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

该奖项建立了一个多机构和国际合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，目标是模拟天体物理信号的来源。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，MMA旨在不仅通过光观测天空，还通过引力波和高能粒子观测天空。然而，对MMA信号的解释，关键取决于我们理解、预测和模拟多信使源的电磁对应体的能力。在这些光源的大多数理论中，光来自经历非常强的引力、磁场和辐射场的相对论性等离子体。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将研究导致多信使源可观测发射的相对论等离子体的基本过程，从而实现NSF“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，并将通过在少数民族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方面：1)紧致物体附近相对论对等离子体的基本物理，包括辐射相对论重联、对产生和强波与等离子体的相互作用；2)致密天体的多尺度建模，包括中子星磁球合并、磁星爆发、黑洞吸积盘耀斑和喷流粒子加速的全局模型；3)宇宙射线在银河系中的传输物理学，包括流的不稳定性和宇宙射线与湍流的相互作用。该合作将开发模型，用于预测中子星合并的电磁前体，限制超高能量宇宙射线的加速位置，并改进星系风驱动的宇宙射线输运模型。该中心还将在设计用超强激光研究相对论天体物理等离子体的实验室实验方面发挥科学领导作用。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组成部分。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 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.