Rapid, High-Fidelity Numerical Models of Gravitational Waves from Generic Binary Black Hole Mergers

该奖项支持相对论和相对论天体物理学的研究，并阐述了美国国家科学基金会“宇宙之窗”宏伟构想的优先领域。先进激光干涉仪引力波天文台对引力波的直接探测，实现了人们期待已久的打开宇宙新窗口的承诺。这些波通常来自其他星系，通过两个黑洞或中子星的剧烈合并而产生。这些通过银河系距离到达我们的波，提供了关于黑洞、时空和爱因斯坦广义相对论的线索。为了实现当前和未来引力波实验的全部科学潜力，预期引力波信号的模型必须既高度准确，又非常快速地进行评估。该奖项将支持引力波建模的多学科方法，以产生新的算法和计算机程序，旨在最大化引力波观测的科学输出。作为这项研究的一部分，所产生的模型将特别有助于分析强大的黑洞合并和新颖的偏心双星黑洞系统。这项研究项目，以及更广泛的引力波科学，将继续通过外展吸引公众参与这些发现，并培训具有强大STEM背景的不同群体的学生，为他们从事需要技术和计算技能的职业做好准备。该奖项将支持旨在克服引力波科学中一些最紧迫挑战的数值技术的开发、实施和使用。至关重要的是，对引力波数据集的解释需要一个既能快速评估又能忠实于相关物理学的模型。使用传统技术，这两个要求往往相互抵触。最近，一组有针对性的数据驱动的代理建模工具已经出现，作为一种在几分之一秒内准确地再现任意参数值的数值相对论波形的手段。该项目的目标是在这些最新成功的基础上继续发展这一方法，将其扩展到处理更具挑战性的情况，包括偏心和中等质量比系统，(Ii)构建用于参数推断或模型改进的波形模型误差估计器，(Iii)在现有的公共代码中实施这些方法和模型，以便它们广泛可用，以及(Vi)开展由快速、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 relativity and relativistic astrophysics and it addresses the priority areas of NSF's "Windows on the Universe" Big Idea. The direct detection of gravitational waves by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory has realized a long-awaited promise to open a new window on the Universe. These waves typically originate from other galaxies through a violent merger of two black holes or neutron stars. These waves, which travel over galactic distances to reach us, provide clues about the black holes, spacetime, and Einstein's theory of general relativity. To realize the full scientific potential of current and future gravitational wave experiments, a model of the expected gravitational wave signal must be both highly accurate and very fast to evaluate. This award will support a multi-disciplinary approach to gravitational-wave modeling to produce new algorithms and computer programs aimed at maximizing the scientific output of gravitational wave observations. The models produced as part of this research will be especially useful for analyzing powerful black hole mergers and novel eccentric binary black hole systems. This research project, and more generally gravitational wave science, will continue to engage the public in these discoveries through outreach as well as train a diverse group of students with a strong STEM background to prepare them for careers that require technical and computational skills.This award will support the development, implementation, and use of numerical techniques designed to overcome some of the most urgent challenges in gravitational-wave science. Crucially, the interpretation of gravitational wave datasets requires access to a model which is both fast-to-evaluate and faithful to the relevant physics. Using traditional techniques, these two requirements are often at odds with one another. Recently, a set of targeted data-driven surrogate modeling tools have emerged as a means to accurately reproduce numerical relativity waveforms at arbitrary parameter values within a fraction of a second. The goal of this project is to build on these recent successes and to (i) continue the development of this methodology by extending it to handle more challenging cases including eccentricity and intermediate-mass ratio systems, (ii) construct waveform model error estimators to be used in parameter inference or for model refinement, (iii) implement these methods and models within existing public codes so that they are widely available, and (vi) carry out high-impact scientific studies made possible by the rapid, high-fidelity waveform models that have been built.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.