WoU-MMA: Multi-Messenger and Multi-Wavelength Particle Astrophysics with HAWC

高海拔水切伦科夫天文台(HAWC)位于墨西哥最高的山上，旨在观测被称为伽马射线的最高能量的天体物理源。与更传统的地面望远镜不同，HAWC在晴朗的夜晚指向一小片天空，它持续监测其上方的整个天空，作为一个取景器望远镜，是与其他天文台进行重合观测的理想合作伙伴。该奖项支持密歇根州立大学(MSU)的科学家使用HAWC研究宇宙中最极端环境中的物理条件和过程，以及测试基本物理问题，如暗物质的性质是什么。该小组还利用HAWC的数据参与了多信使天体物理学的研究，以寻找与冰立方中微子天文台探测到的高能中微子对应的伽马射线。HAWC令人振奋的科学能力通过公共宣传活动向普通受众传达，并正在为高中生开发一个关于伽马射线的新讲习班。该研究小组有着培训多样化劳动力的强大传统，目前包括妇女和代表性不足的少数民族。HAWC是世界上最强大的1-100 TeV伽马射线测量仪器。MSU小组为HAWC的建设、运作和科学做出了重大贡献。HAWC最近使用显著改进的重建软件重新处理了6年的数据。这些改进将极大地影响所有的分析，尤其是面向银河中心的来源搜索和分析。HAWC的宽视场和连续运行意味着它可以研究非常广泛的伽马射线发射区域，并几乎连续地监测时变现象。密歇根州立大学团队将使用这些能力，并利用其同时在HAWC和IceCube上拥有成员的独特地位，执行与IceCube中微子事件相关的时变伽马射线源的多信使搜索，以及暗物质的组合搜索。向高中生提供的密歇根州立大学硕士系列课程将增加一个关于伽马射线和HAWC探测器的模块。这项工作直接涉及美国国家科学基金会“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理学时代”的目标。这一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。

The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory is located on the highest mountain in Mexico and is designed to observe astrophysical sources at the highest energies of light, called gamma rays. Unlike more traditional ground-based telescopes that point at a small region of sky on clear nights, HAWC continuously monitors the full sky above it serving as a finder telescope and an ideal partner for coincident observations with other observatories. This award supports scientists at Michigan State University (MSU) to use HAWC to study the physical conditions and processes in the most extreme environments in the Universe, as well as test fundamental physics questions such as what’s the nature of dark matter. The group also participates in studies of multi-messenger astrophysics using HAWC’s data to search for gamma-ray counterparts to the high-energy neutrinos detected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The exciting science capabilities of HAWC are conveyed to general audiences through public outreach activities and a new workshop on gamma rays for high-school students is being developed. The research group has a strong tradition of training a diverse work force and currently includes women and under-represented minorities.HAWC is the world’s most powerful survey instrument for 1-100 TeV gamma rays. The MSU group has made significant contributions to HAWC’s construction, operations, and science. HAWC recently reprocessed 6 years of data with significantly improved reconstruction software. The improvements will greatly impact all analyses but especially source searches and analyses looking towards the Galactic Center. HAWC’s wide field-of-view and continuous operation means it can study very extended regions of gamma-ray emission and monitor time-varying phenomena nearly-continuously. The MSU group will use these capabilities as well as capitalize on their unique position of having members on both HAWC and IceCube simultaneously to perform multi-messenger searches for time-varying gamma-ray sources correlated with IceCube neutrino events and combined searches for dark matter. A module on gamma rays and the HAWC detector will be added to the MSU Masterclass series offered to high school students. This work directly addresses the goals of NSF's "Windows on the Universe: The Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics" 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.