Observing LIGO/Virgo-triggered neutron star mergers with the Dark Energy Camera: a new path for Cosmology

用暗能量相机观察 LIGO/Virgo 触发的中子星合并：宇宙学的新路径

• 批准号: 1910719
• 负责人: Marcelle Soares-Santos
• 金额: $ 49.37万
• 依托单位: Brandeis University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-09-01 至 2021-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1910719&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Observing; LIGO; Virgo; triggered; neutron; Observing; LIGO; Virgo; triggered; neutron

This project will make a precision measurement of the cosmic expansion rate. This hybrid program has a target of opportunity follow-up component and a survey component. The survey will strategically cover the regions of interest of many black hole events. It will collect a sample of gravitational-wave triggered neutron star merger events and a sample of black hole mergers for which potential host galaxies have been cataloged. The rate of cosmic expansion is a key parameter in modern cosmology. There is currently tension between local measurements and the results from cosmic microwave background studies, which motivates the pursuit of improved independent observables: gravitational waves have long been proposed as one such. This work covers two such alternatives. Broadening the impact of research on society at large requires effective communication to audiences from diverse backgrounds, including pre-college teens currently under-represented in STEM fields. The researcher will engage with high schools and emphasize under-represented groups, using the infrastructure of the Brandeis Science Communication Laboratory.This study uses the full range of available data from the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on NSF's Blanco 4-meter telescope in Chile, including images taken as part of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), as well as non-DES DECam images. It will also use data from another NSF facility, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, LIGO. Methods to be used include a Hubble diagram fit to a sample of neutron star mergers and a statistical dark sirens analysis for black hole events. This is a new method independent of other cosmological probes, because standard sirens are distance indicators based solely on general relativity. Detectors with enough sensitivity to enable this approach became operational in 2015. This research will fully exploit the novel datasets as multi-messenger probes for cosmology using DES/DECam data, making a measurement of the expansion rate with 3-5% (statistical) uncertainty by 2022, and enabling percent-level precision with future data from facilities like the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.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.

该项目将对宇宙扩展率进行精确测量。 该混合程序具有机会随访组件和调查组件的目标。 该调查将在战略上涵盖许多黑洞事件的兴趣区域。 它将收集重力波触发的中子星合并事件的样本和黑洞合并样本，并为其分类潜在的宿主星系。 宇宙扩张的速率是现代宇宙学的关键参数。 目前，局部测量与宇宙微波背景研究的结果之间存在张力，这激发了对改进的独立可观察物的追求：长期以来一直提出了重力波。 这项工作涵盖了两个这样的选择。 扩大研究对整个社会的影响需要与来自不同背景的受众的有效沟通，包括目前在STEM领域中代表性不足的预科青少年。 研究人员将使用Brandeis Science Communication Laboratory的基础设施与高中互动，并强调代表性不足的群体。这项研究使用了NSF的Blanco 4米4米望远镜上的Dark Energy Camera（DECAM）中的全部可用数据，包括作为Dark Energy Survey（DES）的一部分，包括Deardes Decam的Decam Decam图像。 它还将使用来自其他NSF设施的数据，即激光干涉仪重力波观测站Ligo。 要使用的方法包括适合中子星级合并样品的哈勃图和黑洞事件的统计暗警报分析。 这是一种独立于其他宇宙学探针的新方法，因为标准警笛是仅基于一般相对论的距离指标。 具有足够敏感性以实现这种方法的探测器在2015年开始运作。这项研究将使用DES/DEDAM数据充分利用新数据集作为多门交易者对宇宙学探针的探针，从而衡量了3-5％（统计）不确定性到2022年的扩展率，并授予了诸如将来的级别数据的范围，并授予了级别的数据。使命，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准通过评估值得支持的。