This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This award supports development and implementation of new searches for gravitational waves with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), as well as astrophysical guidance for and interpretation of new and ongoing searches. The new searches focus on the youngest neutron stars and the most rapidly accreting neutron stars, which are likely to be the strongest sources of continuous gravitational waves. Such signals will ultimately provide the most precise direct measurements of the structure of neutron star interiors and shed light on the physics of matter at super-nuclear densities.
Connecting LIGO results to astronomical observations and astrophysical theory will directly increase the sensitivity of continuous wave searches, for example by pinpointing likely locations of sources. This will further LIGO's transformation from a prototype instrument setting isolated upper limits into a tool for exploring the physics and astrophysics of neutron stars, and broaden LIGO's impact on the astrophysics and nuclear physics communities. Much of the work is done in concert with the Australian ACIGA and British-German GEO600 contingents of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, strengthening international cooperation in the gravitational physics community. This award will also support education and research training of students who can work on the interfaces between gravitational physics, astrophysics, and nuclear physics.
