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

该奖项建立了一个多机构和国际协作的多信使等离子体物理中心（MPPC），专注于研究基本等离子体过程，目标是对天体物理信号源进行建模。 最近发现的黑洞和中子星合并产生的引力波，以及高能中微子和超高能宇宙射线的探测，预示着多信使天文学（MMA）的兴起，其目的不仅是通过光，还可以通过引力波和高能粒子来观察天空。 然而，MMA 信号的解释很大程度上取决于我们理解、预测和建模多信使源电磁对应物的能力。在大多数关于这些光源的理论中，光来自经历非常强的引力场、磁场和辐射场的相对论等离子体。等离子体如何在这些条件下产生可观测的辐射挑战了我们对等离子体物理学的理解。 MPPC 将研究相对论等离子体中导致可观测到的多信使源发射的基本过程，从而实现 NSF 的“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理学时代”的目标。研究人员将指导本科生和高中生的暑期研究，并将通过在少数族裔本科院校的介绍性讲座和公众宣传来提高对等离子体天体物理学的认识。 MPPC的研究将集中在三个领域：1）致密物体附近相对论对等离子体的基础物理，包括辐射相对论重联、对产生以及强波与等离子体的相互作用； 2）致密天体的多尺度建模，包括合并中子星磁层、磁星爆发、黑洞吸积盘耀斑和喷流中粒子加速的全局模型的开发； 3）宇宙射线在银河系中传输的​​物理学，包括流动不稳定性以及宇宙射线与湍流的相互作用。此次合作将开发模型，用于预测中子星合并的电磁前兆，限制超高能宇宙射线的加速位置，并改进银河风驱动的宇宙射线传输模型。该中心还将在设计实验室实验方面提供科学领导，以利用超强激光研究相对论天体物理等离子体。该中心包括四个美国节点——普林斯顿大学、哥伦比亚大学、马里兰大学和圣路易斯华盛顿大学——并将有马克斯·普朗克学会研究所参与的国际合作部分。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。

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.