OPP-PRF: Millimeter-wave Blazar Monitoring With Cosmic Microwave Background Experiments: A New Tool for Probing Blazar Physics

该项目将使用微波望远镜调查被称为活动星系核（AGN）的物体的亮度变化。AGN是由落在超大质量黑洞上的物质提供动力的。本研究的主要目的是利用多波长的光来研究活动星系核的亮度波动。通过研究不同波长的波动之间的联系，我们可以了解是什么导致了这些波动。该项目产生的数据将公开发布，以便进行其他科学调查。该项目的更广泛的影响包括在菲斯克-范德比尔特硕士到博士桥梁计划的研究生的培训。此外，研究人员将继续与全国有色人种协进会（ACT-SO）和第一次发现计划作为科学导师，顾问和教师为当地学前班和高中学生和教室。研究人员介绍了一种新的方法，该方法使用南极望远镜重新利用的宇宙微波背景（CMB）数据来产生AGN的毫米波长光变曲线，目的是进行多波长相关研究。本研究将利用活动星系核不同波长辐射间的相关性来更好地理解观测到的伽马射线辐射的起源和产生。该项目将资助首次大规模使用CMB数据进行活动星系核监测的努力，并将提供一个基础观测计划/战略，该计划/战略将在未来的CMB实验中实施。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。

This project will investigate the change in brightness of objects known as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) using microwave telescopes. AGN are powered by matter falling onto supermassive black holes. The primary objective of this research is to undertake a study of AGN brightness fluctuations using light in multiple wavelengths. By studying the connections between the fluctuations at different wavelengths, we can learn what causes these fluctuations. The data produced under this project will be publicly released to enable other scientific investigations. The broader impacts of this project include the training of graduate students in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge program. In addition, the researcher will continue to work with the NAACP (ACT-SO) and First Discoveries programs as a science mentor, advisor and teacher for local pre-K and high school students and classrooms. The researcher has introduced a new process that uses repurposed Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data from the South Pole Telescope to produce millimeter-wavelength light curves of AGN with the goal of conducting a multi-wavelength correlation study. This study will be use the measured correlations between different wavelength emissions from AGN to better understand the origin and production of observed gamma-ray emissions. This project will fund the first large-scale effort to use CMB data for AGN monitoring and will provide a foundational observing program/strategy that will be implemented in future CMB experiments.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.