Diffusion and acceleration of cosmic rays in astrophysical plasmas simulations

• Grant number: 19/19762-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2019
• End date: July 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Astronomy - Astrophysics of the Interstellar Medium
• Principal Investigator: Elisabete Maria de Gouveia Dal Pino
• Grantee: Luciana Andrade Dourado
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/10559-5 - Investigation of high energy and plasma astrophysics phenomena: theory, numerical simulations, observations, and instrument development for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), AP.ESP

Abstract

The origin of cosmic rays (CRs) is one of the great questions still open in high energy astrophysics. In our group GAPAE (High Energy and Plasma Astrophysics Group), we have been investigating for many years the origin, acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays in diffuse media and around compact sources (e.g., de Gouveia Dal Pino & Lazarian 2005; Kowal et al 2011, 2012; del Valle et al. 2016; Lebiga et al. 2018; de Gouveia Dal Pino et al. 2019; Rodriguez-Ramirez et al. 2019; Alves-Batista et al. 2019). These particles are associated with the most energetic phenomena in the Universe and are responsible for the production of gamma rays. Our group (through the Thematic Project 2013-10559-5) works in the CTA - Cherenkov Telescope Array - collaboration to build the largest gamma-ray astronomical observatory, which will have about 100 Cherenkov telescopes (CTA Cons. 2011, 2013, 2019). One of the goals of the CTA Project is to unravel the physical processes around compact sources producing CRs and gamma rays, such as black holes and supernova remnants. In this project, we will explore numerically the processes of diffusion and acceleration of CRs, introducing the scientific initiation student to the study of various physical processes and numerical techniques that we have been developing in our group. (AU)