WoU-MMA: Understanding the Strongest Accelerators in our Galaxy by Combining Data from the HAWC Observatory and Other Instruments

天体物理伽马射线是电磁辐射的最高能量形式，它的观测提供了研究宇宙中最极端天体物理环境的条件和过程的能力。位于墨西哥塞拉内格拉的高海拔水切伦科夫（HAWC）天文台提供了从数百GeV到100 TeV以上的伽马射线发射的独特视角。该奖项支持密歇根理工大学的科学家与HAWC一起进行研究。对HAWC数据的分析将用于通过追踪与宇宙中产生伽马射线的物质和辐射场的相互作用来提高对宇宙射线加速和传输的理解。该团队将参与教育和推广活动，包括为教师开发一个研究体验项目，该项目将为高中和社区大学的教室以及夏季青年项目创建伽马射线和多信使天文学课程计划。HAWC天文台提供了一个独特的伽玛射线天空视图，其占空比接近100%，瞬时视场约为2立体度。随着天文台的灵敏度、图像和能量分辨率的提高，HAWC已经测量了北半球天空中最广泛的tev尺度伽玛射线数据集。采用最先进的统计方法，并将来自天文台的数据与多信使数据相结合，有可能显著提高我们对宇宙射线起源、加速和传输的极端来源的理解。同时，增强HAWC数据对多信使社区的可访问性可以最大限度地提高科学回报，特别是在恒星形成区、超新星遗迹、脉冲星风星云和双星系统等许多源类的研究中。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。

Observations of astrophysical gamma-rays, the highest energy form of electromagnetic radiation, provide the ability to study the conditions and processes in the most extreme astrophysical environments in the Universe. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory, located in the Sierra Negra in Mexico, provides a unique view on gamma-ray emission from hundreds of GeV to beyond 100 TeV. This award supports scientists at Michigan Technological University performing research with HAWC. Analyses of the HAWC data will be used to improve the understanding of cosmic ray acceleration and transport by tracing the interactions with matter and radiation fields in the Universe that produce gamma-rays. The team will participate in education and outreach activities, including developing a Research Experience for Teachers program that will create lesson plans for gamma-ray and multi-messenger astronomy for use in high school and community college classrooms and summer youth programs. The HAWC observatory provides a unique view of the gamma-ray sky, with a nearly 100% duty cycle and an instantaneous field-of-view of about 2 steradians. With realized improvements in the sensitivity, and the image and energy resolution of the observatory, HAWC has measured the most extensive TeV-scale gamma-ray dataset of the northern hemisphere sky. Employing state-of-the-art statistical methods and combining data from the observatory with multi-messenger data has the potential to significantly improve our understanding of extreme sources of cosmic ray origin, acceleration, and transport. At the same time, enhancing the accessibility of HAWC data to the multi-messenger community maximizes the science return, in particular in studies of a number of source classes including star forming regions, supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae, and binary systems. 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.