Multiple Approaches to Multiple-Messenger Astronomy

加州大学圣克鲁斯分校的一个研究小组将培训两名观测和理论天体物理学的研究生，重点关注多信使引力波(GW)天文学这一新领域。学生们将与两名首席调查人员和其他资深科学家合作，结合多种方法解决这一新兴领域的新问题。一名学生将主要使用研究人员优先使用的几台望远镜的数据，还将使用国家光学天文台望远镜、通过合作的望远镜，以及适当的公共数据。另一个学生将主要制作理论模型和数值模拟。主要的科学目标是(1)发现和表征GW事件的新的电磁(EM)对应物，(2)从合并的流体动力学模型开始产生新的模型来预测EM发射，(3)研究致密天体合并的人口统计学，(4)结合数据和理论来理解快速中子俘获(r-过程)核合成或原子元素的产生的物理学，以及(5)使用标准警报器测量宇宙的局部膨胀率。与这项研究相关的教育和公共推广计划将交叉促进科学家和学生在视觉艺术和数字媒体方面的培训，使用最先进的天体物理模拟和观测作为共同点。该团队将建立一个团队环境，显著增加接受过天体物理学培训的人数不足的学生的数量。由此产生的视觉产品将用于传播成果，让公众了解科学和宇宙，并为科学课程、纪录片和演示文稿提供原材料。该团队将直接与加州的现有合作伙伴合作，包括NSF资助的拉马特天体物理高性能计算夏季研究计划，该计划从代表性不足的群体中招募和指导学生。Lamat项目的关键组成部分包括通过暑期实习进行密集的研究指导、学术咨询和指导，以及融合家庭成员的研讨会。这一提议解决的首要问题是：新兴市场与GW活动有哪些对应关系？紧凑型对象合并的人口统计学特征是什么？什么环境会产生中子星合并？这些事件产生和驱逐了哪些元素？当地的宇宙膨胀率是多少？它与从遥远的探测器推断的膨胀率之间是否存在张力？我们如何才能最好地利用所有GW和EM数据以及先进的理论模型来改进我们对这些问题的回答？研究小组发现了SSS17a，这是第一个与GW源对应的光学元件。引力、核物理、最重元素的起源和宇宙学的知识都因这一发现而戏剧性地扩展。新研究项目的结果将涉及一些同样重要的物理问题。这个项目推进了NSF宇宙大理想之窗的目标。这一奖项反映了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。

A research group at the University of California, Santa Cruz will train two graduate students in observational and theoretical astrophysics, focusing on the new field of multi-messenger, gravitational wave (GW) astronomy. The students will work with the two lead investigators and other senior scientists to combine multiple approaches to solve new problems in this nascent field. One student will primarily work with data from several telescopes for which the researchers have preferential access, and will also use National Optical Astronomy Observatory telescopes, telescopes through collaborations, and public data when appropriate. The other student will primarily produce theoretical models and numerical simulations. The main scientific goals are to (1) discover and characterize new electromagnetic (EM) counterparts to GW events, (2) produce new models starting with hydrodynamical models of the merger to predict the EM emission, (3) study the demographics of compact-object mergers, (4) combine data and theory to understand the physics of rapid neutron-capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis, or the production of atomic elements, and (5) measure the local expansion rate of the universe using standard sirens. An education and public outreach program associated with the research will cross-fertilize the training of scientists and students in the visual arts and digital media using state-of-art astrophysical simulations and observations as common ground. The team will build a group environment that significantly increases the number of under-represented students trained in astrophysics. The resulting visual products will be used to disseminate results, inform the public about science and the Universe, and provide raw material for science curricula, documentaries, and presentations. The team will work directly with existing partners in California, including the NSF-funded Lamat Summer Research Program on High Performance Computing in Astrophysics, which recruits and mentors students from under-represented groups. Key components of the Lamat program include intensive research instruction through summer internships, academic counseling and mentoring, and workshops that integrate family members. The overriding questions addressed by this proposal are: What are the EM counterparts to GW events? What are the demographics of compact-object mergers? What environments produce neutron-star mergers? What elements are generated and expelled by these events? What is the local cosmic expansion rate and is there tension between it and the expansion rate inferred from distant probes? How can we best use all GW and EM data with advanced theoretical models to improve our answers to these questions? The research group discovered SSS17a, the first optical counterpart to a GW source. Knowledge of gravity, nuclear physics, the origin of the heaviest elements, and cosmology were all dramatically expanded by this discovery. The results of the new research project will address some similarly important physics. This project advances the goals of the NSF Windows on the Universe Big Idea.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.