Collaborative Research: WoU-MMA: Understanding the Physics and Electromagnetic Counterparts of Neutrino Blazars with Numerical Simulations

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

Blazars are amazing cosmic events where powerful jets shoot out from the vicinity of the extremely large black holes located at the centers of galaxies. Scientists funded by the NSF recently found a very evasive particle called a neutrino coming from a blazar named TXS 0506+056. The investigators will use advanced computer simulations to study blazars in detail to unlock the secrets of these sources and make predictions for future discoveries. Undergraduate students at Purdue University will have the chance to actively take part in this exciting research. The investigators will also engage with high school students through the Saturday Morning Astrophysics Program at Purdue University. Blazars, relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei pointing very close to our line of sight, are among the most powerful cosmic particle accelerators in the Universe. They exhibit very bright, highly variable, nonthermal-dominated emission across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, indicating extreme particle acceleration in compact regions, often referred to as the blazar zone. This proposed program will study neutrino blazars combining MHD, PIC, particle transport, and polarized radiation transfer simulations. These simulations are designed to track the cosmic ray acceleration and transport, thus identify temporal correlation between neutrinos and multi-wavelength signatures as well as characteristic radiation patterns for neutrino blazars. This approach therefore leverages current observational efforts to reveal underlying blazar zone physics, and provides solid predictions for future multi-messenger discoveries. The project will offer research opportunities for undergraduate students at Purdue University. The wide context of the proposal equally allows for analytical and numerical projects as well as comparison with observations, so that undergraduates can pick the opportunity that fits their main interest. The Co-PI will also participate in outreach with high school students via the Saturday Morning Astrophysics Program at Purdue University. A new annual activity will be introduced connected to the topic of special relativity. It will involve presentations by the faculty and graduate students where the main concepts will be highlighted. The students will then be involved with hands-on, table-top activities where they can absorb these concepts. This outreach activity will culminate with a half-day Astrophysics Camp for students in the third year of the project. 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.