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

职业生涯：通过多信使粒子天体物理学的新型射电介子方法实现前所未有的测量精度

基本信息

批准号：
2046386
负责人：
Frank Schroeder
金额：
$ 68.37万
依托单位：
University of Delaware
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Continuing Grant
财政年份：
2021
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2021-06-01 至 2026-05-31
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2046386&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
CAREER Achieving Unprecedented Measurement Accuracy

项目摘要

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.

该奖项将资助一种新颖方法的开发，该方法将宇宙射线空气簇射的无线电和μ介子探测相结合，这将最大限度地提高领先天体粒子观测站对宇宙射线粒子类型和质量的测量精度。这些宇宙射线主要是原子核，被宇宙中未知的自然物体加速，其能量远远超出了人类的技术。最近的测量为当今可进行此类测量的完整能量范围内的宇宙核混合成分提供了令人信服的证据。通过更好地对初级粒子进行分类来解开这种混合物，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、质量相关的各向异性与候选源的相关性，以及为指向天文学选择中微子和光子候选者。这种射电μ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附加工具。该项目包含一项有助于培养具有全球竞争力的 STEM 劳动力的教育计划，包括提高物理学领域历史上代表性不足群体多样性的措施。两个成功的教育项目将通过与研究计划相关的内容和提高 STEM 学生多样性的措施得到加强。这些是每年一度的针对高中生的 IceCube 大师班，以及针对粒子天体物理学研究生的著名国际暑期学校。此外，还将支持为各个级别的学生成功举办一年两次的皮埃尔·奥格合作科学博览会。这种无线电μ介子方法将通过模拟进行优化，经过实验验证，并应用于世界领先的宇宙射线天文台。有了这个，无线电μ介子方法将利用持续探测器升级的潜力。利用皮埃尔俄歇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线的来源。该方法可以应用于银河系到河外转变的能量范围，以找到预期的质量敏感各向异性，这将暗示最高能银河宇宙射线的起源。此外，无线电μ子方法将使多信使观测站能够通过由无线电和μ子探测器组成的单个实验来探测光子、中微子和宇宙射线。因此，该奖项解决并推进了 NSF“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理学时代”计划的科学目标和目标。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。