Gravitational-wave data mining

ongoing

Gravitational-wave astronomy is entering its large-statistics regime. Catalogs with thousands of gravitational-wave events will soon be available, providing a wealth of information on the most compact objects in the Universe --black holes and neutron stars. These new datasets need new tools to be exploited effectively in order to maximize their scientific impact. GWmining is an ambitious program to explore upcoming gravitational-wave catalogs with data-mining techniques. We will develop a complete framework to analyze gravitational-wave data in light of astrophysical predictions. Going beyond phenomenological models, we will train machine-learning algorithms directly on large banks of population-synthesis simulations and post-Newtonian integrations. The development of these astrophysical predictions requires new modeling strategies to accurately capture all the gravitational-wave observables, notably spins and eccentricities. Combined with a hierarchical Bayesian analysis, our neural network will deliver the most stringent measurements to date on elusive phenomena influencing the lives of massive stars. We will constrain phenomena such as binary common envelope, supernova kicks, stellar winds, tidal interactions, etc. Besides harnessing the catalog in its entirety, our complete framework will put us at the forefront to analyze outliers --golden events with favorable properties of one or more parameters. We will design a complete strategy to exploit the strongest signals to infer exquisite details of the relativistic dynamics of their sources. GWmining is a unique project strategically placed at the intersection of astronomy, data analysis, and relativity. As the large-statistics revolution of gravitational-wave astronomy unfolds, GWmining will pioneer the application of data-mining techniques in gravitational-wave population studies, setting the foundations of this booming field for decades.