Astrophysical Sources of Gravitational Radiation

Pennsylvania State Univ University Park, University Park PA

Investigators

Abstract

A variety of astronomical systems will be studied. These include modeling the dynamical evolution of high mass binary star systems in star clusters, simulating the formation of binaries containing a neutron star or black hole, modeling the population of close white dwarf binaries, studying the inspiral of compact objects into central supermassive black holes, and studying possible background gravitational radiation due to non-standard model physics in the early universe. This research will be carried out under the auspices of the Center for Gravitational Wave Physics since all of the research topics are important in understanding the nature of sources of gravitational radiation and their likely strength and rate of occurrence. Detection strategies for gravitational wave detectors require such information.