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.

在一个漆黑的夜晚，星星显得不变且令人难以置信。但是，如果人们可以用无线电眼睛看到天空，那看起来就像是无休止的烟花表演。明亮的闪光将每隔几秒钟就发生一次，在天空中的某个地方。但是，与我们习惯的星星不同，这些“快速无线电爆发”（FRB）来自遥远的星系。关于FRB的来源或大约数十亿光年的空白空间几乎没有理解。 FRB来源如何在几个月内释放比太阳发行更多的能量的物理学。也许尚未观察到更神秘的，大多数宇宙中的物质，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，该项目将收集和分析使用新望远镜（DSA-1110）发现的FRB的数据。同时，这些FRB宿主星系也将使用大型光学望远镜观察到。该项目将利用该研究计划来丰富一项现代，积极学习的教育计划，该计划影响高中到研究生院的学生。该教育计划将以学生为主导的实验为中心，通过构建和操作无线电爆发探测器（好成衣）找到最接近，最明亮的FRB。关于FRB和无线电脉冲传播的介质性质的基本问题将使用DSA-111获得的FRB的弧度定位，以及对宿主和中间星系系统的光学观察结果。首先，FRB色散测量探测星系形成的介质，它们在其进化并富集的介质。这样的措施将解决不同质量的光晕的重子入射，这一数量是银河形成模拟的强烈分歧。其次，美联储的消息来源可能代表了迄今未知类别的中子星。拟议的教育计划将解决三个目标：（a）在现代背景下有效的大学教学，（b）扩大参与和背景在STEM领域的多样性，以及（c）扩大天文学和物理学生的职业选择。该教育计划将启动新的年度课程，以使本科生的委托探测能够检测到更明亮的FRB的全屋接收器。高中生将通过夏季研究连接每年参与该计划，以实施基于Web的工具，以显示和分析Bude Network的数据。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用该基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响来评估NSF的法定任务，并被认为是宝贵的支持。