CAREER: Fast Radio Bursts Illuminating the Unseen Universe

事业：快速射电爆发照亮了看不见的宇宙

• 批准号: 2240032
• 负责人: Vikram Ravi
• 金额: $ 51.71万
• 依托单位: California Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-01 至 2027-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2240032&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Fast; Radio; Bursts; Illuminating

On a dark night, the stars appear unchanging and immeasurably remote. But if one could see the sky with radio eyes, it would appear like a never-ending fireworks show. Bright flashes would occur once every few seconds, somewhere in the sky. Unlike the stars we are used to, however, these “fast radio bursts” (FRBs) are from distant galaxies. Little is understood about the sources of FRBs, or about the billions of light-years of mostly empty space through which they travel towards the Earth. The physics of how FRB sources release more energy in milliseconds than the Sun releases in months is unknown. Perhaps more mysteriously, most matter in the Universe has not yet been observed, and so we do not know how what structures it forms in the space between galaxies. To tackle these problems, this project will gather and analyze data for FRBs discovered with a new telescope, the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA-110). In parallel these FRB host galaxies will also be observed with large optical telescopes. The project will leverage this research program to enrich a modern, active-learning education program that impacts students from high school to graduate school. The education program will be centered on a student-led experiment to find the nearest, brightest FRBs by building and operating radio Burst Detectors (BuDes). Fundamental questions on FRBs and the nature of the medium through which the radio pulses propagate will be investigated using arcsecond-localized of FRBs obtained with DSA-110, and optical observations of the host and intervening galaxy systems. First, FRB dispersion measures probe the medium out of which galaxies form, in which they evolve, and which they enrich. Such measures will address the baryon occupation fraction of halos of different masses, a quantity where galaxy formation simulations are in strong disagreement. Second, FRB sources likely represent heretofore unknown classes of neutron star. The proposed education program will address three goals: (a) effective university teaching in a modern context, (b) broadening participation and the diversity of backgrounds in STEM fields, and (c) expanding the career options for astronomy and physics students. The education program will initiate a new annual class to involve undergraduate students in the commissioning of the all-sky BuDes detectors that will be able to detect brighter FRBs. High-school students will be involved in the program on an annual basis through the Summer Research Connection to implement web-based tools to display and analyze data from the BuDe network.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.

在漆黑的夜晚，星星显得一成不变，遥不可及。但如果人们能用射电眼看到天空，那就像是一场永不停歇的烟花表演。天空某处每隔几秒就会出现一次明亮的闪光。然而，与我们习惯的恒星不同，这些“快速射电爆发”（FRB）来自遥远的星系。人们对快速射电暴的来源知之甚少，也不清楚它们穿过数十亿光年、几乎空无一物的太空到达地球。快速射电暴源在几毫秒内释放的能量如何比太阳在几个月内释放的能量还要多，这一物理原理尚不清楚。也许更神秘的是，宇宙中的大多数物质尚未被观测到，因此我们不知道它在星系之间的空间中如何形成什么结构。为了解决这些问题，该项目将收集并分析使用新型望远镜——深度天气阵列（DSA-110）发现的快速射电暴（FRB）的数据。 与此同时，大型光学望远镜也将观测到这些快速射电暴主星系。该项目将利用这一研究计划来丰富现代主动学习教育计划，影响从高中到研究生院的学生。该教育计划将以学生主导的实验为中心，通过建造和操作无线电爆发探测器（BuDes）来寻找最近、最亮的快速射电暴。 将使用 DSA-110 获得的弧秒定域快速射电暴以及对宿主和介入星系系统的光学观测来研究有关快速射电暴和射电脉冲传播介质性质的基本问题。首先，FRB色散测量探测星系形成、演化和富集的介质。这些措施将解决不同质量的光晕的重子占据比例，这是星系形成模拟中存在强烈分歧的一个量。其次，FRB 源可能代表迄今为止未知的中子星类别。拟议的教育计划将实现三个目标：（a）现代背景下的有效大学教学，（b）扩大STEM领域的参与和背景多样性，以及（c）扩大天文学和物理学学生的职业选择。该教育计划将启动一个新的年度课程，让本科生参与调试全天空 BuDes 探测器，该探测器将能够探测更亮的 FRB。高中生将每年通过夏季研究连接参与该计划，以实施基于网络的工具来显示和分析来自 BuDe 网络的数据。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。