CAREER: Gravitational-Wave Detector Characterization and Science Education in the Advanced LIGO Era

职业：先进 LIGO 时代的引力波探测器表征和科学教育

• 批准号: 1255650
• 负责人: Joshua Smith
• 金额: $ 45万
• 依托单位: CSU Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-05-01 至 2018-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1255650&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Gravitational; Wave; Detector; Characterization

This CAREER award supports an integrated research and education program by the PI and his students at California State University Fullerton (CSUF) aimed at hastening the direct detection of gravitational waves with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). The research is focused on i) a thorough characterization of the Advanced LIGO instruments, especially the identification and removal of noise artifacts in the data that could mask or mimic potential astrophysical signals, and ii) measurement and analysis of scattered light from optical materials that are important for extending Advanced LIGO's reach. The outreach component of this award will establish a pathway for students at nearby community colleges to learn about and become part of the PI's research group. This project will also increase science literacy through the development and dissemination of educational materials for learning gravitational-wave science in the undergraduate curriculum.Albert Einstein predicted gravitational waves in his 1916 theory of general relativity. Nearly a century later, we are poised to directly detect these waves for the first time, and to observe the universe in an entirely new spectrum. LIGO is an NSF-funded project to measure gravitational waves from astrophysical systems such as colliding black holes and neutron stars. This award supports research to thoroughly characterize the LIGO detectors - work essential for the detection of gravitational waves. In addition, it supports research on optical scatter aimed at assessing and improving the quality of commercial optics that will be required to extend the astrophysical reach of future gravitational-wave detectors. These projects provide increased opportunities for students to participate in cutting-edge research at CSUF, a primarily undergraduate and Hispanic-serving institution. The education and outreach components of this award will engage students, many from groups currently underrepresented in physics and astronomy, in the discovery-ready field of gravitational-wave science.

该职业奖支持 PI 及其学生在加州州立大学富勒顿分校 (CSUF) 开展的一项综合研究和教育计划，旨在加快激光干涉引力波天文台 (LIGO) 对引力波的直接探测。该研究的重点是 i) 先进 LIGO 仪器的全面表征，特别是识别和消除数据中可能掩盖或模拟潜在天体物理信号的噪声伪影，以及 ii) 对来自光学材料的散射光进行测量和分析对于扩展 Advanced LIGO 的覆盖范围非常重要。该奖项的外展部分将为附近社区学院的学生建立一条了解 PI 研究小组并成为其中一员的途径。该项目还将通过开发和传播本科课程中学习引力波科学的教育材料来提高科学素养。阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦在 1916 年的广义相对论中预言了引力波。近一个世纪后，我们准备首次直接探测到这些波，并以全新的光谱观察宇宙。 LIGO 是一个由 NSF 资助的项目，用于测量来自碰撞黑洞和中子星等天体物理系统的引力波。该奖项支持对 LIGO 探测器进行彻底表征的研究——这对于探测引力波至关重要。此外，它还支持光学散射研究，旨在评估和提高商业光学的质量，这是扩大未来引力波探测器的天体物理范围所必需的。这些项目为学生提供了更多参与 CSUF 前沿研究的机会，CSUF 是一所主要为本科生和西班牙裔服务的机构。该奖项的教育和推广部分将吸引学生，其中许多来自目前物理学和天文学领域代表性不足的群体，进入引力波科学的发现准备领域。

项目成果

Identifying correlations between LIGO’s astronomical range and auxiliary sensors using lasso regression

• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6382/aae593
• 发表时间: 2018-07
• 期刊: Classical and Quantum Gravity
• 影响因子: 3.5
• 作者: M. Walker;A. F. Agnew;J. Bidler;A. Lundgren;A. Macedo;D. Macleod;T. Massinger;O. Patane;J. Smith