Search for Gravitational Waves from Spinning Neutron Stars

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Research under this award will focus on a number of areas related to the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Experiment: 1) co-leading the ongoing collaboration search for periodic sources of gravitational waves; 2) developing new algorithms for detecting quasi-periodic sources; 3) commissioning of a "squeezing" experiment \ on the Hanford 4-km interferometer to beat the standard quantum noise limit; and 4) detailed detector characterization of the LIGO interferometers. The work to be carried out thus includes both searching for evidence of undiscovered, electromagnetically quiet, rotating neutron stars in our galaxy and advancing the development of fundamental interferometer science. Discovery of gravitational waves from astrophysical objects will mark a major milestone in science, simultaneously confirming one of the fundamental predictions of gravitational physics, while opening up an entirely new field of astronomy. The detection of such waves from rotating neutron stars would be especially interesting because many such sources are expected to continue emitting for long durations, allowing follow-up investigation of increasing precision, and because it is believed that the characteristics of these waves will provide insight into the poorly known structure of these exotic stars. The research to be carried out, on both the instrumental and analytical sides, will provide training to undergraduate and graduate students in state-of-the-art science at the frontier of knowledge.