Detection of Gravitational Waves: Data Analysis, Detector Characterization, and Instrument Science for Advanced LIGO

Data analysis and instrument science research for advanced gravitational-wave detectors will be carried out. Coherent searches for gravitational-wave bursts with networks of detectors will be developed and implemented. Special attention is given to intermediate-mass binary black hole mergers and to binary systems with highly eccentric orbits. Online burst searches, which enable joint gravitational-wave and electromagnetic observations, will be developed. Stochastic intermediate data will be generated for stochastic searches, such as those analyzing long duration transients. In instrument science, work on thermal adaptive mode-matching, devices for beam-jitter suppression, and improved wavefront sensing will be carried out. Looking further into the future, studies of cryogenic materials and devices, including silicon for test masses, will take place.

The UF LIGO group gives students and postdoctoral scientists the opportunity to develop scientific skills from a diverse set of disciplines spanning lasers and optics, electronics and feedback control systems, vacuum and cryogenics, computational methods, data analysis algorithm development, and large-scale detector commissioning and operation. The University of Florida LIGO group places high value on the education of undergraduate students and each year has involved undergraduates in research. In addition, the group has a strong tradition of mentoring students and postdocs in the UF LIGO laboratory; many of these students have gone on to further education and careers in gravitational wave science. These efforts will continue. This work will positively impact the national and international scientific infrastructure through UF LIGO direct participation in research and operations at the LIGO Observatories. Finally, the proposed research has impacts that go beyond gravitational wave science. High-power optical devices developed in this project have commercial applications to the laser and optics industries.