Collaborative Research: WoU-MMA: Multimessenger Plasma Physics Center (MPPC)

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This award establishes a multi-institutional and international collaborative Multi-messenger Plasma Physics Center (MPPC) focused on studying fundamental plasma processes with the goal of modeling sources of astrophysical signals. Recent discoveries of gravitational waves from merging black holes and neutron stars and the detections of energetic neutrinos and ultra-high energy cosmic rays herald the rise of multi-messenger astronomy (MMA) aiming to observe the sky not only through light, but also through gravitational waves and energetic particles. Interpretation of MMA signals, however, crucially depends on our ability to understand, predict, and model the electromagnetic counterparts of multi-messenger sources. In most theories of these sources, the light is coming from a relativistic plasma that experiences very strong gravitational, magnetic and radiation fields. How plasmas produce the observable radiation under these conditions challenges our understanding of plasma physics. MPPC will study the fundamental processes in relativistic plasmas that lead to the observable emission from multimessenger sources, and thus addresses goals of NSF's "Windows on the Universe: The Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics". The investigators will mentor summer research for undergraduate and high school students and will increase awareness of plasma astrophysics through introductory lectures at minority-serving undergraduate institutions and through public outreach. The MPPC research will be concentrated in three areas: 1) basic physics of relativistic pair plasmas near compact objects, including radiative relativistic reconnection, pair creation, and interaction of strong waves with plasmas; 2) multi-scale modeling of compact objects, including the development of global models of merging neutron star magnetospheres, magnetar outbursts, black hole accretion disk flares, and particle acceleration in jets; 3) the physics of transport of cosmic rays in our galaxy, including streaming instabilities and interactions of cosmic rays with turbulence. The collaboration will develop models that will be used to predict electromagnetic precursors of neutron star mergers, constrain the sites of acceleration of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, and improve cosmic ray transport models for galactic wind driving. The Center will also provide scientific leadership in designing laboratory experiments for studying relativistic astrophysical plasmas with ultra-intense lasers. The Center includes four US nodes - Princeton University, Columbia University, University of Maryland, and Washington University in St. Louis, - and will have an international collaborative component with the participation of Max Planck Society institutes.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.