Numerical Modeling of Superluminous Supernovae and Unusual Astronomical Transients

深、宽视场、高节奏的天文调查的出现，为瞬变宇宙带来了一种新的、动态的观点，使天文学家能够更好地观察和理解恒星的死亡，并导致发现奇异的、发光的瞬变现象。最重要的新发现之一是一类新的超发光超新星；恒星爆炸的亮度比已经非常明亮的典型超新星高10到1000倍，并且在观测到的特性中表现出惊人的多样性。这些发现点燃了理论建模的多重努力，旨在了解所涉及的物理机制。由路易斯安那州立大学领导的一个研究小组将在世界一流的超级计算设备上进行最先进的数值模拟，以便更好地理解这些超级明亮的事件。他们将研究辐射输运物理中经常被忽视的方面，这些方面在这些现象中很重要，并做出具体的预测，可以直接与观测结果进行比较。为了改善路易斯安那州及其他地区的教育环境，首席研究员将与K-12，本科生和研究生的多元化机构密切合作，以推进数值工具和数据分析方法的知识，重点是在工业中广泛使用的基础研究工具，特别是在数据科学等领域，从而提高学生在就业市场和学术界内外的职业技能和竞争力。在该项目中，将利用最先进的数值工具，结合现代瞬态搜索的数据，通过同时模拟观测到的光曲线和这些事件的光谱，试图回答一些关于超发光事件的重要问题。最重要的问题包括：是什么机制，或机制的组合，驱动了贫氢的超亮超新星？在确定超新星的辐射特性时，偶发的、超新星前的质量损失和星周相互作用的作用是什么？观察到的光瞬态多样性的主要来源是什么？不寻常的瞬变现象和特殊的超新星的祖系统是什么？该项目由天文科学部和刺激竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The advent of deep, wide-field, high-cadence astronomy surveys has ushered in a new, dynamical view of the transient Universe, allowing astronomers to better observe and understand the deaths of stars, and leading to the discovery of exotic, luminous transient phenomena. Among the most important new discoveries is a new class of superluminous supernovae; stellar explosions reaching luminosities up to 10 - 1000 times higher than the already very bright typical supernovae, and exhibiting striking diversity in their observed properties. These findings have ignited multiple efforts in theoretical modeling, aiming to understand the physical mechanisms involved. A research team led by Louisiana State University will run state-of-the-art numerical simulations at world-class supercomputing facilities in order to better understand these super-bright events. They will study often-overlooked aspects of radiation transport physics that are important in these phenomena, and make specific predictions that can be directly compared with observations. In order to improve the education environment in Louisiana and beyond, the principal investigator will work closely with a diverse body of K-12, undergraduate and graduate students to advance knowledge of numerical tools and data analysis methods, with an emphasis on the basic research tools that are used extensively in industry, specifically in fields such as data science, thereby enhancing the students' skills and competitiveness in the job market and in careers within and beyond academia. In the project, state-of-the-art numerical tools will be utilized, together with data from modern transient searches, to attempt to answer a number of important questions about superluminous events by simultaneously modeling the observed light curves and spectra of these events. The most significant questions include: What mechanism, or combination of mechanisms, powers the hydrogen-poor class of superluminous supernovae? What is the role of episodic, pre-supernova mass-loss and circumstellar interaction in determining the radiative properties of supernovae? What is the main source of the observed diversity in luminous transients? What are the progenitor systems of unusual transient phenomena and peculiar supernovae? This project is jointly funded by the Division of Astronomical Sciences and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.