WoU-MMA: Pinning the Generation of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays with First Principles Plasma Simulations

该奖项支持一项研究，即如何将最高能量的宇宙射线加速到我们测量到的这些粒子所具有的能量。超高能宇宙线(UHECRs)的起源几十年来一直是高能天体物理学中一个悬而未决的问题。人们普遍认为，附近宇宙中的银河系外源负责产生这些能量极高的宇宙射线。活动星系核通常被认为是UHECRs最有希望的来源。然而，我们对活动星系核中加速UHECR的过程的理论理解远远落后于观测进展。该项目将执行先进的计算机模拟，以高精度和高细节在微观水平上模拟粒子的加速。通过研究加速的带电粒子以及相关的伽马射线和中微子的性质，这项研究将有助于解释当前和未来的观测结果，并最终为最高能量宇宙射线的起源提供见解。通过这样做，该项目实现了美国国家科学基金会“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理时代”计划的目标。研究计划侧重于开发最先进的等离子体湍流的完全动力学模拟，考虑到同步加速器和逆康普顿辐射的冷却损失，以及光-强子相互作用。这个项目的主要目标是更好地理解宇宙线加速的物理学，以及在等离子体湍流和磁重联位置内电子和正电子的同时能量。设计的超级计算机模拟不仅将产生加速粒子的自洽能量分布，而且还允许探索粒子分布与调节粒子能化过程的关键物理参数之间的关系。这项研究项目将对活动星系核的相对论喷流和日冕中与湍流能量耗散有关的超高回旋共振的加速、光子谱和中微子发射进行物理上的预测。这些预测将有助于解释当前和未来的多信使观察，有助于我们理解UHECR的起源。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports a study of how highest energy cosmic rays can be accelerated to the energies we measure these particles to have. The origin of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) has remained an unsolved question of high energy astrophysics from several decades. It is generally believed that extragalactic sources in the nearby universe are responsible for producing these cosmic rays with extremely high energies. Active galactic nuclei are generally suggested as the most promising sources of UHECRs. However, our theoretical understanding of the processes that can accelerate UHECRs in active galactic nuclei lags far behind the observational progress. This project will perform advanced computer simulations that model the acceleration of particles at the microscopic level with high accuracy and detail. By studying the properties of the accelerated charged particles and the associated gamma-rays and neutrinos, this research will contribute to interpreting current and future observations and ultimately provide insights into the origin of the highest energy cosmic rays. In doing so, the project addresses goals of NSF's "Windows on the Universe: The Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics" program.The research plan focuses on developing state-of-the-art fully kinetic simulations of plasma turbulence in magnetically dominated environments, taking into account cooling losses from synchrotron and inverse Compton radiation, as well as photo-hadronic interactions. The main goal of this project is to achieve a better understanding of the physics of cosmic ray acceleration, as well as the simultaneous energization of electrons and positrons within plasma turbulence and magnetic reconnection sites. The designed supercomputer simulations will not only produce self-consistent energy distributions of the accelerated particles, but also allow for the exploration of the relationship between the particle distributions and the key physical parameters that regulate the particle energization process. Physically-grounded predictions for the acceleration of UHECRs, the photon spectrum, and neutrino emission associated with turbulent energy dissipation in relativistic jets and coronae of active galactic nuclei will be produced by this research project. The predictions will aid in the interpretation of current and future multi-messenger observations, contributing to our understanding of the origin of UHECRs.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.