Project Info
Building a Galactic Atlas of Potential Cosmic Ray Sources
Eric Mayotte
emayotte@mines.edu
Project Goals and Description:
The student will work with an astrophysics cosmic ray propagation simulator (CRPropa) to build an atlas of potential galactic cosmic ray sources. This software accounts for the election of charged cosmic rays in the Galactic Magnetic Field (GMF) and will be used to pursue two goals.
1) The student will build up the expected local cosmic ray intensity and composition sky map for galactic sources placed at regular intervals in the Milky way galaxy. This map catalog will then be used in a related project, which is hunting for the highest energy galactic cosmic ray accelerator (a 100-year-old problem).
2) By pursuing this study, the student can conduct novel research estimating the maximum radius at which a cosmic ray source could be discovered from Earth, potentially resulting in a peer-reviewed article and an astrophysics journal.
More Information:
Grand Challenge: Not applicable.
Information on cosmic rays can be found on the Pierre Auger Open data and Outreach pages here:
<a href="https://opendata.auger.org/outreach.php">https://opendata.auger.org/outreach.php</a>
A long review written in part by Prof. Mayotte can be found here:
<a href="https://inspirehep.net/files/9207a1e1f4bb7ee13bf0d70389453c01">https://inspirehep.net/files/9207a1e1f4bb7ee13bf0d70389453c01</a>
CRPropa, the software the simulations will be run with, can be found here, complete with unable demos:
<a href="https://crpropa.github.io/CRPropa3/">https://crpropa.github.io/CRPropa3/</a>
Primary Contacts:
Eric Mayotte, emayotte@mines.edu
Student Preparation
Qualifications
The student should be familiar with Python, at the very least, interested in astrophysics, and interested in learning about what theoretical astrophysics research can look like.
It would be advantageous, but not necessary, for the student to be familiar with basic ssh and Linux terminal-based computer usage.
TIME COMMITMENT (HRS/WK)
4
SKILLS/TECHNIQUES GAINED
The student will learn about Python programming and plotting, producing and analyzing large simulation libraries, working in high-performance computing, working in theoretical astrophysics research, and potentially paper writing and presenting at conferences.
MENTORING PLAN
The student will meet with Prof. Mayotte once per week to discuss research progress and next steps.
The student will be given access to the astroparticle slack channel where they can reach out to the advisor, post-docs, and Ph.D. students for research or career help.
Twice per semester, the student and advisor will sit down to discuss career goals and set out a plan to help get the student there.
Preferred Student Status
Junior