Theory and Phenomenology of Neutrinos in the Multimessenger Astronomy Era

多信使天文学时代的中微子理论与现象学

• 批准号: 2309973
• 负责人: Cecilia Lunardini
• 金额: $ 45万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 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: 2023-08-01 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2309973&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Theory; Phenomenology; Neutrinos; Multimessenger; Astronomy

This project is in the area of theoretical nuclear and particle astrophysics. It is centered on the physics of neutrinos, elementary particles that are produced abundantly in stars and galaxies. These astrophysical neutrinos have been observed on the ground, and many more observations are expected for the near future. Theoretical research will be very important to interpret the data. It will answer current open questions and pose new ones, on the fundamental processes that take place in stars and on how the properties of neutrinos influence them. The project will provide excellent training grounds for junior scientists that will prepare them for their future careers in industry and academia, thus enriching the scientific community.A major area of investigation is the physics of 1-10 MeV neutrinos from core collapse supernovae, which is a strategic opportunity for upcoming neutrino detectors. Part of the effort is to improve predictions of the diffuse flux of cosmological supernovae, which may soon be detected, by including realistic effects of stellar evolution on the collapsing star. Another goal is to study how the emission of neutrinos in a supernova can cause secondary signals of other messengers, like gamma ray flashes or gravitational waves. The interplay of neutrinos and gravitational wave emissions from a supernova is investigated, with focus on the potential of a joint analysis of data from these two messengers. A second thrust of the project is on interpreting the observed flux of TeV-PeV neutrinos from outside our galaxy, which is still of uncertain origin. The focus is a scenario, which is supported by recent data, where some of the detected neutrinos are produced by star-shredding black holes (tidal disruption events). The plan is to develop detailed, consistent predictions of neutrinos, photons and cosmic rays from these events, and compare the predictions to the existing data to constrain the main model parameters.This project advances the objectives of "Windows on the Universe: the Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics", one of the 10 Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments.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.

这个项目属于理论核物理和粒子天体物理领域。它以中微子物理学为中心，中微子是在恒星和星系中大量产生的基本粒子。这些天体物理中微子已经在地面上被观测到，预计在不久的将来会有更多的观测。理论研究对于解释数据将是非常重要的。它将回答目前悬而未决的问题，并提出新的问题，关于恒星中发生的基本过程，以及中微子的性质如何影响它们。该项目将为初级科学家提供良好的培训场地，为他们未来在工业界和学术界的职业生涯做好准备，从而丰富科学界。一个主要的研究领域是来自核心坍缩超新星的1-10 MeV中微子的物理学，这是即将到来的中微子探测器的战略机会。这项工作的一部分是通过将恒星演化对坍缩恒星的实际影响包括在内，来改进对宇宙超新星漫射通量的预测，这可能很快就会被探测到。另一个目标是研究超新星中中微子的发射如何引起其他信使的二次信号，如伽马射线闪光或引力波。中微子和引力波从超新星发射的相互作用进行了研究，重点是对这两个信使的数据进行联合分析的潜力。该项目的第二个重点是解释观测到的来自银河系外的TeV-PeV中微子的通量，这些中微子的起源仍然不确定。重点是一个场景，最近的数据支持，其中一些检测到的中微子是由恒星粉碎黑洞（潮汐破坏事件）产生的。该计划是对这些事件产生的中微子、光子和宇宙射线进行详细、一致的预测，并将预测结果与现有数据进行比较，以约束主要模型参数。该项目推进了“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理学时代”的目标，这是美国国家科学基金会未来投资的十大理念之一。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。