This $215,917 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences federal grant program (CFDA 47.049), will fund research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to model the evolution of dense star clusters and gravitational-wave sources using cosmological simulations.
The university researchers will create the first self-consistent, star-by-star models of dense star clusters with realistic initial conditions from cosmological simulations. They will use these models to simulate populations of binary black hole mergers arising in star clusters and in isolation, using identical initial conditions and stellar physics. The team will make detailed predictions for future gravitational-wave observations and establish connections between cosmological and galaxy evolution understanding and the new field of gravitational-wave astronomy. They will also introduce gravitational-wave astronomy to a broader community and support undergraduate students through summer programs. The research advances the goals of the NSF's Windows on the Universe Big Idea by increasing understanding of major problems in the universe.