Gravitational Wave Modeling Using Time-Domain Black Hole Perturbation Theory

Observations of gravitational waves from a black hole and neutron star binary systems are now routine by the NSF's LIGO alongside other international detectors. Beyond learning about the most mysterious objects in the Universe, such efforts have generated significant spin-off technologies, and helped turn public and youth attention towards STEM disciplines. This research project aids in the development of the computational tools and the theory that plays a very critical role in not only LIGO’s mission, but also that of next generation detectors. The main objective is to understand important aspects of binary black hole systems using theoretical and computational techniques. The project includes support for students and therefore directly contributes to student mentorship, traineeship and retention in an important STEM area. The computational skills that students develop are highly “portable”, and therefore will allow them access to a variety of career options, including in areas of great national need. This award is about the development and application of the time-domain point-particle black hole perturbation theory approach that models the gravitational wave emission from large mass-ratio black hole binary systems. Significant contributions will be made to the development of approximate gravitational waveform models (such as data-driven “surrogate” models, the effective-one-body approach, and others), that will ultimately impact the data analysis effort of current and future detectors (such as LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA and future 3G detectors and space-borne missions). Additionally, collaborative work will be completed with the gravitational self-force and mathematical relativity communities, and progress will be made on a number of challenging and important problems in the area of gravitational physics. 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.