Collaborative Research: SNEWS: The SuperNova Early Warning System

当一颗大质量恒星到达其寿命的尽头时，恒星的核心会坍塌，从而产生超新星。虽然看起来很壮观，但超新星中只有不到1%的能量在周围环境中以可见光或动能的形式释放出来。来自超新星的大部分能量以中微子的形式释放，中微子是一种小粒子，与物质的相互作用很弱。超新星发射的中微子比可见光的发射早几分钟到几个小时。因此，从超新星探测到第一个中微子可以提供早期警报，以触发进一步的观测。超新星早期预警系统(SNEWS)是一个由世界各地的中微子探测器组成的网络，旨在为我们银河系的超新星提供自动早期警报。虽然银河系超新星很罕见，但它将为研究核心塌缩超新星的物理以及中微子的性质提供一个独特的机会。来自SNEWS的早期警报将使世界各地的物理学家和天文学家能够观测到超新星的早期阶段。SNEWS项目致力于吸引业余天文学家，他们可能在超新星的光学观测中发挥重要作用，并让他们参与超新星科学。SNEWS涉及世界各地的中微子探测器：Super-K、大体积探测器、IceCube、Borexino、Kamland和大亚湾。如果参与的任何实验发现突发事件，它就会向位于布鲁克海文国家实验室的中央SNEWS计算机发送数据报，备份位于博洛尼亚。如果在10秒内发现巧合，就会发出超新星警报。SNEWS自1998年开始运行，自2005年以来一直以全自动模式运行，正常运行时间接近100%。该奖项将为维护SNEWS系统提供资金，支持参与该项目的本科生研究人员，并扩大与天文学社区的联系。

When a massive star reaches the end of its life, the core of the star collapses, producing a supernova. While visually spectacular, less than 1% of the energy in the supernova is released as visible light or as kinetic energy in the surrounding environment. Most of the energy from the supernova is released in neutrinos, which are small particles that only interact weakly with matter. The neutrino emission from a supernova precedes the emission of visible light by a few minutes up to many hours. Detecting the first neutrinos from a supernova therefore provides an early alert to trigger further observations. The SuperNova Early Warning System (SNEWS) is a network of neutrino detectors around the world designed to provide automated early alerts for supernovae in our galaxy. While rare, a galactic supernova would provide a unique opportunity to study the physics of core-collapse supernova, as well as the properties of neutrinos. The early alerts from SNEWS will enable observations of the earliest phases of the supernova for physicists and astronomers around the world. The SNEWS project works to engage amateur astronomers, who may play an important role in optical observations of supernova, and to involve them in the science of supernova. SNEWS involves neutrino detectors around the world: Super-K, Large Volume Detector, IceCube, Borexino, KAMLand, and Daya Bay. If any of the participating experiments finds a burst of events, it sends a datagram to the central SNEWS computer located at Brookhaven National Laboratory, with a backup located in Bologna. If a coincidence is found within 10 seconds, a supernova alert will be sent out. SNEWS has been operational since 1998, and has been running in a fully-automated mode since 2005 with near-100% up-time. This award will provide funds to maintain the SNEWS system, support undergraduate researchers participating in the project, and expand connections to the astronomical community.