Eccentric Black Hole Mergers: Search and Interpretation with Gravitational Waves

The discovery of gravitational waves from two merging black holes opened a new window on the Universe. Nevertheless, despite ongoing new discoveries, the physical process that makes black holes merge is still not understood. The proposed research will probe this question of origin by targeting mergers that retain eccentric orbits observable through their gravitational wave emission. The project will develop a targeted algorithm optimized to find eccentric mergers to be used during LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA’s upcoming observing runs. These research activities will provide training for graduate students in modeling and data analysis, skillsets which are in great demand and of great benefit to society. In addition, members of the group will engage in outreach activities in order to educate and inspire the public about this new field of physics and astronomy.The first theme of the project is the enhancement of search sensitivity to eccentric mergers. This will be carried out using simulated eccentric gravitational waveforms and optimizing search parameters to detect these waveforms. The second theme of the project will be the characterization of this sensitivity. The reach of the search needs to be established for the full range of expected gravitational waveforms in order to enable the astrophysical interpretation of future detections. With these steps the project will help maximize the ability of the next LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA observing runs to elucidate the origin of newly detected black hole mergers.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.