Nuclear Physics from Multi-Messenger Mergers (NP3M)

来自多信使合并的核物理(NP3M)焦点研究中心的目标是在核物理和天体物理模拟方面创建一个全国性的努力，通过对中子星的多信使观测来系统地探索热而密集的强相互作用物质的性质。中子星合并探测的物质的密度和温度远远超过原子核中的密度和温度。NP3M中心将在核物理、天体物理和引力波物理之间形成一个新的跨学科合作，以推动解释观测所需的每个子领域的协调进展。NP3M中心将开发致密物质和热物质的理论模型，通过数值模拟将中子星的多信使观测与潜在的合并动力学联系起来。中心成员将领导一项协调努力，研究核物理中的理论不确定性和数值模拟对合并中子星的多信使信号预测的影响(端到端)。他们将领导一项平行的努力，将观测约束反向传播到核物理，将天文观测与实验室结果联系起来。多信使合并核物理(NP3M)合作由美国各地的研究人员组成，旨在了解原子核以及中子和质子之间的相互作用如何影响两颗中子星的合并。中子星是一种致密的恒星物体，是恒星演化的最后阶段，质量约为太阳的8到20倍。中子星的演化受核物理控制。我们宇宙中的一些中子星是成对产生的，这些中子星最终会合并成一场激变事件，发出引力波、中微子和光子，创造出质量更大的中子星或黑洞。这些合并可能是地球上存在的比铁更重的原子核的重要组成部分的起源。这笔赠款支持对职业早期科学家的培训，他们将致力于这一问题的不同方面。NP3M中心将创建页面和视频，讨论多信使天文学的任何新发现如何影响核天体物理学。该中心将为K-12教育工作者开发核物理和多信使天文学课程，并举办两个暑期学校，教育学生与中心相关的科学。该项目推进了未来NSF投资的十大想法之一的“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理时代”的目标。该奖项反映了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。

The goal of the Nuclear Physics from Multi-Messenger Mergers (NP3M) Focus Research Hub is to create a national effort in nuclear physics and astrophysical simulations to systematically probe the properties of hot and dense strongly interacting matter with multi-messenger observations of neutron stars. Neutron star mergers probe the nature of matter at densities and temperatures far beyond those present in atomic nuclei. The NP3M Hub will form a new interdisciplinary collaboration across nuclear physics, astrophysics, and gravitational-wave physics to drive the coordinated advances in each of these sub-fields needed to interpret observations. The NP3M Hub will develop theoretical models of dense and hot matter to connect multi-messenger observations of neutron stars to the underlying merger dynamics by means of numerical simulations. Hub members will lead a coordinated effort to study the impact of theoretical uncertainties in the nuclear physics and the numerical modeling on the prediction of multi-messenger signals from merging neutron stars (end-to-end). They will lead a parallel effort to back propagate observational constraints to nuclear physics, connecting astronomical observations with laboratory results.The Nuclear Physics of Multi-Messenger Mergers (NP3M) collaboration is comprised of researchers across the US and aims to understand how atomic nuclei and the interactions between neutrons and protons impact the merger of two neutron stars. The evolution of neutron stars, the compact stellar objects which are the final stage in the evolution of stars between about 8 and 20 times the mass of the sun, is controlled by nuclear physics. Some neutron stars in our universe are created in pairs, and these pairs of neutron stars eventually merge in a cataclysmic event which emits gravitational waves, neutrinos, and photons, creating either a more massive neutron star or a black hole. These mergers are the likely origin of a significant fraction of the atomic nuclei heavier than iron which are present on earth. This grant supports the training of early-career scientists who will work on different aspects of this problem. The NP3M hub will create pages and videos that discuss how any new discoveries in multi-messenger astronomy impact nuclear astrophysics. The hub will develop a curriculum on nuclear physics and multi-messenger astronomy for K-12 educators, and host two summer schools that will educate students in hub-related science.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.