CAREER: Fast Radio Bursts Illuminating the Unseen Universe

事业：快速射电爆发照亮了看不见的宇宙

• 批准号: 2240032
• 负责人: Vikram Ravi
• 金额: $ 51.71万
• 依托单位: California Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-01 至 2027-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2240032&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Fast; Radio; Bursts; Illuminating

On a dark night, the stars appear unchanging and immeasurably remote. But if one could see the sky with radio eyes, it would appear like a never-ending fireworks show. Bright flashes would occur once every few seconds, somewhere in the sky. Unlike the stars we are used to, however, these “fast radio bursts” (FRBs) are from distant galaxies. Little is understood about the sources of FRBs, or about the billions of light-years of mostly empty space through which they travel towards the Earth. The physics of how FRB sources release more energy in milliseconds than the Sun releases in months is unknown. Perhaps more mysteriously, most matter in the Universe has not yet been observed, and so we do not know how what structures it forms in the space between galaxies. To tackle these problems, this project will gather and analyze data for FRBs discovered with a new telescope, the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA-110). In parallel these FRB host galaxies will also be observed with large optical telescopes. The project will leverage this research program to enrich a modern, active-learning education program that impacts students from high school to graduate school. The education program will be centered on a student-led experiment to find the nearest, brightest FRBs by building and operating radio Burst Detectors (BuDes). Fundamental questions on FRBs and the nature of the medium through which the radio pulses propagate will be investigated using arcsecond-localized of FRBs obtained with DSA-110, and optical observations of the host and intervening galaxy systems. First, FRB dispersion measures probe the medium out of which galaxies form, in which they evolve, and which they enrich. Such measures will address the baryon occupation fraction of halos of different masses, a quantity where galaxy formation simulations are in strong disagreement. Second, FRB sources likely represent heretofore unknown classes of neutron star. The proposed education program will address three goals: (a) effective university teaching in a modern context, (b) broadening participation and the diversity of backgrounds in STEM fields, and (c) expanding the career options for astronomy and physics students. The education program will initiate a new annual class to involve undergraduate students in the commissioning of the all-sky BuDes detectors that will be able to detect brighter FRBs. High-school students will be involved in the program on an annual basis through the Summer Research Connection to implement web-based tools to display and analyze data from the BuDe network.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.

在漆黑的夜晚，星星看起来一成不变，遥不可及，但如果用射电眼观察天空，就会发现天空中的某个地方每隔几秒钟就会出现一次永不停歇的烟花表演。然而，我们所熟悉的恒星，这些“快速射电暴”（FRB）来自遥远的星系，人们对快速射电暴的来源知之甚少，也不清楚它们穿过数十亿光年的大部分空旷空间。地球上的快速射电暴源如何在几毫秒内释放出比太阳在几个月内释放出的能量还未知的物理现象也许更神秘的是，宇宙中的大多数物质尚未被观测到，因此我们不知道它们在宇宙中是如何形成的。为了解决这些问题，该项目将收集和分析使用新型望远镜——深度天气阵列（DSA-110）发现的快速射电暴（FRB）的数据，同时也将使用大型光学望远镜观测这些快速射电暴主星系。该项目将利用这一研究计划来丰富影响从高中到研究生院的学生的现代主动学习教育计划。该教育计划将以学生主导的实验为中心，通过建造来寻找最近、最亮的快速射电暴。将使用 DSA-110 获得的弧秒定域 FRB 和光学观测来研究有关 FRB 和无线电脉冲传播介质性质的基本问题。首先，FRB色散测量探测星系形成、演化和富集的介质，这些测量将解决不同质量晕的重子占据部分，即星系形成的数量。其次，FRB 来源可能代表迄今为止未知的中子星类别。拟议的教育计划将解决三个目标：（a）现代背景下的有效大学教学，（b）扩大参与和背景多样性。 STEM 领域，以及 (c) 扩大天文学和物理学学生的职业选择，该教育计划将启动一个新的年度课程，让本科生参与调试全天空 BuDes 探测器，该探测器将能够探测更亮的 FRB。 -学校学生将通过夏季研究连接每年参与该计划，以实施基于网络的工具来显示和分析来自 BuDe 网络的数据。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用评估被认为值得支持基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。