This award supports research within the framework of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) and the Compact Binary Coalescence (CBC) analysis group. It includes projects in the area of astrophysical interpretation of gravitational-wave signals from binaries with two compact objects, through both gravitational-wave data analysis and source modeling. Effectively the proposed work focuses on developing a concrete framework and a tool-kit for the processing of CBC detections (or upper limits) in order to extract the maximal available astrophysical information for binaries with compact objects with any mass and spin configuration. The research activity focuses on a number of key questions the answers to which are important for the interpretation of current and future gravitational-wave observations with LIGO. The next few years are very important for the development of gravitational-wave physics and its astronomical interpretation, and this research focuses on ways of maximizing the gain from future detections, but also from upper limits expected to constrain current theories of compact-object formation.
This research is of interest to the broader community of compact-object astrophysics in a wide range of contexts: e.g., stellar and binary system evolution, neutron star and black hole formation and evolution, gamma-ray bursts, stellar dynamics of globular clusters and galactic centers, as in the coming years LIGO observations can provide uniquely reliable answers to some of the long-standing questions in astronomy and astrophysics. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo computational tools to be developed in this project will be made available within and outside the LSC, and hence can benefit LSC projects beyond the CBC searches and enhance the research infrastructure for parameter-estimation in other scientific and engineering contexts. Outreach activities take advantage of the existing collaboration with the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum with hundreds of thousands of visitors per year; this connection ensures the broad dissemination of research understanding in the diverse, urban environment of the Chicago metropolitan area.
The physics community is preparing for the advent of Advanced LIGO era when the first direct detections of gravitational waves. This project led to a large number of scientific results in the area of extracting physical information from binary compact object sources. We developed advanced computational and applied math methods and implemented them to make predictions for how accurately we will be able to measure the masses and spins of black holes and neutron stars, as well as their distances and galaxy hosts. Our emphasis has been on disentangling the difficult effects of spins and we are the only group tacking method development in this area. Such measurements will advance our understanding of how such compact objects are formed in nature. Almost 30 publications in peer-reviewed refereed journals were produced along with numerous presentations at research conferences. This work has been pursued within the framework of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration; we follow the strategic planning and research priorities set collectively to benefit the LIGO project as a whole. Some of the computational and applied math methods developed by our group have broad applications to areas beyond gravitational waves and beyond physics. Our postdocs and students acquire skills that are critical for the development of a competitive 21st century workforce.
