Theoretical Patricle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology

该奖项资助纽约大学Glennys Farrar教授的理论研究活动。超高能宇宙射线(UHECR)是具有极端动能的宇宙射线(即亚原子粒子)，其动能不仅远远超过其静止质量，而且超过其他宇宙射线的典型能量。这些宇宙射线之所以意义重大，原因有很多。首先，它们巨大能量的来源仍然是一个谜，涉及到天体物理学的许多方面。其次，这些巨大的能量远远超过了传统的加速器实验所能获得的能量。最后，与这种UHECR相关的能量经常违反所谓的“GZK界限”，该界限提供了宇宙射线可能具有的能量的理论上限。了解这种UHECR如何设法违反GZK界限是一个重要的研究领域。在她的工作中，法勒教授的目标是利用俄歇实验的最新数据，开发天体物理分析方法的组合，以限制UHECR的来源和可能的成分。她还希望使用这些技术，通过利用大量新的河外源自转测量数据集，结合来自WMAP实验的同步辐射数据来绘制银河系磁场图。这项工作预计也将产生重大的更广泛的影响。首先，它将导致计算基础设施的发展(包括开发最先进的技术来优化涉及许多参数和数亿个测量数据点的拟合，快速模拟粒子级联的新技术，以及对更广泛的模式识别问题具有影响的新的事件重建的概率方法)。其次，PI将继续她与纽约学校宇宙粒子望远镜(NYSCPT)项目(与纽约市当地学校的合作)的工作：这包括进一步发展NYSCPT的下一阶段，以及提供关于NYSCPT的公开讲座和指导NYSCPT的参与者。

This award funds the theoretical research activities of Professor Glennys Farrar at New York University.Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR's) are cosmic rays (i.e., subatomic particles) with extreme kinetic energies that not only vastly exceed their rest masses, but also exceed the energies typical of other cosmic rays. These cosmic rays are significant for a number of reasons. First, the origin of their huge energies remains a mystery which touches on numerous aspects of astrophysics. Second, these huge energies vastly exceed those accessible in traditional accelerator experiments. Finally, the energies associated with such UHECR's often violate the so-called "GZK bound" which provides a theoretical upper limit on the energies that cosmic rays may have. Understanding how such UHECR's manage to violate the GZK bound is an important area of research. In her work, Professor Farrar aims to develop combinations of astrophysics analysis methods in order to constrain the sources and possible composition of UHECR's, using recent data from the AUGER experiment. She also wishes to use these techniques in order to map out the galactic magnetic field by exploiting massive new data sets of rotation measures of extragalactic sources in combination with synchrotron emission data from the WMAP experiment.This work is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. First, it will lead to the development of computational infrastructure (including the development of state-of-the-art techniques for optimizing fits involving many parameters and hundreds of millions of measured data points, new techniques for rapid simulation of particle cascades, and new probabilistic methods of event reconstruction that have implications for pattern recognition problems more broadly). Second, the PI will continue her work with the New York Schools Cosmic Particle Telescope (NYSCPT) Project (a partnership with local New York City schools): this includes further development of the next phase of NYSCPT as well as delivering public lectures on NYSCPT and mentoring NYSCPT participants.