Carol Miu

Project

Comparing Narrow Spectral Artifact Line Finders to Enable Continuous Wave Searches in LIGO

Continuous gravitational waves (CW) from sources such as a non-axisymmetric spinning neutron star have not yet been detected. If CW from neutron stars exist, the weak signals could be hidden within noise. The search for CW signals is impeded by the presence of narrow spectral artifacts (lines) caused by instrumentation or the environment at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). Better identification of line noise would make a detection more likely, and a detection has the potential to expand our current knowledge of neutron stars. In my research, I showed that the LIGO Fscan Line Finder is effective at identifying lines in both normalized and non-normalized data.

What I learned

Although effort needs to be steady, progress can sometimes come in spurts! Don’t be discouraged if you feel like you haven’t had a breakthrough recently, as long as you are putting in significant time and effort.

Advice for future applicants

Make sure your personal narrative, and not just your research or leadership summary, is included in your essay. What is your background and how did you become inspired to do your project? How will the scholarship help you and change your life? How are your relationships with your mentor and teammates?

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