Realizing the promise of gravitational wave astronomy

ended

The era of gravitational wave astronomy has begun and has the potential to redefine our knowledge of the Universe. LIGO and Virgo are the most precise instruments ever built, but this is only the beginning for this field. The detectors are becoming ever more sensitive, and the next generation of detectors are already being planned. Coupled with these trailblazing experimental efforts, the promise of gravitational wave astronomy can only be fully realized if our models can keep up with the accuracy demands of the imminent high-precision era. LIGO and Virgo hunt for gravitational waves from orbiting black holes and neutron stars; these compact objects lose energy through gravitational waves, spiral in towards each other and eventually merge. To analyze the data from the detections, it is crucial to have an accurate model of the expected gravitational waves. The merger process is highly dynamical and numerical simulations involving the Einstein equations are the only means to predict the gravitational waves from the merger. However, these simulations are too expensive for direct data analysis applications, each taking a month on a supercomputer. Therefore, fast but approximate waveform models that are calibrated against these simulations have been developed over the years, but these models do not currently capture all of the physics present in the simulations. Surrogate models take a data-driven approach to modeling, and are trained directly against numerical simulations without the need for additional assumptions. As a result, these models can even rival the simulations themselves in accuracy. In this project, I will develop novel surrogate models that capture the full physics of compact binary systems. Therefore, this project will ensure that our gravitational wave models are ready to maximize the science output of the multi-billion-Euro experimental efforts and realize the great promise of gravitational wave astronomy.