Science Overview

The goal of the Simulations for Multi-Messenger Astronomy (S4MMA) workshop is understand the needs for theory and simulation to be able to meet the challenges presented by multi-messenger observations over the next decade, allowing maximum extraction of understanding from our investments.

To achieve this mission, we have assembled a cross section of the communities of interest with broad expertise in nuclear, particle and gravitational physics, astrophysics and computational science in order to address the many facets of our uncertainties about the astronomical events capable of providing multi-messenger observations. TEAMS includes research in the following areas relevant to our mission,

Achieving our mission requires the synergy of these individual research areas. For example, nuclear matter and neutrino interactions with this nuclear matter, as well as conventional atomic nuclei, are essential elements of core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers. Therefore, the research efforts on nuclear matter and neutrino interactions provide essential input to our simulations of the supernovae and mergers. In a similar fashion, the final stages of the life of a massive star prior to its death in a core-collapse supernova set stage for the supernova. Therefore, research efforts on massive stellar evolution provide the critical initial conditions for supernova simulations.

Our work does not end with the simulations of the core-collapse supernova or neutron star merger event. We must test our simulations against the wealth of astronomical observations of supernovae and now neutron star mergers, we must compute how the signatures of our simulations would appear in to the various detectors and telescopes gathering this data.