Existing and future gravitational-wave detectors will observe signals so precisely that they will be able to detect possible deviations from Einstein’s theory of relativity and the standard model of particle physics. To fully exploit this unique instrumental capability, fundamental advances are needed in the theoretical description of black holes, the gravitational waves they emit, their cosmic environment and physics beyond the standard model. Providing the necessary theoretical framework is the aim of the project GWSky, awarded with 12 million euros over the next six years by the European Research Council (ERC). The ERC Synergy grant involves four nodes, SISSA (Trieste), the Niels Bohr Institute (Copenhagen), the University of California (Los Angeles), and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Potsdam).
The aim of the project, called ‘Making Sense of the Unexpected in the Gravitational-Wave Sky’ (GWSky), is to use gravitational-wave measurements by existing and future observatories on Earth and in space as precision laboratories for fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. This includes the current detectors of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration as well as the future ground-based observatories Cosmic Explorer and Einstein Telescope, and the space-based LISA detector.
“GWSky aims to develop innovative tools to interpret gravitational wave signals with great precision. The aim is to identify and understand possible anomalies in the signals, which could reveal new physical phenomena not predicted by Einstein's theory of General Relativity. These anomalies could result from unknown gravitational effects, the presence of the astrophysical environment, or inaccuracies in our solutions to the Einstein equations. The project will exploit the full potential of precision gravitational wave data to gain insight on astrophysical and cosmological phenomena,” says Enrico Barausse (SISSA), one of the four PIs of the project alongside Zvi Bern (University of California Los Angeles), Alessandra Buonanno (Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics) and Maarten Van de Meent (Niels Bohr Institute).