Eyes Wide Open - Searching for Continuous Gravitational Waves and Dark Matter with LIGO

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 detections from colliding black holes and neutron stars have now become almost routine since the first epochal discoveries in 2015 and 2017, as the number of detections continues to grow. The next game-changing discovery may well come, not from such cataclysmic collisions, but rather from the smooth "hum" of a fast-spinning, slightly bumpy neutron star in our own galaxy, one emitting continuous gravitational waves. Such a source could emit detectable radiation for the foreseeable future, allowing follow-up investigations of exquisite precision. It would likely become one of the most studied objects in astronomical history, as gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and radio telescopes would all be trained on this nearby, ultimate multi-messenger target. Its study would provide critical insight into the still poorly understood structure of neutron stars, which contain matter in an extreme physical state inaccessible to terrestrial experiments. 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 (as Nature permits) from relatively nearby post-merger remnants or very nearby newborn neutron stars in our own or neighboring galaxies. In addition, detector characterization of Advanced LIGO interferometers focused on spectral line identification and mitigation will be carried out, 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.