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

高空水切伦科夫（HAWC）天文台位于墨西哥最高的山上，旨在观测最高能量的天体物理源，称为伽马射线。与传统的地面望远镜在晴朗的夜晚指向天空的一小部分不同，HAWC连续监测其上方的整个天空，作为发现望远镜和与其他天文台同步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。该小组还参与了多信使天体物理学的研究，使用HAWC的数据来搜索IceCube中微子天文台探测到的高能中微子的伽马射线对应物。HAWC令人兴奋的科学能力通过公共宣传活动传达给广大受众，目前正在为高中学生举办一个关于伽马射线的新讲习班。HAWC是世界上最强大的1-100 TeV伽马射线测量仪器。HAWC是世界上最强大的伽马射线测量仪器。MSU集团为HAWC的建设、运营和科学做出了重大贡献。HAWC最近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，尤其是对银河系中心的源搜索和分析。HAWC的宽视场和连续操作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。MSU小组将利用这些能力，并利用他们在HAWC和IceCube上同时拥有成员的独特地位，对与IceCube中微子事件相关的时变伽马射线源进行多信使搜索，并对暗物质进行联合搜索。一个关于伽马射线和HAWC探测器的模块将被添加到为高中学生提供的MSU大师班系列中。这项工作直接解决了NSF的“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理学时代”的目标。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为值得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来支持。

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.