NSF Award
1806990
An exciting era in gravitational wave physics and astronomy has begun as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Virgo Observatory have now detected gravitational waves from several binary black hole mergers and a binary neutron star merger. Interpreting the scientific implications from these events and detecting additional sources of gravitational waves will make a significant contribution to our understanding of nature. Events seen by LIGO produce a wealth of astrophysical information and information on gravity theory. The extraction and interpretation of that information will require advanced techniques in data analysis, parameter estimation, statistics, and phenomenology. Detector characterization work will provide scientists with confidence in the quality of the data, and the performance of the detectors. Carleton College will continue with its efforts in identifying and characterizing noise in LIGO data. The use of LIGO to search for a stochastic gravitational wave background will continue at Carleton, and the Carleton team will continue to develop the implications of those results for astrophysics and gravitational physics. The team will also continue to develop the tools to perform and interpret multimessenger astrophysics.<br/><br/>Carleton College is a leader in producing future scientists. This project will provide research opportunities to students with interests in physics and related fields, and help train them to become the next generation of scientists. Carleton students are eager to participate in exciting research, and their interest in gravitational wave astronomy, tests of General Relativity, and science in general, is large. The methods and results developed as a consequence of this project have, and will continue to have, significant influence in other scientific fields: astrophysics, gravitational wave detectors in space, and alternative gravity theory. The project will continue to provide material that will improve teaching at the college level and it will create opportunities for scientific outreach at Carleton, in the local community, and in the K-12 schools. This outreach generates much excitement for science and physics. Finally, the research work of this project promotes international scientific collaboration. Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in 1916; a century later we observed them. They will now tell us new things about the universe.<br/><br/>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.
