Numerical Modeling of Superluminous Supernovae and Unusual Astronomical Transients

深、宽视场、高节奏天文学巡天的出现，带来了一种新的、动态的瞬态宇宙观，使天文学家能够更好地观察和理解恒星的死亡，并导致发现奇异的、发光的瞬态现象。 其中最重要的新发现是一类新的超亮超新星;恒星爆炸达到的光度比已经非常明亮的典型超新星高出10 - 1000倍，并在其观察到的特性中表现出惊人的多样性。这些发现引发了理论建模方面的多项努力，旨在了解所涉及的物理机制。 由路易斯安那州立大学领导的一个研究小组将在世界一流的超级计算设施上运行最先进的数值模拟，以便更好地了解这些超亮事件。他们将研究在这些现象中很重要的辐射传输物理学中经常被忽视的方面，并做出可以直接与观测结果进行比较的具体预测。 为了改善路易斯安那州及其他地区的教育环境，首席研究员将与K-12，本科生和研究生的多元化机构密切合作，以推进数值工具和数据分析方法的知识，重点是在工业中广泛使用的基础研究工具，特别是在数据科学，从而提高学生在就业市场和学术界内外的职业生涯中的技能和竞争力。在该项目中，将利用最先进的数值工具，以及现代瞬态搜索的数据，试图通过同时模拟观察到的这些事件的光变曲线和光谱来回答有关超发光事件的一些重要问题。最重要的问题包括：是什么机制，或机制的组合，为贫氢类超发光超新星提供动力？在决定超新星的辐射特性时，偶发的、超新星前的质量损失和星周相互作用的作用是什么？观测到的发光瞬变多样性的主要来源是什么？不寻常的瞬变现象和奇特的超新星的起源系统是什么？ 该项目由天文科学部和刺激竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF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。

The advent of deep, wide-field, high-cadence astronomy surveys has ushered in a new, dynamical view of the transient Universe, allowing astronomers to better observe and understand the deaths of stars, and leading to the discovery of exotic, luminous transient phenomena. Among the most important new discoveries is a new class of superluminous supernovae; stellar explosions reaching luminosities up to 10 - 1000 times higher than the already very bright typical supernovae, and exhibiting striking diversity in their observed properties. These findings have ignited multiple efforts in theoretical modeling, aiming to understand the physical mechanisms involved. A research team led by Louisiana State University will run state-of-the-art numerical simulations at world-class supercomputing facilities in order to better understand these super-bright events. They will study often-overlooked aspects of radiation transport physics that are important in these phenomena, and make specific predictions that can be directly compared with observations. In order to improve the education environment in Louisiana and beyond, the principal investigator will work closely with a diverse body of K-12, undergraduate and graduate students to advance knowledge of numerical tools and data analysis methods, with an emphasis on the basic research tools that are used extensively in industry, specifically in fields such as data science, thereby enhancing the students' skills and competitiveness in the job market and in careers within and beyond academia. In the project, state-of-the-art numerical tools will be utilized, together with data from modern transient searches, to attempt to answer a number of important questions about superluminous events by simultaneously modeling the observed light curves and spectra of these events. The most significant questions include: What mechanism, or combination of mechanisms, powers the hydrogen-poor class of superluminous supernovae? What is the role of episodic, pre-supernova mass-loss and circumstellar interaction in determining the radiative properties of supernovae? What is the main source of the observed diversity in luminous transients? What are the progenitor systems of unusual transient phenomena and peculiar supernovae? This project is jointly funded by the Division of Astronomical Sciences and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.