CAREER: Achieving Unprecedented Measurement Accuracy by a New Radio-Muon Method for Multi-Messenger Particle Astrophysics

该奖项将资助开发一种新方法，结合无线电和μ子探测宇宙射线空气阵雨，这将最大限度地提高领先的天体粒子天文台对宇宙射线粒子类型和质量的测量精度。这些宇宙射线大多是原子核，由宇宙中未知的自然物体加速产生的能量远远超出了人类的技术。最近的测量提供了令人信服的证据，证明宇宙核的混合成分在完整的能量范围内，目前可以进行这样的测量。通过对主要粒子进行更好的分类来解开这种混合物的纠缠，将使我们能够以各种方式寻找它们的起源：质子增强的宇宙射线天文学，质量依赖的各向异性与候选源的相关性，以及指向天文学中中微子和光子候选物的选择。这种射电介子方法的发展将提高测量精度，使宇宙射线天文学成为多信使粒子天体物理学的额外工具。该项目包含一项教育计划，有助于培养具有全球竞争力的STEM劳动力，包括采取措施改善历史上代表性不足的物理群体的多样性。两项成功的教育计划，将透过与研究计划相关的内容，以及改善STEM学生多元性的措施，得到加强。这是一年一度的高中生冰立方大师班，也是国际著名的粒子天体物理学研究生暑期学校。此外，将支持皮埃尔·奥格合作为各级学生举办的两年一次的科学博览会。这种射电介子方法将通过模拟、实验验证进行优化，并应用于世界领先的宇宙射线天文台。有了这个，无线电- μ子方法将利用正在进行的探测器升级的潜力。利用Pierre Auger天文台的大规模无线电升级和地下μ子探测器，无线电- μ子方法将用于寻找最高能量的河外宇宙射线的来源。该方法可以应用于星系到星系外转换的能量范围，以发现预期的质量敏感各向异性，这将暗示最具能量的银河系宇宙射线的起源。此外，无线电- μ子方法将使多信使天文台能够通过由无线电和μ子探测器组成的单一实验来探测光子，中微子和宇宙射线。因此，该奖项强调并推进了NSF“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理学时代”项目的科学目标。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。

This award will fund the development of a novel method, combining radio and muon detection of cosmic-ray air showers, that will maximize the measurement accuracy of leading astroparticle observatories for the type and mass of the cosmic-ray particles. These cosmic rays are mostly atomic nuclei accelerated by unknown natural objects in the Universe to energies far beyond human technology. Recent measurements provide compelling evidence for a mixed composition of cosmic nuclei over the complete energy range over which such measurements are available today. Disentangling this mixture by a better classification of the primary particles will enable us to search for their origin in various ways: proton-enhanced cosmic-ray astronomy, correlations of mass-dependent anisotropies with source candidates, and the selection of neutrino and photon candidates for pointed astronomy. The development of this radio-muon method will boost the measurement accuracy to enable cosmic-ray astronomy as an additional tool of multi-messenger particle astrophysics. The project contains an educational plan contributing to a globally competitive STEM workforce, including measures to improve the diversity of historically underrepresented groups in physics. Two successful educational projects will be enhanced by contents related to the research plan and by measures to improve the diversity of incoming STEM students. These are the yearly IceCube masterclass for senior high school students, and a renowned international summer school for graduate students in particle astrophysics. Moreover, the successful biannual science fair of the Pierre Auger Collaboration for school students of all levels will be supported. This radio-muon method will be optimized using simulations, experimentally validated, and applied to world-leading cosmic-ray observatories. With this, the radio-muon method will leverage the potential of ongoing detector upgrades. Using the large-scale radio upgrade and underground muon detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the radio-muon method will be used to search for the sources of the highest energy, extragalactic cosmic rays. The method can be applied to the energy range of the Galactic-to-extragalactic transition to find expected mass-sensitive anisotropies that will hint to the origin of the most energetic Galactic cosmic rays. In addition, the radio-muon method will enable multi-messenger observatories for the detection of photons, neutrinos, and cosmic rays with a single experiment comprised of radio and muon detectors. Thus, this award addresses and advances the science objectives and goals of the NSF's "Windows on the Universe: The Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics" program.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.