Astrophysical Transients and Compact Objects

我的研究项目旨在了解与黑洞和中子星有关的爆炸瞬态事件的物理学，例如中子星合并或大质量恒星的超新星。这些爆炸发生在地球实验室无法实现的极端物理条件下，因此与诸如宇宙中重元素的起源、高密度物质的性质、强引力和/或磁场中的物理学以及中微子的性质等前沿问题有关。为了最大限度地提高观测或实验设施（包括引力波天文台、光学或红外光瞬态观测、适用于超新星的中微子探测器或重离子加速器）的科学回报，彻底了解这些爆炸是必要的。所涉及的物理的复杂性需要密集的计算建模来获得有用的见解。该研究计划的长期目标是通过科学计算提高我们对这些宇宙爆炸的理论认识，从而产生更可靠的观测预测，从而允许将这些事件作为极端物理的探测器。到目前为止，我的工作——部分得到了探索基金的支持——是预测性和解释性的结合。我的研究小组对我们理解质量是如何从中子星合并中喷射出来的做出了重要贡献。这种物质抛射对电磁发射的产生至关重要。我们通过对这些系统进行计算流体动力学模拟来取得这些进展，这些系统还包括其他复杂的物理现象，如核反应、中微子过程或广义相对论的影响。我的团队还对大质量恒星在生命结束时形成黑洞进行了开创性的模拟，首次对所有类型的大质量前超新星祖先恒星进行了观测预测。在接下来的五年里，我建议用加拿大最强大的超级计算机来加深我们对这些爆炸的理解。我计划培养4名研究生，1名博士后，以及几名暑期本科生。这些高素质的人才将获得先进的高性能计算培训，以及解决一般问题的技能，特定领域的知识和科学沟通技巧，为他们的学术或工业研究生涯做好准备。我提出的计划的结果将影响国际社会的观测天文学家，通过产生更好的预测来面对观测，从而使这些事件成为宇宙实验室。此外，我的工作将补充国内新兴的瞬态观测者群体，以及加拿大成熟的核天体物理学家和中微子实验家群体。

My research program aims to understand the physics of explosive transient events related to black holes and neutron stars, such as neutron star mergers or supernovae from massive stars. These explosions operate in extreme regimes of physics that are not achievable in laboratories on Earth, and hence connect to frontier questions such as the origin of heavy elements in the universe, the properties of matter at high densities, physics in strong gravity and/or magnetic fields, and the properties of neutrinos. A thorough understanding of these explosions is necessary for maximizing the scientific return of observational or experimental facilities including gravitational wave observatories, surveys of transients in optical or infrared light, neutrino detectors applicable to supernovae, or heavy ion accelerators. The complexity of the physics involved requires intensive computational modelling to obtain useful insights. The long-term goal of the research program is to improve our theoretical understanding of these cosmic explosions through scientific computing, thereby producing more reliable observational predictions that allow using these events as probes of extreme physics. My work thus far - supported in part with Discovery Grant funds - has been a combination of predictive and interpretative. My research group has made important contributions to our understanding of how mass is ejected from neutron star mergers. This mass ejection is crucial for the production of electromagnetic emission. We make these advances by carrying out computational fluid dynamic simulations of these systems that also include other complex physics such as nuclear reactions, neutrino processes, or the effects of general relativity. My group has also produced ground-breaking simulations of black hole formation from massive stars that reach the end of their life, generating for the first time observational predictions for all types of massive pre-supernova progenitor star. For the next 5 years, I propose to deepen our understanding of these explosions using Canada's most powerful supercomputers. I plan to train 4 graduate students, one postdoctoral fellow, as well as several summer undergraduates. These highly-qualified personnel will gain advanced high-performance computing training, as well as general problem solving skills, domain-specific knowledge, and scientific communication skills, equipping them well for both academic or industrial research careers. The results of my proposed program will impact the international community of observational astronomers, by generating improved predictions to be confronted with observations, thereby enabling the use of these events as cosmic laboratories. Furthermore, my work will complement that of an emerging domestic community of transient observers, and well established communities of nuclear astrophysicists and neutrino experimentalists in Canada.