Collaborative Research: WoU-MMA: Understanding the Physics and Electromagnetic Counterparts of Neutrino Blazars with Numerical Simulations

合作研究：WoU-MMA：通过数值模拟了解中微子耀变体的物理和电磁对应物

• 批准号: 2308091
• 负责人: Fan Guo
• 金额: $ 27.03万
• 依托单位: New Mexico Consortium
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2308091&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; WoU; MMA; Understanding

Blazars are amazing cosmic events where powerful jets shoot out from the vicinity of the extremely large black holes located at the centers of galaxies. Scientists funded by the NSF recently found a very evasive particle called a neutrino coming from a blazar named TXS 0506+056. The investigators will use advanced computer simulations to study blazars in detail to unlock the secrets of these sources and make predictions for future discoveries. Undergraduate students at Purdue University will have the chance to actively take part in this exciting research. The investigators will also engage with high school students through the Saturday Morning Astrophysics Program at Purdue University.Blazars, relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei pointing very close to our line of sight, are among the most powerful cosmic particle accelerators in the Universe. They exhibit very bright, highly variable, nonthermal-dominated emission across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, indicating extreme particle acceleration in compact regions, often referred to as the blazar zone. This proposed program will study neutrino blazars combining MHD, PIC, particle transport, and polarized radiation transfer simulations. These simulations are designed to track the cosmic ray acceleration and transport, thus identify temporal correlation between neutrinos and multi-wavelength signatures as well as characteristic radiation patterns for neutrino blazars. This approach therefore leverages current observational efforts to reveal underlying blazar zone physics, and provides solid predictions for future multi-messenger discoveries. The project will offer research opportunities for undergraduate students at Purdue University. The wide context of the proposal equally allows for analytical and numerical projects as well as comparison with observations, so that undergraduates can pick the opportunity that fits their main interest. The Co-PI will also participate in outreach with high school students via the Saturday Morning Astrophysics Program at Purdue University. A new annual activity will be introduced connected to the topic of special relativity. It will involve presentations by the faculty and graduate students where the main concepts will be highlighted. The students will then be involved with hands-on, table-top activities where they can absorb these concepts. This outreach activity will culminate with a half-day Astrophysics Camp for students in the third year of the project.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.

耀变体是一种惊人的宇宙现象，它从位于星系中心的超大黑洞附近射出强大的射流。由美国国家科学基金会资助的科学家们最近发现了一种非常难以捉摸的粒子——中微子，它来自一颗名为TXS 0506+056的耀变体。研究人员将使用先进的计算机模拟来详细研究耀变体，以解开这些来源的秘密，并对未来的发现做出预测。普渡大学的本科生将有机会积极参与这项令人兴奋的研究。研究人员还将通过普渡大学的周六上午天体物理学项目与高中生进行接触。Blazars是来自活动星系核的相对喷流，非常接近我们的视线，是宇宙中最强大的宇宙粒子加速器之一。它们在整个电磁波谱中表现出非常明亮，高度可变，非热主导的发射，表明在紧凑区域（通常称为耀变体区）中存在极端的粒子加速。该计划将结合MHD、PIC、粒子输运和极化辐射传输模拟来研究中微子耀变体。这些模拟旨在跟踪宇宙射线的加速和传输，从而确定中微子与多波长特征之间的时间相关性以及中微子耀变体的特征辐射模式。因此，这种方法利用了当前的观测成果来揭示潜在的耀变体带物理，并为未来的多信使发现提供了可靠的预测。该项目将为普渡大学的本科生提供研究机会。该提案的广泛背景同样允许分析和数值项目以及与观察结果进行比较，因此本科生可以选择适合他们主要兴趣的机会。联合项目负责人还将通过普渡大学的周六上午天体物理学项目参与与高中生的交流。一项新的年度活动将与狭义相对论的主题有关。它将包括教师和研究生的演讲，主要概念将被突出。然后，学生将参与动手，桌面活动，他们可以吸收这些概念。这项拓展活动将在项目第三年为学生举办为期半天的天体物理学夏令营。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。