WoU-MMA: Research & Development for the Southern Wide-Field Gamma-Ray Observatory (SWGO)

地球上的天文台收集数据来研究当今物理学和天文学中一些最具挑战性和最基本的问题。他们识别宇宙粒子加速器，研究星际介质，在遥远星系中寻找暗物质的迹象，并测试爱因斯坦狭义相对论的极限。宽视场、高占空比的仪器，如美国国家科学基金会资助的墨西哥高空水切伦科夫天文台（HAWC）和中国的大型高空空气雨星站（LHAASO），最近在测量天空伽马射线方面取得了巨大的成功。伽马射线是一种超越可见光谱的高能射线。他们的观察导致了上述所有领域的发现。这些突破强调了地面设施在物理学和天文学中发挥的关键作用。该项目聚集了来自8个美国机构的科学家，为下一代天体物理学研究的地面测量仪器：南方宽视场伽马射线天文台（SWGO）进行研究和开发。SWGO将位于南半球，在那里它将以前所未有的广角视野观察我们银河系的中心区域的伽马射线。美国的机构是全球合作的一部分，该合作涉及14个国家的70多个机构，正在努力使SWGO成为现实。该项目将确保美国在地面天体物理学领域的领导地位。项目团队致力于提高物理学和天文学的包容性，并将利用SWGO将建在南美洲的西班牙语国家这一事实，加强与美国西班牙裔社区的联系。SWGO将几乎不间断地在空间和时间领域调查伽马射线天空，并与冰立方中微子天文台、激光干涉仪引力波天文台（LIGO）、处女座干涉仪、费米太空望远镜和切伦科夫望远镜阵列（CTA）。该设施将为可变来源提供每日无偏监测，并向其他仪器提供近实时警报。它的档案数据集将使天空区域能够在其他实验警报报告之前和之后进行研究。对银河系附近最强大的粒子加速器的出色灵敏度是SWGO最大的优势之一，它将使人们能够对银河系中心区域进行前所未有的pevatron研究。为了实现这一目标，需要确定最佳的观测地点和探测器设计。在SWGO研发奖的支持下，该团队将调查南半球的地点，并在现有的HAWC天文台和最终选定的SWGO地点执行水切伦科夫探测器的端到端原型测试，包括电子和DAQ系统。根据实际基准测试得出的高水平模拟输出将优化未来SWGO的科学输出。该奖项与美国国家科学基金会“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理学时代”的大构想相一致，因为它协调了使用宽视场探测方法对高能伽马射线进行多信使观测的使用。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。

Earthbound observatories collect data to investigate some of the most challenging and fundamental questions in physics and astronomy today. They identify cosmic particle accelerators, study the interstellar medium, search for signs of dark matter in distant galaxies, and test the limits of Einstein's theory of special relativity. Wide field-of-view, high-duty-cycle instruments like the NSF-funded High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory in Mexico and the Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) in China have recently had tremendous successes in surveying the sky for gamma-rays - high energy rays of light beyond the visible spectrum. Their observations have led to discoveries in all the areas just mentioned. These breakthroughs underscore the crucial role that ground-based facilities play in physics and astronomy. This project gathers scientists from eight US institutions to perform research and development (R&D) for a next-generation ground-based survey instrument for astrophysics research: The Southern Wide-Field Gamma-Ray Observatory (SWGO). The SWGO will be located in the Southern Hemisphere, where it will have an unprecedented wide-field view of the center region of our Galaxy for gamma rays. The U.S. institutions are part of a global collaboration involving more than 70 institutions in 14 countries that are working to make the SWGO a reality. The project will ensure U.S. leadership in this field of ground-based astrophysics. The project team is committed to increasing inclusive excellence in physics and astronomy and will leverage the fact that the SWGO will be built in a Spanish speaking country in South America, to enhance outreach to Hispanic communities in the U.S.The SWGO will almost continuously survey the gamma-ray sky in the space and time domain and provide synergies with observatories like the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), the Virgo interferometer, the Fermi Space Telescope and the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The facility will provide daily unbiased monitoring for variable sources and near-real-time alerts to other instruments. Its archival data set will enable regions of the sky to be studied both before and after alerts from other experiments are reported. Excellent sensitivity to the most powerful particle accelerators in the local Galactic neighborhood is one of the greatest strengths of SWGO and will enable an unprecedented study of PeVatrons toward the Galactic center region. To achieve this, the optimal observatory site and detector design need to be identified. Supported by this SWGO R&D award the team will investigate Southern Hemisphere sites and perform end-to-end prototype tests of water Cherenkov detectors including electronics and DAQ systems at the existing HAWC Observatory and the ultimately selected SWGO site. The production of high-level simulation outputs that are informed by realistic benchmark tests will allow optimization of the science output of the future SWGO.The award is aligned with the NSF Big Idea of Windows on the Universe: the Era of Multi-messenger Astrophysics as it coordinates the use of multi-messenger observations of very high energy gamma rays using a wide-field detection approach.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.