Theoretical Studies in Gravitation and Astrophysics

引力和天体物理学的理论研究

• 批准号: 2308242
• 负责人: Antonios Tsokaros
• 金额: $ 54万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2026-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2308242&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Theoretical; Studies; Gravitation; Astrophysics

This award supports research in relativity and relativistic astrophysics, and it addresses the priority areas of NSF's "Windows on the Universe" Big Idea. The detection by LIGO/Virgo Scientific Collaboration of gravitational wave (GW) events from binary black hole (BHBH) mergers, binary neutron star (NSNS) mergers and several likely black hole-neutron star (BHNS) mergers opened a new window in the Universe that can help us understand the physics of matter under the most extreme conditions, something impossible by traditional means. The combined detection of GW, electromagnetic (EM) as well as neutrino radiation promises to resolve a number of long-standing astrophysical puzzles, such as the origin of short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) and r-process elements, as well as the nature of matter at supranuclear densities. Multimessenger astrophysics requires a comprehensive understanding of the physics of compact objects in a variety of configurations. The project will address several different problems whose common feature is the behavior of matter under extreme conditions in a dynamical, strongly gravitating regime and will involve General Relativity, relativistic hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics, as well as EM and neutrino transport. Most of these topics represent long-standing, fundamental problems in theoretical physics requiring large-scale computation for a solution. Hence this program involves a significant degree of large-scale simulations on supercomputers, in addition to analytical modeling. Movies of the simulations produced by the PIs will continue to be used as an undergraduate training vehicle. The research and outreach activities supported by this grant help promote the use of computers and visualization tools at all levels of education, as well as public awareness of some the latest and most exciting developments in gravitational physics and astrophysics. Young researchers trained in these areas will acquire skills that are useful beyond the scope of astrophysics in a plethora of applied domains, and hence they will be in great demand. To understand the current and future observations and, in particular, the interplay between strong gravity, EM, and the underlying microphysics, it is crucial to compare them to predictions from theoretical modeling. The problems to be tackled comprise both initial value and evolution computations and will treat spacetimes containing black holes immersed in gaseous environments, as well as spacetimes containing neutron stars with magnetic fields and both EM and neutrino radiation. Some of the topics for investigation include the inspiral and coalescence of compact binaries (BHBHs, NSNSs and BHNSs); the generation of GWs from merging binaries and other promising astrophysical sources, and their counterpart EM signals; gravitational collapse; the stability of magnetized rotating, relativistic stars and the evolution and final fate of unstable stars; gamma-ray burst sources; the formation and growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) from the magnetorotational collapse of supermassive stars and other scenarios; circumbinary disks around merging binary SMBHs in the cores of galaxies and quasars; and the profiles and observable signatures of dark matter around SMBHs in galaxy cores, including the Milky Way, and the dynamical evolution of clusters containing dark matter, stars and SMBHs. The results have important implications for astronomical observations, including those collected by and/or planned for GW interferometers.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.

该奖项支持相对论和相对论天体物理学的研究，并介绍了NSF“宇宙上的Windows”的优先领域。 Ligo/处女座的检测是从二进制黑洞（BHBH）合并，二进制中子星（NSNS）合并以及几位可能的黑洞中的明星（BHNS）合并的引力波（GW）事件的科学合作。 GW，电磁（EM）以及中微子辐射的联合检测有望解决许多长期存在的天体物理拼图，例如短伽马射线爆发（SGRBS）的起源（SGRBS）和R-PROCESS元素，以及在超核密度上的物质性质。多通用的天体物理学需要对各种配置中紧凑物体物理的物理学有全面的了解。该项目将解决几个不同的问题，它们的共同特征是在极端条件下的物质行为，在动态性，强烈的引诱制度下，将涉及一般相对论，相对论水动力学和磁性水力动力学，以及EM和中微子的运输。 这些主题中的大多数代表了理论物理学中长期存在的基本问题，需要大规模计算解决方案。因此，除了分析建模外，该程序还涉及超级计算机上的大规模模拟。 PIS制作的模拟电影将继续用作本科培训车辆。 这项赠款支持的研究和外展活动有助于促进各种教育的计算机和可视化工具的使用，以及公众对引力物理和天体物理学中一些最新和最令人兴奋的发展的认识。 在这些领域接受培训的年轻研究人员将获得超出众多应用领域天体物理学范围的技能，因此他们的需求很大。为了了解当前和将来的观察结果，尤其是强力，EM和潜在的微物理学之间的相互作用，将它们与理论建模的预测进行比较至关重要。要解决的问题既包括初始价值和进化计算，并且将处理含有浸入气态环境的黑洞，以及含有带有磁场的中子星以及EM和中微子辐射的空间。 一些调查的主题包括紧凑型二进制文件（BHBHS，NSNS和BHNS）的灵感和合并； GW从合并二进制文件和其他有前途的天体物理来源及其对应的EM信号产生的；重力崩溃；磁化旋转，相对论恒星以及不稳定恒星的进化和最终命运的稳定性；伽马射线爆发来源；超级质量星星和其他场景的磁化崩溃中超级质量黑洞（SMBH）的形成和生长；围绕星系和类星体核心二进制SMBH的二元SMBH围绕；以及银河系中SMBH周围暗物质的概况和可观察的特征，包括银河系，以及包含暗物质，星星和SMBH的簇的动态演变。结果对天文观察具有重要意义，包括由GW干涉仪收集的和/或计划的。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并且使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，认为值得通过评估来支持。