Collaborative Research: ANSWERS: Solar Energetic Particles, Solar Neutrons, and a New Space Weather Facility in Hawaii

合作研究：答案：太阳高能粒子、太阳中子和夏威夷的新空间天气设施

• 批准号: 2149811
• 负责人: James Ryan
• 金额: $ 66.59万
• 依托单位: University of New Hampshire
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-07-01 至 2026-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2149811&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; ANSWERS; Solar; Energetic

This project will measure the most powerful particles emitted by the Sun, i.e., Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) and Solar Neutron Particles (SNPs). These particles pose risks to astronauts and can lead to significant degradation or failure of electronics in space. Monitoring the particles and developing alert systems are important to advance resilience against such space weather hazards. Because SNPs arrive earlier than SEPs, their detection provides several extra minutes of warning for taking action. The project team from the University of Hawaii, University of New Hampshire, and University of Arizona will set up a new space weather (SW) center in Hawaii and deploy a neutron monitor (NM) on the summit of the Haleakala volcano. They will analyze energetic particle data from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the International Space Station and ground-based NMs. A report on these observations will be made available in real time to global and domestic users. The SW center will also provide extensive outreach programs advancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics expertise, especially among young women and underrepresented groups.This work addresses the causes of ground-level events from SEP events, specifically in the context of propagation and event characteristics. The team will analyze SEP events detected by AMS, employ models for tracking particle propagation in various regions of the heliosphere and Earth's magnetosphere and atmosphere, and extend the coverage of the NM network to a station particularly suitable for detecting SNPs and galactic cosmic rays with rigidity cutoff above 13 GV. Comparing direct measurements in space by AMS with those on the ground by NMs will shed light on the atmospheric shower cascades that lead to secondary particle production and probe the validity of different models for nuclear interactions in the low energy range (hundreds of MeV to few GeV) involving iron and light elements up to oxygen. Real-time monitoring data, parameters related to the interplanetary and geomagnetic environment, and space weather alerts will be provided by the SW center. High school students will be engaged in the science through science festivals, visits to the NM detector and working with NM and AMS studies at the SW center. ANSWERS projects advance the nation’s STEM expertise and societal resilience to space weather hazards by filling key knowledge gaps regarding the coupled Sun-Earth system.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.

该项目将测量太阳发出的最强大的颗粒，即太阳能颗粒（SEP）和太阳中子颗粒（SNP）。这些颗粒会对宇航员构成风险，并可能导致空间中电子设备的显着降解或失败。监测颗粒和开发警报系统对于提高这种空间天气危害的弹性很重要。由于SNP比SEP早到，因此他们的检测提供了几分钟的警告，以采取行动。来自夏威夷大学，新罕布什尔大学和亚利桑那大学的项目团队将在夏威夷建立一个新的太空天气（SW）中心，并在Haleakala火山的山顶上部署中性监视器（NM）。他们将分析来自国际空间站和基于地面NMS的Alpha磁光谱仪（AMS）的能量粒子数据。有关这些观察结果的报告将实时向全球和国内用户提供。 SW中心还将提供广泛的外展计划，推进科学，技术，工程和数学专业知识，尤其是在年轻妇女和代表性不足的群体中。这项工作涉及SEP事件的地面事件的原因，尤其是在传播和活动特征的背景下。该团队将分析AMS检测到的SEP事件，AMS，雇员模型，用于跟踪地球球和地球磁层和大气的各个区域的颗粒传播，并将NM网络的覆盖范围扩展到一个适合于检测SNP和Galactic Cosmic Rays的站点，并以13 GV高于13 GV。将AM与NMS在地面上的直接测量进行比较，将阐明大气淋浴级联反应，从而导致二次颗粒产生，并探测不同模型在低能范围内（数百个MEV至少数GEV）的核相互作用的有效性，涉及铁和光元素，直至氧气。 SW中心将提供实时监视数据，与星际和地磁环境有关的参数以及空间天气警报。高中生将通过科学节，参观NM探测器并在SW中心与NM和AMS研究一起参与科学。答案项目通过填补有关耦合太阳 - 地球系统的关键知识差距来提高国家的STEM专业知识和社会弹性对太空天气危害。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响来评估NSF的法定任务。