??In accordance with NASA's Strategic Objective of discovering how the universe works and exploring how it began and evolved, we study particle interactions in the most powerful astrophysical objects and associated with particle dark matter. The goal of this research is to identify sources of astrophysical neutrinos and the highest energy cosmic rays and identify prospects for multi-messenger observations performed by gamma-ray, neutrino, UHECR, and gravitational wave telescopes. The research involves studying particle acceleration and interactions in astrophysical objects such as active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, and structure formation shocks, as well as calculating fluxes of gamma rays, neutrinos, and cosmic rays from models of the annihilation or decay of dark matter. The fate of very-high energy gamma rays and ultra-high cosmic rays as they propagate through the infrared, optical, and ultraviolet background and the cosmic microwave background is also researched. In particular, we seek to determine how cascades of particles produced through these interactions impact astrophysical observations conducted at lower energies, especially gamma rays, and to determine the cosmogenic neutrino background. Also of interest are the intervening magnetic fields that deflect charged particles as they propagate over cosmological distances and their resulting impact on the fluctuation angular power of cosmological photon and neutrino backgrounds. Finally, in line with the aforementioned research, we seek astrophysical and observational probes of new physics, including photon-axion oscillations and Lorentz-invariance violation.Location:
Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
Field of Science:Astrophysics
Advisors:
Tonia Venters
tonia.m.venters@nasa.gov
301-614-5546

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