WoU-MMA: Particle Astrophysics with HAWC

伽玛射线是能量最高的电磁辐射形式，其天体物理观测为研究宇宙中极端天体物理环境的过程提供了手段。位于墨西哥塞拉内格拉的高空水切伦科夫（HAWC）天文台是一个高灵敏度、宽视场、连续运行的太电子伏特（TeV）伽马射线望远镜。HAWC旨在探索宇宙射线的起源，研究极端物理环境下粒子的加速，并在tev及更高的尺度上寻找新的物理学。该奖项支持马里兰大学帕克分校（University of Maryland, College Park）的科学家与HAWC天文台一起操作和执行数据分析。HAWC数据将用于提供TeV天空的新视角，发现新的来源和来源类别，为暗物质设定新的限制，并在多信使/多波长观测中发挥关键作用。该团队将参与指导活动，包括UMD GRAD-MAP计划，为当地HBCUs和社区学院的学生创造研究机会，并与美国和墨西哥的小学生、本科生、老年人等教育机构进行广泛的接触。HAWC天文台由300个大型水切伦科夫探测器（wcd）组成，周围是350个较小的wcd组成的支臂阵列，位于墨西哥海拔4100米的地方。HAWC的宽视场和超过95%的正常运行时间同时监测费米、LIGO/Virgo和冰立方观测到的同片天空，以寻找伽马射线暴和活动星系核等瞬态现象。HAWC向其他观测者发送警报，触发多波长和多信使观测，并向其他观测者提供TeV天空地图。HAWC发现的极高能量源，如星系pevatron、TeV Halows、微类星体和天鹅座茧，导致了其他小组的后续观测。HAWC数据分析的改进将提供详细的源形态和光谱，从而发现新的源，并增强搜索，提高对高能量瞬态现象的灵敏度。这个项目推进了NSF宇宙大构想窗口的目标。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。

Gamma-rays are the highest energy form of electromagnetic radiation, and their astrophysical observation provides the means to study the processes of extreme astrophysical environments in the Universe. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory, located in the Sierra Negra in Mexico, is a high-sensitivity, wide field-of-view, continuously operating teraelectronvolt (TeV) gamma-ray telescope. HAWC is designed to explore the origin of cosmic rays, study the acceleration of particles in extreme physical environments, and search for new physics at the TeV-scale and beyond. This award supports scientists at the University of Maryland (UMD), College Park, in operating and performing data analyses with the HAWC observatory. HAWC data will be used to provide a new look at the TeV sky, discovering new sources and source classes, setting new limits on dark matter, and playing a key role in multi-messenger/multi-wavelength observations. The team will participate in mentoring activities, including the UMD GRAD-MAP program, creating research opportunities for students from local HBCUs and community colleges, and broad outreach with educational institutions from elementary school students, to undergraduate students, to senior citizens in the US and Mexico. The HAWC observatory consists of 300 large water Cherenkov detectors (WCDs) surrounded by an outrigger array of 350 smaller WCDS located at an altitude of 4100 m in Mexico. HAWC’s wide field-of-view and greater than 95% up-time simultaneously monitors the same sky observed by Fermi, LIGO/Virgo, and IceCube to search for transient phenomena like gamma-ray bursts and flaring active galactic nuclei. HAWC sends alerts to other observers, triggering multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observations, as well as provides maps of the TeV sky to other observatories. HAWC’s discoveries of extremely high-energy sources, such as galactic PeVatrons, TeV Halows, microquasars, and the Cygnus Cocoon, have led to follow-up observations by other groups. Improvements in the HAWC data analyses will provide detailed source morphology and spectra, leading to the discovery of new sources and enhanced searches with improved sensitivity to transient phenomena at higher energies. This project advances the goals of the NSF Windows on the Universe Big Idea.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.