WoU-MMA Collaborative Research: Turbulence and Reconnection in Magnetically-Dominated Astrophysical Plasmas

WoU-MMA 合作研究：磁控天体物理等离子体中的湍流和重联

基本信息

批准号：
1903332
负责人：
Maxim Lyutikov
金额：
$ 22.98万
依托单位：
Purdue University
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2019-08-01 至 2024-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1903332&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
WoU MMA Collaborative Research Turbulence

项目摘要

In many astrophysical objects -- like bubbles of magnetic fields and high-energy particles powered by rapidly spinning neutron stars called pulsar wind nebulae -- magnetic fields control the overall dynamics of the hot gas of charged particles, the relativistic astrophysical plasma surrounding the object. In such astrophysical objects dissipation of magnetic energy via magnetic reconnection -- a process where magnetic field lines annihilate, releasing their energy to the particles -- may power the observed high-energy electromagnetic and particle emission. A number of recent observations such as the Crab Nebula gamma-ray flares detected by Fermi and AGILE satellites have emphasized the critical role of magnetic reconnection for the acceleration of the emitting particles in astrophysical high-energy sources. This work will include projects for undergraduate students, and the results will be disseminated to high-school students through dedicated workshops. A new program, "Astro-soup," will be implemented, where serving food to homeless people in New York City will be accompanied by discussion on astrophysical topics of relevance for this work. The overall goal of this research is to explain the puzzling phenomenology of non-thermal emission in the Crab Nebula, the prototype of pulsar wind nebulae and the most famous source in high-energy astrophysics. Its flaring and quiescent signatures will be modeled, from radio to high-energy gamma-rays, in a single physically-grounded scenario based on relativistic magnetic reconnection. Every stage of the research will combine analytical approaches with large-scale first-principles particle-in-cell simulations. The reconnection model of astrophysical high-energy sources will be placed on solid footing by studying from first principles how reconnection layers are self-consistently generated by large-scale flows occurring in the Crab Nebula and how the interplay of reconnection and fluid motions can naturally lead to efficient particle acceleration. The results will also be relevant for other flaring sources, like jets from supermassive black holes, where gamma-ray flares have recently been detected together with neutrino counterparts, thus addressing the goals of NSF's "Windows on the Universe: The Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics" Big Idea.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

在许多天体物理物体中 - 例如磁场的气泡和由迅速旋转的中子恒星提供动力的高能颗粒，称为脉冲星风云 - 磁场控制带电颗粒的热气体的整体动力学，这是相对论的天体物理，周围的物体周围的天体物理。在这样的天体物理物体中，通过磁重新连接磁能的耗散 - 磁场线歼灭并释放到颗粒的过程 - 可能为观察到的高能量电磁和颗粒发射提供动力。最近的许多观察结果，例如费米和敏捷卫星检测到的蟹状γ射线耀斑，强调了磁重新连接在天体高能来源中发射颗粒加速的关键作用。这项工作将包括针对本科生的项目，结果将通过专门的研讨会向高中生传播。将实施一项新的计划“ Astro-Soup”，在该计划中，将为纽约市无家可归者提供食物，并伴随有关这项工作相关的天体物理主题的讨论。这项研究的总体目的是解释螃蟹星云中非热发射的令人困惑的现象学，豆浆风星云的原型以及高能天体物理学中最著名的来源。它将在基于相对论磁重新连接的单个物理界面场景中建模，从无线电到高能伽马射线，将建模。研究的每个阶段都将结合分析方法与大型第一原理粒子模拟。天体物理高能源的重新连接模型将通过从第一原则研究如何通过在螃蟹星云中发生的大规模流以及重新连接的相互作用和流体运动的相互作用来自然产生的重新连接层是如何自信产生的。 The results will also be relevant for other flaring sources, like jets from supermassive black holes, where gamma-ray flares have recently been detected together with neutrino counterparts, thus addressing the goals of NSF's "Windows on the Universe: The Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics" Big Idea.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit和更广泛的影响审查标准。