Project description
Solving the mysteries of massive stars and gravitational waves
Massive stars are vital to the universe, shaping their surroundings with intense radiation and explosive energy. They drive chemical changes in their host galaxies and play a key role in cosmic evolution. However, scientists still have big questions about their behaviour, including how they lose mass, interact with nearby stars and form compact objects like black holes. Gravitational waves offer new clues, but it is unclear how these powerful events are linked to the stars that create them. With this in mind, the ERC-funded Star-Grasp project will simulate the lives of single and binary stars from beginning to end, connecting observations of stars to the origins of gravitational waves. The results will guide future research with upcoming astronomical surveys.
Objective
Massive stars are fundamental engines in cosmic evolution, providing strong radiative and kinetic feedback to their environment through their copious ionizing radiation and energetic explosions. They also drive the chemical evolution of their hosts. Despite their importance, large uncertainties remain in our understanding of massive stars, including processes such as mass loss, interactions with close companions, and the formation of compact objects at the end of their evolution. The detection of gravitational waves from merging compact objects introduces an important new avenue to study these processes, with an associated large effort from the astrophysical community to understand both how these sources are formed, and how the observed sample can be used to constrain the existing uncertainties. Key questions that are critical to resolve these problems are:
- Which intermediate phases in the formation of gravitational wave sources can anchor their evolution?
- Can we identify individual progenitors of gravitational wave sources in the nearby universe?
- How do the final properties of a massive star relate to the resulting compact objects they form?
To address these, the STAR-GRASP project aims to produce a novel theoretical framework to connect constraints from electromagnetic observations to the observed sample of gravitational wave sources. To achieve this we will perform extensive simulations of single and binary star evolution, covering their whole life from birth to their final death-throes as merging compact objects. This will provide multiple predictions on the properties of binary systems with at least one compact object, as well as on the electromagnetic transients associated to their formation. Our new theoretical predictions will be testable in the coming decade, with the advent of large-scale multi-epoch surveys of stellar systems and transient electromagnetic events, as well as the rapidly growing sample of observed compact object coalescences.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
9000 GENT
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.