Extreme astrophysics in the age of gravitational waves

Gravitational-wave astronomy is now a reality. In February 2016, the LIGO collaboration announced the first direct detection of these tiny ripples of spacetime. This Project capitalises on this momentous discovery by using LIGO data to probe the most extreme regions in the Universe. Specifically, it aims to 1) detect for the first time an exotic effect that causes space to permanently deform following cataclysmic events, 2) determine the origin of binary black holes by measuring statistical properties of many mergers 3) use observations of colliding neutron stars to understand the physics of the biggest explosions in the Universe. This project will lay the framework for the next decade of the new field of gravitational-wave astronomy.