The Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy (CGWA) was established at The University of Texas at Brownsville in 2007 as a NSF Center of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST). The Phase II Center will initiate a new era, greatly expanding and improving its educational and research activities. Since its creation, the CGWA has become a major group-member of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration (LSC), the world-wide collaboration of 800 scientists from more than 30 institutions and thirteen countries that seeks to make the first direct detection of gravitational waves and use them as a new window onto the universe. The next five years will see the CGWA involved in research in which gravitational-wave observations are routinely conducted in astronomy. This new era is also ushering in a new multi-disciplinary approach to study astrophysical phenomena, called multi-messenger astronomy. The CGWA will pursue theoretical and experimental research activities, which seek to complement gravitational-wave detections with independent observations using optical and radio astronomy. The proposed research consists of: (i) Astrophysics, in collaboration with UTB's new Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy (CARA), that seeks to tie gravitational-wave observations to electromagnetic observations and astrophysical evolutionary theory; (ii) Data Analysis that concentrates on improved methods to search for gravitational waves, which can then be used as triggers for electromagnetic observations; and (iii) Detector Instrumentation that focuses on individual subsystems of the detectors and their noise-limited performance, with the goal to provide scientific guidelines for the concept and design of the next-generation of gravitational-wave detectors.
Intellectual Merit: The Astrophysics Subproject supports multi-messenger astronomy by concentrating on the electromagnetic follow-ups of future triggers generated by gravitational-wave detectors such as advanced LIGO. The observational efforts at the Center include radio and optical follow-up of suspected gravitational waves from the collapse of compact binary stars. The population modeling aims at developing an astrophysical framework to understand the process of formation of such compact binary stars. The Data Analysis Subproject utilizes advanced statistical techniques to model realistic noise sources and provide improved estimates of astrophysical factors, such as the sky location of a gravitational-wave transient. The Instrumentation Subproject focuses its research on subsystems of current and next-generation gravitational-wave detectors. In particular, investigations of certain optical components, and experiments with test mass suspensions are crucial for finding the limitations of current and future gravitational wave detectors. Their relevance to LIGO, and to the scientific community in general, is only heightened by the fact that recent improvements in the growing network of gravitational-wave detectors greatly increase the probability of first detections shortly after the advanced detectors come on-line around 2015.
Broader Impact: A major educational impact will be realized with the CGWA Instrumentation effort, which involves students in experimental physics research and provides hands-on training in gravitational-wave detector subsystems. The CGWA Optics and Material Science laboratories offer unprecedented research experiences for students at UTB. The scholarship program for undergraduates, run by CARA, will provide mentorship for students and monitor their success through CARA's highly successful Arecibo Remote Command Center Program. The CGWA will also sustain a robust outreach effort to the community by providing access to its astronomical observatory to the general public. The CGWA visitors and conference program will provide a valuable resource for other interested scientists to get involved in the new field of the multi-messenger astronomy. The University of Texas at Brownsville is a Hispanic serving institution and consequently the CGWA's research and educational programs will play a major role in attracting Hispanic students to STEM disciplines in the Rio Grande Valley, one of the most educationally and socially underserved regions of the USA.
