Under the direction of Theme leader Professor Matthew Bailes, OzGrav’s Discovery Theme will power a radical increase in both the number of merger events and their precision. We will use these to enable transformational tests of fundamental physics and cosmology and be poised to make the first detections of gravitational waves from supernovae, rotating neutron stars, and binary supermassive black holes. Finally, we will observe the electromagnetic counterparts of merger events and other fast transients to understand the progenitors, engines, and environments of GW sources and fast radio bursts.
Key Programs
DETECTION
Chairs: Prof Tara Murphy (USyd) & Prof Eric Thrane (Monash)
This Key Project has two goals. First, to discover new sources of gravitational waves and their electromagnetic counterparts. Second, to discover and investigate high-energy electromagnetic transients such as fast radio bursts and superluminous supernovae. Together, these discoveries will build a more complete picture of neutron stars, black holes, and their progenitors yielding deep insights into these sources of gravitational waves.
To achieve these aims, we are using a vast array of world-class facilities including LIGO, Radio Telescopes (ASKAP, ATCA, MeerKAT, SKA), Optical Telescopes (SkyMapper, ANU 2.3-metre, and DREAMS, located at SSO, and telescopes at leading international observatories – Keck, ESO, and Rubin), and powerful supercomputing (OzSTAR, Pawsey).