Project Description
When binary black hole systems produce gravitational waves that are eventually observed at the LIGO-Virgo-Kagra gravitational wave detectors, a key question is: where in the sky did those gravitational waves come from? This question is of particular interest to electromagnetic astronomers, who might like to point their telescopes at the appropriate place to see what else might have been happening at that location when the black holes merged. This summer research project in computational physics aims to build a full data processing pipeline for the rapid localization of gravitational wave sources. While some of this pipeline has been the subject of previous summer research projects, opportunities remain for students interested in database design, fast and accurate signal processing in high noise environments, GPU-accelerated cloud computing, algorithm optimization, and Bayesian inference.
Prerequisites
PHYS 111, PHYS 112
Special Comments
Project Information (subject to change)
Estimated Start Date: 6/8/2026
Estimated End Date: 7/17/2026
Estimated Project Duration: 6 weeks
Maximum Number of Students Sought: 5
Research Location: On campus
Travel Required? No (If “yes”: )
Contact Information: Tom McClain (email: mcclaint@wlu.edu)