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这些粒子所具有的能量。超高能宇宙线的起源问题是高能天体物理学几十年来一直没有解决的问题。一般认为，附近宇宙中的河外源是产生这些具有极高能量的宇宙射线的原因。活动星系核通常被认为是最有希望的UHECR源。然而，我们的理论认识，可以加速在活动星系核的UHECRs的过程远远落后于观测的进展。该项目将进行先进的计算机模拟，以高精度和细节在微观水平上模拟粒子的加速度。通过研究加速带电粒子和相关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，并最终提供对最高能量宇宙射线起源的见解。在此过程中，该项目实现了美国国家科学基金会“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理学时代”计划的目标。该研究计划的重点是开发最先进的磁主导环境中等离子体湍流的全动力学模拟，同时考虑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。该项目的主要目标是更好地理解宇宙射线加速的物理学，以及等离子体湍流和磁重联点内电子和正电子的同时振荡。所设计的超级计算机模拟不仅可以产生自洽的加速粒子的能量分布，而且还可以探索粒子分布与调节粒子加速过程的关键物理参数之间的关系。该研究项目将对UHECR的加速、光子谱和中微子发射与活动星系核的相对论喷流和日冕中的湍流能量耗散进行有物理依据的预测。这些预测将有助于解释当前和未来的多信使观测，有助于我们理解UHECRs的起源。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。

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.