Abstract

Initial observations of gravitational-waves (GW) from the mergers of compact binaries have further solidified GR as an accurate model of gravity on large scales, as well as provided novel insight into the populations of the compact objects from which they originate. Next-generation detectors such as LISA, Einstein Telescope, and Cosmic Explorer are slated for operation in the next few decades and will bring with them vastly improved sensitivities and orders of magnitude more GW events. It is therefore imperative that model development and characterization of secondary effect---either smaller in magnitude in than current noise levels or too infrequent at current event rates for meaningful statistical statements to be made---be in place before observational data from these detectors becomes available. In this dissertation, we explore the observational prospects for two promising candidates for future--or even current--detection: observation of the GW middle-time-tail produced by off-axis massive perturbers, and measurement of quantum effects on GW propagation under the polymer quantization scheme. We present the waveform modifications that describe each of these phenomena, and provide the first constraints on the parameters describing them from analysis of existing GW data.

Committee Chair

Francesc Ferrer

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Author's Department

Physics

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

9-14-2023

Language

English (en)

Author's ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4957-6679

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