Network for Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Symmetries

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A revolution in astrophysics is underway, driven by new instruments that view the universe’s most extraordinary events through multiple astrophysical messengers. Merging neutron stars have been observed through their gravitational waves and through the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the hot debris they eject. Collapsing stars within the Milky Way produce prodigious fluxes of neutrinos that are observed in massive underground detectors, while also brightening the night sky in dramatic supernova. These explosions generate extreme conditions – energies, sustained temperatures, matter densities – beyond any realized on earth. The Network for Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics and Symmetries Physics Frontier Center (N3AS-PFC) is a collaboration of theorists who utilize these observations to answer some of the most important open questions in physics: how were the heavy elements created, what is the form of the super-dense nuclear matter found at the center of a neutron star, and how can we test the properties of neutrinos and dark matter using astrophysical laboratories? The answers have the potential to influence the future directions of nuclear, particle, and astrophysics. The new generation of postdoctoral researchers that N3AS-PFC is training and the diverse group of students it recruits and engages will be crucial to both current research and the field’s future.The N3AS-PFC will explore the physics in extreme astrophysical environments by combining knowledge of the underlying nuclear and neutrino microphysics, with the most advanced tools for numerical simulations in astrophysics. The work will proceed on a number of scientific fronts. N3AS-PFC will develop the theory of kilonovae – the optical counterpart of a neutron star merger – to determine whether this environment can sustain the necessary chain of nucleosynthesis. N3AS-PFC will develop theoretical tools for describing nuclear matter at several times nuclear density, thereby relating fundamental nuclear physics to properties of neutron stars, including their masses, radii, deformability, and long-term cooling. N3AS-PFC will apply new tools to understand the highly complex flavor physics of the dense sea of entangled neutrinos created in the cores of supernovae. Because phenomena like neutron stars, supernovae, and the Big Bang fire the imagination of students, N3AS-PFC will establish an outreach program focused on community colleges to encourage and then support transferring students to pursue research in astrophysics. N3AS-PFC will also provide postdoctoral Fellows with broad training opportunities and the support of multiple mentors, preparing them to become future leaders in multi-messenger astrophysics. Through the research and educational programs this N3AS-PFC award directly addresses 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.