WOU-MMA: Improved Data Access for GW Astronomy

California Institute Of Technology, Pasadena CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports research in relativity and relativistic astrophysics and it addresses the priority areas of NSF's "Windows on the Universe" Big Idea. Gravitational-wave astronomy is one of the most rapidly evolving fields in astrophysics. Over the past few years, the interferometer gravitational-wave observatories LIGO and Virgo have begun to record compact object mergers of black holes and neutron stars for the first time. These discoveries are having a tremendous impact on our ability to study the population of black holes in our universe, learn about fundamental particle physics through study of the dense interiors of neutron stars, test general relativity as never before, and investigate a range of other topics. Data from these cutting edge instruments are made available to the scientific community and the public through the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center (GWOSC) at gw-openscience.org. As LIGO and Virgo become more sensitive, the rate of discoveries is quickly accelerating. Starting in 2015, the number of observed compact object mergers has grown from 1, to 10, to 50. During the last observing run, LIGO and Virgo were observing mergers of black holes or neutron stars about once per week, and future upgrades are expected to make this rate grow. As we begin to record hundreds or thousands of these astrophysical events, the scientific community will need a new set of tools to access and analyze the information associated with these discoveries. This project will fund the construction of a new “event portal”, which will allow scientists, teachers, students, and enthusiasts around the world to browse catalogs of compact object mergers, study measurements of black hole properties, view graphics and plots, and listen to data converted to audio files, as well as download and analyze the associated interferometer data. The award also includes funding to host an Open Data Workshop to train students and scientists who wish to contribute to this new field of astronomy. Large collections of gravitational-wave events will invite a wide set of scientific investigations, but only if researchers with diverse interests are able to access and explore the associated data. Current structures on the GWOSC website provide only minimal support for derived data products (e.g., source parameters), and will not scale to hundreds of events. Going forward, the set of researchers interested in gravitational-wave science will likely broaden substantially to include more people interested in stellar populations, general relativity, nuclear astrophysics, and other fields. Many of these same people will be highly interested in derived data products, in addition to the gravitational-wave strain data GWOSC already hosts. Developing the event portal will enable these researchers to find and understand the data they need, and empower them to carry through their investigations. In addition, both the event portal and the Open Data Workshop will make gravitational-wave science more accessible to a wider array of researchers. Because less expertise will be needed to engage with this science, the event portal will “lower-the-bar” for entry into the field, and empower a more diverse group of scientists and students to benefit from GW observations. 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.