Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars: Shedding Light on the Population of Galactic Gravitational Wave Sources

Author: Burdge, Kevin Brian

Year: 2021

Degree: Dissertation (Ph.D.)

Advisor: Prince, Thomas A.

Committee Members: Prince, Thomas A.; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; Harrison, Fiona A.; Fuller, James; Marsh, Thomas

Option: Physics

DOI: 10.7907/69gf-ex79

Abstract

Time domain surveys are revolutionizing our understanding of compact binary systems containing a white dwarf and another compact object at short orbital periods. These extreme binaries are astrophysical laboratories which can probe compact object physics, the nature of Type Ia supernova progenitors, accretion physics, tidal physics, the process of binary evolution, and they will dominate the population of objects the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will detect. In this thesis, I present substantial advances in the discovery and characterization of compact binaries using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). This work has resulted in a ten-fold increase in the discovery rate of such binaries compared to previous work in the field, and has helped lay the groundwork for discovering and characterizing these sources using other facilities, such as the the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the upcoming Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) and eventually LISA itself.

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