Collaborative Research: ANSWERS: Solar Energetic Particles, Solar Neutrons, and a New Space Weather Facility in Hawaii

合作研究：答案：太阳高能粒子、太阳中子和夏威夷的新空间天气设施

• 批准号: 2149811
• 负责人: James Ryan
• 金额: $ 66.59万
• 依托单位: University of New Hampshire
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-07-01 至 2026-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2149811&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; ANSWERS; Solar; Energetic

This project will measure the most powerful particles emitted by the Sun, i.e., Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) and Solar Neutron Particles (SNPs). These particles pose risks to astronauts and can lead to significant degradation or failure of electronics in space. Monitoring the particles and developing alert systems are important to advance resilience against such space weather hazards. Because SNPs arrive earlier than SEPs, their detection provides several extra minutes of warning for taking action. The project team from the University of Hawaii, University of New Hampshire, and University of Arizona will set up a new space weather (SW) center in Hawaii and deploy a neutron monitor (NM) on the summit of the Haleakala volcano. They will analyze energetic particle data from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the International Space Station and ground-based NMs. A report on these observations will be made available in real time to global and domestic users. The SW center will also provide extensive outreach programs advancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics expertise, especially among young women and underrepresented groups.This work addresses the causes of ground-level events from SEP events, specifically in the context of propagation and event characteristics. The team will analyze SEP events detected by AMS, employ models for tracking particle propagation in various regions of the heliosphere and Earth's magnetosphere and atmosphere, and extend the coverage of the NM network to a station particularly suitable for detecting SNPs and galactic cosmic rays with rigidity cutoff above 13 GV. Comparing direct measurements in space by AMS with those on the ground by NMs will shed light on the atmospheric shower cascades that lead to secondary particle production and probe the validity of different models for nuclear interactions in the low energy range (hundreds of MeV to few GeV) involving iron and light elements up to oxygen. Real-time monitoring data, parameters related to the interplanetary and geomagnetic environment, and space weather alerts will be provided by the SW center. High school students will be engaged in the science through science festivals, visits to the NM detector and working with NM and AMS studies at the SW center. ANSWERS projects advance the nation’s STEM expertise and societal resilience to space weather hazards by filling key knowledge gaps regarding the coupled Sun-Earth system.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.

该项目将测量太阳发射的最强大的粒子，即太阳高能粒子(SEP)和太阳中子粒子(SNPs)。这些粒子对宇航员构成风险，并可能导致太空中电子设备的严重退化或故障。监测颗粒物和开发警报系统对于提高对此类空间天气灾害的复原力非常重要。因为SNP比SEP更早到达，它们的检测为采取行动提供了额外的几分钟警告。来自夏威夷大学、新汉普郡大学和亚利桑那大学的项目组将在夏威夷建立一个新的空间气象(SW)中心，并在哈雷卡拉火山的顶端部署一个中子监测器(NM)。他们将分析来自国际空间站上的阿尔法磁谱仪(AMS)和地面NMS的高能粒子数据。将向全球和国内用户实时提供关于这些观察结果的报告。该中心还将提供广泛的外展计划，促进科学、技术、工程和数学方面的专业知识，特别是在年轻女性和代表性不足的群体中。这项工作从SEP事件中解决了地面事件的原因，特别是在传播和事件特征的背景下。该团队将分析AMS探测到的SEP事件，使用模型来跟踪日光层、地球磁层和大气中不同区域的粒子传播，并将NM网络的覆盖范围扩大到一个特别适合探测SNPs和刚性截止电压超过13GV的星系宇宙射线的站点。将AMS在太空中的直接测量与NMS在地面上的测量进行比较，将有助于揭示导致二次粒子产生的大气簇射级联，并探索涉及铁、轻元素到氧的低能范围(数百MeV到少数GeV)核相互作用的不同模型的有效性。西南中心将提供实时监测数据、与星际环境和地磁环境有关的参数以及空间天气警报。高中生将通过科学节、参观NM探测器以及在西南中心进行NM和AMS研究来从事科学研究。Answers项目通过填补关于日地耦合系统的关键知识空白，促进了国家的STEM专业知识和社会对空间天气灾害的适应能力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。