Tommy Osburn, Assistant Professor of Physics at »Ê¹Ú²©²ÊÍøÖ·, recently was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study gravitational waves, tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime that are emitted by massive objects when they accelerate. The $188,470 award will be used to support research expenses including hiring student researchers, funding travel for students and faculty to scientific meetings, and computational resources and equipment.
This project is a theoretical investigation of the gravitational waves emitted when a stellar mass compact object, such as a neutron star or black hole, inspirals into a supermassive black hole. These extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs) are expected to be observed by the proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). LISA is a space-based detector with a planned launch date of 2037 and would become the most sensitive gravitational wave observatory ever constructed.
Osburn's project involves training of undergraduate students in quantitative technical skills and also supports a physics education research project that will simultaneously improve upper-level undergraduate physics instruction and provide a testing ground to research new mathematical modeling techniques.
"I am really excited to have received this award from the NSF to support my research with talented undergraduate students at »Ê¹Ú²©²ÊÍøÖ·," says Osburn. "This funding will provide high-impact research opportunities for us to expand on our previous work on the influence of relativistic two-body interactions on the dynamics of gravitational wave production by EMRIs."
"It is certainly a very exciting time in the field, as we expand the power of gravitational wave astronomy."
The duration of this award is three years (2023-2026).