CAREER: Probing Energy Release in Solar Explosive Events with New Generation Radio Telescopes

这一为期五年的职业计划的研究计划有可能显著提高对太阳物理和天体物理关键主题的知识，即负责灾难性地释放大量能量并在短时间内将带电粒子加速到高能的物理机制(S)。通过开发新的射电观测技术实现的独特方法，该项目将通过跟踪加速电子、绘制动态冲击图以及得出耀斑区域内和周围的高能电子分布和磁场，填补关于能量释放地点位置和性质的知识的重大空白。预计从这个项目中获得的知识不仅将影响太阳物理领域，而且还将影响在磁化等离子体中发生类似物理过程的许多其他太阳物理和天体物理背景。这个职业项目将利用新一代射电望远镜，包括扩展的欧文斯山谷太阳阵列和Jansky甚大阵列，用一种全新的技术-宽带射电动态成像光谱偏振技术来研究太阳爆炸。这种技术能够以几十毫秒的节奏从无线电图像的每个像素获得高分辨率无线电频谱。在光学、紫外线和X射线多波长数据的补充下，这些射电观测将提供革命性的新诊断方法，以探测这些爆炸性事件背后的基本物理过程。拟议研究项目的主题将纳入各级学生的教学和辅导中。将在校园内建立一个太阳无线电实验室(SRL)，作为一个新的教学设施，用于学生教育和物理和工程方面的实践培训。国际和平研究所还将促进在多机构黑尔合作研究生教育(COLLAGE)方案框架下开发新的太阳和空间物理研究生课程。PI将通过整合他在高能太阳物理方面的专业知识、当前的研究课题以及由SRL提供的实践教学/培训资源，为大学项目创建一个课程模块。提高太阳爆炸事件起源的知识对于理解实现国家空间天气战略和行动计划目标所需的基础科学至关重要，该计划旨在开发预测空间天气并减轻其影响的工具。从该项目中获得的经验也将成为开发频率捷变太阳射电望远镜的基础，该望远镜是两次十年调查建议在本十年建造的一种变革性太阳射电望远镜。该计划的教育部分将通过SRL平台在尖端观察、仪器和建模方面教育和培训所有级别的学生。Hale Colage计划的发展将通过为NJIT和其他机构的学生提供有效的教育和实践培训来促进下一代太阳能和空间物理学家的成长。该职业项目的研究和EPO议程支持AGS部门在发现、学习、多样性和跨学科研究方面的战略目标。

The research program of this five-year CAREER project has the potential to significantly advance knowledge on key topics in heliophysics and astrophysics, namely the physical mechanism(s) responsible for releasing a large amount of energy catastrophically and accelerating charged particles to high energies in a short timescale. By developing unique methods enabled by the new radio observing technique, the project will fill a major gap in the knowledge of the location and properties of the energy release site by tracing accelerated electrons, mapping dynamic shocks, as well as deriving energetic electron distribution and magnetic field in and around the flaring region. It is expected that the knowledge gained from this project will impact not only the field of solar physics, but also many other heliophysical and astrophysical contexts where similar physical processes occur in the magnetized plasma.This CAREER project will utilize a new generation of radio telescopes, including the Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array and the Jansky Very Large Array, to study solar explosions with a fundamentally new technique: broadband radio dynamic imaging spectropolarimetry. This technique enables the capability of obtaining a high-resolution radio spectrum from every pixel of a radio image at a cadence of tens of milliseconds. Complemented by multi-wavelength data in optical, ultraviolet, and X-rays, these radio observations will provide revolutionarily new diagnostic methods to probe fundamental physical processes behind these explosive events. Topics of the proposed research project will be integrated into teaching and mentoring students at all levels. A Solar Radio Laboratory (SRL) will be built on campus to serve as a new teaching facility for student education and hands-on training in both physics and engineering. The PI will also contribute to the development of a new graduate curriculum in solar and space physics under the framework of the multi-institutional Hale Collaborative Graduate Education (COLLAGE) program. The PI will create a course module for the COLLAGE program by integrating his specialties in high-energy solar physics, current research topics, and hands-on teaching/training resources enabled by the SRL.Improved knowledge on the origin of solar explosive events is critical to understanding the basic science needed to meet the goals of the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan, which aims to develop tools to forecast space weather and mitigate its impacts. The experience gained from this project will also form the basis for developing the Frequency Agile Solar Radiotelescope (FASR), which is a transformative solar radio telescope recommended by two decadal surveys for construction in this decade. The educational component of this program will educate and train students at all levels in cutting-edge observations, instrumentation, and modeling through the SRL platform. The development of the Hale COLLAGE Program will foster the growth of next-generation solar and space physicists by providing effective education and hands-on training for students at NJIT and other institutions. The research and EPO agenda of this CAREER project supports the Strategic Goals of the AGS Division in discovery, learning, diversity, and interdisciplinary research.