Testing the Millisecond Magnetar Model for Gamma-Ray Bursts and Superluminous Supernovae

该奖项支持磁星的理论天体物理学研究，磁星是一种很少被观测到的中子星。中子星是城市大小的物体，是在超新星爆炸期间由大质量恒星的引力坍缩形成的。磁星是快速旋转的高磁性中子星，可能在几小时内发生超强喷发。它们的形成仍然是一个谜，但这些短暂的爆发被认为是宇宙中许多神秘的伽马射线爆发和超亮超新星爆炸的原因。这项工作的主要重点是从理论模型中发展出一种预测，这种预测将通过观测来检验。PI将在研究方面培训和指导本科生，并组织为期两周的国际暑期学校。天体物理瞬变的理论建模，？它将教学生如何分析观测到的短期天文现象的物理性质。PI和他的团队将开发新形成的原磁星的中微子加热流出模型。他们还将沿着由磁层无力几何形状设置的开放场线求解中微子加热的磁流体动力学风方程。一般来说，寻找重r过程的新位点对核合成模型很重要。这项工作还将通过提供光学、x射线和伽马射线光谱预测来研究毫秒磁星诞生的观测特征，以便与观测结果进行比较。这项工作还将告知我们对核状态方程的理解，特别是在高质量极限附近，这将探测宇宙中最极端的物理条件。

This award supports theoretical astrophysical studies of magnetars, which are a rarely observed type of neutron star. Neutron stars are city-sized objects that form out of the gravitational collapse of massive stars during a supernova explosion. Magnetars are fast-spinning and highly magnetic neutron stars that may have ultra-powerful eruptions in just a few hours. Their formation is still a mystery, but these short-lived outbursts are proposed to be the cause of many mysterious gamma-ray bursts and superluminous supernova explosions in the universe. The main focus of this work is to develop a prediction from the theoretical models that will be tested by observations. The PI will train and mentor undergraduate students in research and organize a two week long international summer school on ?theoretical modeling of astrophysical transients,? which will teach students how to analyze the physical properties of short-lived observed astronomical phenomena. The PI and his team will develop models of the neutrino-heated outflows from newly-formed protomagnetars. They will also solve the neutrino-heated magnetohydrodynamic wind equations along open field lines set by the force-free geometry of the magnetosphere. Finding new sites for the heavy r-process to operate is important for nucleosynthesis models, in general. The work will also study the observational signatures of the birth of millisecond magnetars by providing optical, X-ray and gamma-ray spectral predictions for comparison with observations. The work will also inform our understanding of the nuclear equation of state especially near the high-mass limit, which will probe the most extreme physical conditions in the universe.