Physics and Astrophysics of Compact Binaries

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

In September 2015 Advanced LIGO made the first detection of the gravitational waves emitted from the merger of two black holes. In the near future, a network of Earth-based and space-based gravitational-wave detectors will observe binary systems composed of black holes and/or neutron stars over a wide range of masses and mass ratios. To realize the groundbreaking potential of gravitational-wave astronomy we must go beyond detection, extracting as much information as possible about the physics and astrophysics of the sources. This is the main theme of this project, that will study how Earth-based and space-based detectors can constrain the astrophysics of binary formation and further our understanding of strong-field gravitational physics. This award will support the gravitational physics group at the University of Mississippi, a leading research center located in a geographically and economically disadvantaged region, where engagement in the basic sciences is below national average. The project will strengthen collaborations between the gravitational physics community and the larger astrophysics community at a crucial time for the nascent field of gravitational-wave astronomy. The PI will train students and a postdoc in a highly interdisciplinary field that requires expertise in general relativity, astrophysics, data analysis and high-energy physics. The students and postdoc will benefit from interactions with a large international network of world-leading experts in gravitational physics. The PI will study the astrophysical information that can be extracted from the spin-induced precession of black-hole binaries; explore the possibility to constrain binary formation scenarios using Earth-based and space-based gravitational wave detectors; study ultra-relativistic black-hole collisions as "numerical experiments" probing the limits of Einstein's theory; investigate the problems of absorption, scattering and superradiance in black-hole physics; and study whether compact objects can be used to reveal possible strong-field deviations from the predictions of general relativity. The long-term goals of this proposal are: (1) to explore the scientific payoff of the first gravitational wave observations: what can we learn about fundamental gravitational physics, and how will compact binary detections contribute to our understanding of the Universe? (2) to improve our theoretical understanding of compact objects, whether isolated or in binaries, in general relativity and in modified theories of gravity. The PI's group is part of the European Union-funded Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) Action "Strong Gravity and High-Energy Physics" (2015- 2020), which includes 8 nodes in Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan. This network will ensure that the students and postdocs funded by this proposal will be trained in a vibrant international environment.