Advancing the Understanding of Compact Binary Formation Through Gravitational-Wave Observations

通过引力波观测增进对致密双星形成的理解

• 批准号: 2205920
• 负责人: Anuradha Gupta
• 金额: $ 39.81万
• 依托单位: University of Mississippi
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-01 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2205920&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Advancing; Understanding; Compact; Binary; Formation

Recent direct detections of gravitational waves (GW) from merging binary black holes (BBH) and binary neutron stars (BNS) by the LIGO and Virgo GW detectors have transformed the way astronomers observe and understand the Universe. Despite many detections of such compact object mergers and the wealth of information now available, astronomers still know very little about the formation mechanisms and environments of merging astrophysical objects. A research group at the University of Mississippi will use data from GW observations to gain a deeper understanding of such questions. This work is timely and will significantly enhance the scope of astrophysics and astronomy enabled by GW detectors. The researchers will strengthen the broader impact of this emerging area in science in two distinct ways. First, they will enhance the engagement of the local community of all ages in astronomy and astrophysics by conducting activities related to GW astronomy during the monthly campus Astronomy Open House. Second, they will introduce high school students to GW science and data analysis techniques through a week-long workshop every year, with a focus on attracting female students, students of color, and students of low socioeconomic status.The research team will develop methods and build accurate computer software codes to probe the full evolution history of precessing BBHs on both quasi-circular and eccentric orbits. In parallel, they will explore the formation scenarios of binaries that contain black holes in the low-mass gap (~3 – 5 solar masses). The state-of-the-art models and computationally optimized codes will allow them to constrain various formation channels of all three types of binary mergers (BBH, BNS, and neutron star-black hole), and their astrophysical environments. Measurement of spin precession in BBHs will be crucial in constraining these binaries’ formation channel as well as discriminating the relative contributions of each possible formation channel to the observed BBH population. Although there is no definite sign of eccentricity in GW data yet, any evidence for non-zero eccentricity in future detections will bring additional discriminatory power in distinguishing various formation channels as well as help in exploring the new ones. Furthermore, the development and testing of realistic astrophysical models for binaries hosting black holes (BHs) in the so-called low-mass gap can remove the discrepancy of these low-mass-gap BHs being confused with neutron stars and primordial BHs of similar masses.This project is jointly funded by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Windows on the Universe Big Idea, as this award advances the goals of Windows on the Universe.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.

最近，LIGO 和 Virgo GW 探测器对双星黑洞 (BBH) 和双中子星 (BNS) 合并产生的引力波 (GW) 进行了直接探测，这改变了天文学家观察和理解宇宙的方式，尽管对这种致密天体合并进行了多次探测。尽管现有的信息非常丰富，但天文学家对合并天体物理物体的形成机制和环境仍然知之甚少，密西西比大学的一个研究小组将利用引力波观测数据来获取信息。这项工作是及时的，将显着扩大引力波探测器的天体物理学和天文学范围，研究人员将以两种不同的方式加强这一新兴领域的更广泛影响。通过在每月的校园天文学开放日期间开展与 GW 天文学相关的活动，让当地各个年龄段的社区参与天文学和天体物理学其次，他们将通过为期一周的研讨会向高中生介绍 GW 科学和数据分析技术。每年，重点吸引女学生、有色人种学生和社会经济地位较低的学生。研究团队将开发方法并构建精确的计算机软件代码，以探索准圆形和偏心进动BBH的完整演化历史与此同时，他们将探索低质量间隙（约 3-5 个太阳质量）中包含黑洞的双星的形成情景，最先进的模型和计算优化的代码将使他们能够约束。各种形成渠道三种类型的双星合并（BBH、BNS 和中子星黑洞）及其天体物理环境对 BBH 中自旋进动的测量对于限制这些双星的形成通道以及区分每种可能形成的相对贡献至关重要。尽管 GW 数据中还没有明确的偏心率迹象，但未来检测中任何非零偏心率的证据都将在区分各种形成通道时带来额外的辨别力。此外，开发和测试所谓的低质量间隙中存在黑洞（BH）的双星的真实天体物理模型可以消除这些低质量间隙BH的差异。中子星和质量相似的原始黑洞。该项目由刺激竞争性研究既定计划 (EPSCoR) 和宇宙之窗大构想联合资助，因为该奖项推进了 Windows on the Universe 的目标。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Constraining properties of asymmetric dark matter candidates from gravitational-wave observations

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.107.083037
• 发表时间: 2022-10
• 期刊: Physical Review D
• 影响因子: 5
• 作者: Divya Singh;Anuradha Gupta;E. Berti;S. Reddy;B. Sathyaprakash

Distinguishing binary black hole precessional morphologies with gravitational wave observations

用引力波观测区分双黑洞进动形态

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.108.103003
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Physical Review D
• 影响因子: 5
• 作者: Johnson-McDaniel, Nathan K.;Phukon, Khun Sang;Krishnendu, N. V.;Gupta, Anuradha
• 通讯作者: Gupta, Anuradha

Numerical relativity estimates of the remnant recoil velocity in binary neutron star mergers

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.108.103023
• 发表时间: 2023-08
• 期刊: Physical Review D
• 影响因子: 5
• 作者: Sumeet Kulkarni;Surendra Padamata;Anuradha Gupta;D. Radice;R. Kashyap

Inferring spin tilts of binary black holes at formation with plus-era gravitational wave detectors

使用超时代引力波探测器推断双黑洞形成时的自旋倾斜

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.109.043002
• 发表时间: 2024
• 期刊: Physical Review D
• 影响因子: 5
• 作者: Kulkarni, Sumeet;Johnson-McDaniel, Nathan K.;Phukon, Khun Sang;Krishnendu, N. V.;Gupta, Anuradha
• 通讯作者: Gupta, Anuradha