WoU-MMA: Particle Astrophysics with HAWC

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Gamma-rays are the highest energy form of electromagnetic radiation, and their astrophysical observation provides the means to study the processes of extreme astrophysical environments in the Universe. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory, located in the Sierra Negra in Mexico, is a high-sensitivity, wide field-of-view, continuously operating teraelectronvolt (TeV) gamma-ray telescope. HAWC is designed to explore the origin of cosmic rays, study the acceleration of particles in extreme physical environments, and search for new physics at the TeV-scale and beyond. This award supports scientists at the University of Maryland (UMD), College Park, in operating and performing data analyses with the HAWC observatory. HAWC data will be used to provide a new look at the TeV sky, discovering new sources and source classes, setting new limits on dark matter, and playing a key role in multi-messenger/multi-wavelength observations. The team will participate in mentoring activities, including the UMD GRAD-MAP program, creating research opportunities for students from local HBCUs and community colleges, and broad outreach with educational institutions from elementary school students, to undergraduate students, to senior citizens in the US and Mexico. The HAWC observatory consists of 300 large water Cherenkov detectors (WCDs) surrounded by an outrigger array of 350 smaller WCDS located at an altitude of 4100 m in Mexico. HAWC’s wide field-of-view and greater than 95% up-time simultaneously monitors the same sky observed by Fermi, LIGO/Virgo, and IceCube to search for transient phenomena like gamma-ray bursts and flaring active galactic nuclei. HAWC sends alerts to other observers, triggering multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observations, as well as provides maps of the TeV sky to other observatories. HAWC’s discoveries of extremely high-energy sources, such as galactic PeVatrons, TeV Halows, microquasars, and the Cygnus Cocoon, have led to follow-up observations by other groups. Improvements in the HAWC data analyses will provide detailed source morphology and spectra, leading to the discovery of new sources and enhanced searches with improved sensitivity to transient phenomena at higher energies. This project advances the goals of the NSF Windows on the Universe Big Idea. 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.