RUI: Adding Spin to a Gravitational Wave Detector Simulator

Pomona College, Claremont CA

Investigators

Abstract

The recent detection of the tiny ripples in space and time known as gravitational waves has prompted astronomers to consider new ways to build more sensitive gravitational-wave detectors. This project will develop, test, and share a flexible computer app that simulates how future detectors might react to binary star systems, the most important source of gravitational waves. This model will explore how well different designs perform, and it will cross-check the detector models of other groups in this exciting new area of astronomical research. This project will give valuable research experience to college students at a crucial time in their education. It will also give high school, college, and graduate-level educators new teaching resources on gravitational-wave astronomy, detector physics, and the strange phenomenon of gravitomagnetism. The dawning of gravitational wave astronomy and the prospect of new gravitational wave detectors have made determining how to best use such detectors a critical task for the gravity research community. This project supports completion of a computer application that models the gravitational waves generated by inspiraling binary star systems with spin, simulates their detection, and estimates the uncertainties that detector noise introduces into determinations of system characteristics. This work will involve (1) perfecting the addition of precessing stellar spin to the model, (2) thoroughly testing the model against simulations from various research groups, (3) using the tested model to generate results valuable to the field, and (4) creating a web portal granting public access to the model software, documentation, and educational materials. This model is distinctive in providing a time-domain-based analysis that includes higher-order harmonics in the waveform as well as a natural way to perform controlled comparisons of different detector designs, and so will be a valuable and accessible tool for the research community to compare with other models and to use for further research. This project will also support research experiences for a number of undergraduates and delivers new online teaching resources for educators at a variety of levels for teaching students about related physics topics. 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.