Neutron Stars as Probes for the Structure of Compressed Baryonic Matter

中子星作为压缩重子物质结构的探测器

• 批准号: 0854699
• 负责人: Fridolin Weber
• 金额: $ 31.5万
• 依托单位: San Diego State University Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-06-15 至 2013-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0854699&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Neutron; Stars; Probes; Structure; Compressed

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Neutron stars are among the most enigmatic objects that exist in the Universe. They are as massive as our Sun but are around one thousand trillion times smaller in size. The matter in the cores of neutron stars is therefore compressed to densities that are several times greater than the densities of atomic nuclei. This feature, combined with the unprecedented progress in observational astronomy, makes neutron stars superb astrophysical laboratories for a broad range of intriguing physical studies. Several such studies are the subject of this NSF project. These range from (1) investigations of nuclear fusion processes among lattice nuclei and novel states of matter in the crustal layers of neutron stars to (2) thermal evolution studies of neutron stars possessing magnetic fields that are trillions of times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field. The results of these studies are crucial in order to obtain the full physics potential of the investments that are made in new astrophysical instruments such as the square kilometer Array (skA) and the International X-ray Observatory (IXO, formerly Constellation X), which promise the discovery of tens of thousands of neutron stars. In addition, they provide most valuable insight into the physics of superdense but cold nuclear matter, which can not be studied in relativistic collider experiments.Students from middle and high schools in the San Diego area will profit from this research in the form of public lectures and multimedia presentations, which will be developed by the researches and students carrying out this project. Moreover, students at San Diego State University will get a chance to learn, and apply, advanced quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of general relativity to cutting-edge research projects, which enriches their educational experience beyond what they learn in the classroom.

该奖项是根据 2009 年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法 111-5）资助的。中子星是宇宙中存在的最神秘的物体之一。它们的质量与我们的太阳一样大，但尺寸却小了大约一千万亿倍。因此，中子星核心中的物质被压缩到比原子核密度大几倍的密度。这一特征与观测天文学前所未有的进步相结合，使中子星成为进行广泛有趣的物理研究的绝佳天体物理实验室。多项此类研究是该 NSF 项目的主题。这些范围从（1）晶格核之间的核聚变过程和中子星地壳层中的新物质状态的研究到（2）拥有比地球磁场强数万亿倍的磁场的中子星的热演化研究。这些研究的结果对于充分发挥新天体物理仪器的投资潜力至关重要，例如平方公里阵列 (skA) 和国际 X 射线天文台 (IXO，前身为 Constellation X)，这些仪器有望发现数万颗中子星。此外，它们还提供了对超密冷核物质物理学的最有价值的见解，这是相对论对撞机实验无法研究的。圣地亚哥地区初中和高中的学生将从这项研究中以公开讲座和多媒体演示的形式受益，这些演示将由开展该项目的研究人员和学生开发。此外，圣地亚哥州立大学的学生将有机会学习先进的量子力学和爱因斯坦的广义相对论，并将其应用到前沿的研究项目中，这丰富了他们在课堂上学到的教育经验。