with the first detection of GWs from a binary neutron star merger, GW170817, associated with a gamma-ray burst (GRB), GRB 170817A, the era of true GW multimessenger astronomy has begun. The electromagnetic follow-up campaign of this event discovered associated afterglows across the electromagnetic spectrum, and has had a significant impact on the understanding of the progenitors of short GRBs, kilonovae, and the interior state of neutron stars. This award supports an integrated research and education plan focusing on the continued search for GWs associated with extreme energy astronomical events, including GRBs and fast radio bursts (FRB), over the period when the worldwide GW detector network will expand from 3 to 5 detectors, and their sensitive range will increase significantly. This expansion of capabilities will greatly increase the capability of GW astronomy to probe deeply into the sources of these events and uncover the details of their creation. The award supports both undergraduate and master's student researchers in conducting these searches, continuing analysis of detector and search performance, and engaging the Hampton Roads, VA community through four annual outreach events held at the local Virginia Living Museum. These outreach events will be tied to an existing free skygazing program and provide an opportunity for hundreds of members of the local community to learn about multimessenger astronomy in an engaging, active learning setting with both hands-on demonstrations and a combination lecture-demonstration show. The award supports the development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce through the engagement of students of all ages at these events and the training of undergraduate and master’s students to become competent scientific researchers able to conduct research at the internationally recognized level as the next generation of gravitational-wave astronomers.As was demonstrated with the multi-messenger observations of GW170817, combined detections of GWs with electromagnetic detections have significantly advanced the understanding of the astrophysics of high-energy events. Additional detections of GWs associated with GRBs in the fourth and fifth observing runs of LIGO, Virgo, Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA), and LIGO-India data will enable the astrophysical properties of neutron stars and the full electromagnetic emission model for binary neutron star merger sources to be far better constrained. Any detection of a GW associated with a FRB would result in a significant increase in the understanding of the astrophysical origin of these mysterious events. FRB progenitor models are very poorly constrained, and the recent observation of an FRB associated with magnetar SGR 1935+2154 have pointed to a potential for multiple populations. If no coincident detections are made in this search, it will better constrain models of the FRB progenitors. Finally, improved sensitivity of the LIGO interferometers through continued detector characterization efforts will directly result in an increased number of GWs detected. The award supports both prompt and higher latency, deeper searches for GWs associated with GRBs using the PyGRB data analysis pipeline, which conducts coherent, matched-filter searches that extend the effective sensitivity of the GW detection network. Prompt searches will allow detected GWs to be announced to the astronomical community for immediate follow-up. The award also supports both template-based searches and unmodeled searches for GWs associated with FRBs, and leadership of the effort to characterize the noise in the LIGO interferometers that impacts the GRB and FRB searches, with the particular focus on improving search sensitivity and assessing the validity of the GW detections. The integration of the methods and results of this research into a campaign of four annual outreach events to be held at the local Virginia Living Museum will not only increase public scientific literacy and public engagement with science and technology, but will also instill the importance of engaging the public in the participating research students. Through training students and public engagement in a diverse city, this work also broadens the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in science.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.