Collaborative Research: The Radiation Magnetohydrodynamics of Tidal Disruption Events

合作研究：潮汐破坏事件的辐射磁流体动力学

• 批准号: 2307885
• 负责人: Philip Chang
• 金额: $ 28.77万
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• 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: 2023-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2307885&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Radiation; Magnetohydrodynamics; Tidal

A tidal disruption event (TDE) is an astrophysical phenomenon that occurs when a star approaches sufficiently close to a supermassive black hole (SMBH) to be pulled apart by the black hole’s tidal force. As this happens, part of the star’s mass is captured in an accretion disk around the black hole (BH), and as this matter falls into the black hole, it accelerates, generating electromagnetic radiation, which can be detected by astronomical telescopes. To better study these events, which can help scientists understand strong gravitational fields, the space around the cores of galaxies, and physics of accretion, a research collaboration between the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Virginia will use numerical simulations to probe the radiation magnetohydrodynamics (the study of emission from highly magnetized plasmas) of TDEs and how the physics is manifest through observational signatures. The investigators will also provide outreach and educational opportunities for students and the community, including presentations at the Manfred Olson Planetarium in Milwaukee, teaching at a summer school in computational science, and mentoring undergraduate students in the VA-NC Alliance and UVA-Spelman exchange summer programs, with the goal of increasing participation of underrepresented groups in STEM research fields.The investigators will use the numerical codes MANGA and Athena++, for which they have made significant algorithmic investments, and which are ideal for numerical simulations of this TDEs. The investigators will realistically model the tidal disruption of stars from initial disruption to fallback and subsequent accretion. In particular, they will determine how magnetic fields and radiation pressure affect the tidal streams from the star’s disruption, drive the evolution of stream-stream collisions, and impact the subsequent accretion onto the black hole, allowing them explore the physics of super-Eddington accretion in TDE events and their observational signatures. This work is crucial for the intepretation of the the large number of events that will be discovered with the current transient surveys and the Vera Rubin Observatory in the near future.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.

潮汐破坏事件（TDE）是一种天体物理现象，当一颗恒星足够接近超大质量黑洞（SMBH）并被黑洞的潮汐力拉开时，就会发生这种现象，恒星的部分质量被捕获。黑洞（BH）周围的吸积盘，当这种物质落入黑洞时，它会加速，产生电磁辐射，可以被天文望远镜探测到，以便更好地研究。这些事件可以帮助科学家了解强引力场、星系核心周围的空间以及吸积物理学，威斯康星大学密尔沃基分校和弗吉尼亚大学之间的一项研究合作将使用数值模拟来探测辐射磁流体动力学。研究 TDE 的高磁化等离子体的发射以及物理现象如何通过观测特征表现出来。研究人员还将为学生和社区提供外展和教育机会，包括在曼弗雷德的演讲。位于密尔沃基的奥尔森天文馆，在计算科学暑期学校任教，并指导 VA-NC 联盟和 UVA-Spelman 交换暑期项目的本科生，目标是增加 STEM 研究领域代表性不足的群体的参与。研究人员将使用数字代码 MANGA 和 Athena++，他们为此进行了大量的算法数值投资，并且非常适合模拟这种 TDE。研究人员将真实地模拟恒星从初始破坏到后退以及随后的潮汐破坏。特别是，他们将确定磁场和辐射压力如何影响恒星分裂产生的潮汐流，驱动流-流碰撞的演化，并影响随后对黑洞的吸积，使他们能够探索超级物理学。 - TDE 事件中的爱丁顿吸积及其观测特征对于解释当前瞬态调查和维拉鲁宾天文台在不久的将来将发现的大量事件至关重要。授予 NSF 的法定使命，并通过评估反映使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，被认为值得支持。