Aiming at Discovery -- Searching for Continuous Waves from Spinning Neutron Stars

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

Investigators

Abstract

The discoveries of gravitational waves from colliding black holes and from colliding neutron stars marked key milestones in science, simultaneously confirming fundamental predictions of Einstein's General Relativity, while opening up an entirely new field of astronomy. The detection of continuous gravitational waves from rotating galactic neutron stars will mark another major milestone because such sources are expected to continue emitting for long durations, allowing follow-up investigation of increasing precision, including correlation with potential signals in the radio, optical, X-ray and gamma-ray bands. Combining these gravitational and electromagnetic signals will provide critical insight into the poorly known structure of these exotic stars. The research to be carried out will provide training to undergraduate and graduate students in state-of-the-art science at the frontier of knowledge. Research will focus on a number of specific areas related to the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (Advanced LIGO) Experiment: Searches for continuous gravitational waves from 1) unknown isolated neutron stars anywhere in our galaxy; 2) isolated neutron stars at the centers of young, nearby supernova remnants; and 3) both isolated and binary known pulsars. In addition, detector characterization of Advanced LIGO interferometers focused on spectral line identification and mitigation will be carried out, in order to improve searches for nearly monochromatic continuous gravitational waves. 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.