The National Academies Press

Currently Skimming:

Pages 342-366

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.

From page 342... ... Extending our reach to the extreme UV opens up discovery space in stellar exopheres, magnetism, and CME detection on stars other than the Sun by allowing the study of lines such as FeIX, FeX, FeXI, and so on. Providing multiplexing capability in the near UV is critical for observing those few stars in large samples that trace nucleosynthetic enrichment from the first generation of stars, as well as from merging neutron stars. Read the entire page →
From page 343... ... One way to make progress is to have another space mission that can make high-cadence observations of stars down to V > 16 magnitude for more than 4 years, with pixel sizes small enough to ensure contamination-free observations of dense stellar systems like cores of star clusters. Highly multiplexed, panchromatic, spectroscopic surveys are needed to obtain the precise temperatures, luminosities, elemental abundances, and velocities -- and their variance over time -- for the number and variety of stars to be investigated in the coming decade. Read the entire page →
From page 344... ... For maximum scientific return, it is necessary for other publicly supported facilities, whether ground- or space-based, to make their data public in a reasonable amount of time. TABLE G.1 Science Questions and Discovery Area Science questions: G-Q1: What are the most extreme stars and stellar populations? Read the entire page →
From page 345... ... Spectral resolution ≳20,000 the Milky Way in wavelength range from UV for detailed abundance work and rotational velocities, R ~2,000 for bulk abundance and radial velocities. Read the entire page →
From page 346... ... 346 PATHWAYS TO DISCOVERY IN ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS FOR THE 2020s TABLE G.2 Continued Capability Science Enabled Future Needs OIR monitoring (G-Q1) Asteroseismic characterization (1) Read the entire page →
From page 347... ... APPENDIX G 347 TABLE G.2 Continued Capability Science Enabled Future Needs (2) Radio interferometers with continuous frequency coverage from 10–400 GHz on sufficiently long baselines (~30–300 km) Read the entire page →
From page 348... ... In the long history of the decadal surveys, this is the first panel to be explicitly charged with focusing on the "enabling foundation." However, previous decadal surveys have discussed many of the issues raised in this report. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics (Astro2010) Read the entire page →
From page 349... ... This has resulted in significant long-term consequences that inhibit the community's ability to accomplish its goals and to retain talent. The obvious fact is that with proposal success rates so low, outstanding people and teams proposing to do outstanding science are not funded. Read the entire page →
From page 350... ... People from underrepresented groups are also disproportionately affected by these low success rates.6 Improvements can be made in the way grants are awarded. For example, in the NSF AAG program, a typical 3-year grant will fund a graduate student and, perhaps, 1 month of summer salary. Read the entire page →
From page 351... ... This passage was quoted in a recent National Science Board (NSB) study.10 The panel suggests as guidance that the annual budget of the grants programs be augmented by at least 1 percent of the construction costs of a space-based project, roughly what is currently done for flagships such as JWST and the Roman Telescope, and 2 percent of the construction costs of a ground-based project. Read the entire page →
From page 352... ... • Timely analyses of multi-messenger phenomena (across electromagnetic, gravitational wave, and particle detectors) , which would allow tests of fundamental physics, the nature of black holes, and cosmology, and triggering of follow-up observations, if they can be performed rapidly and robustly. Read the entire page →
From page 353... ... The panel suggests that a more proactive and robust approach is needed to maximize the scientific return from the profession's investments in instruments, telescopes, and satellites. To face this challenge, the panel envisions an Astronomical Data Archiving System (ADAS) Read the entire page →
From page 354... ... The panel suggests that archive centers continue to develop the software and tools to allow the instrument simulations of instrument behavior. As both simulations and observations grow in scale, the ability to co-locate observational data with astrophysical simulations will prove necessary, and the panel suggests that archives develop partnerships with the high-performance computing centers and simulation groups necessary to provide this service. Read the entire page →
From page 355... ... While some of the ADAS FTEs would be located at the existing larger centers, some may be best co-located with smaller projects. As discussed below, the panel suggests considering an approach where NASA serves as the lead agency for an interagency supported archiving program, and NSF and DOE are the lead agencies for providing access to high-performance computing resources to the broader national community. Read the entire page →
From page 356... ... These investments will improve reproducibility and reduce unnecessary duplication of codes. Astronomical software development is training a generation of people who are finding exciting opportunities outside astronomy. Read the entire page →
From page 357... ... H.2.3 Theoretical Astrophysics Theory often drives fundamental new discoveries, as well as informing the design and operation of new observations. Support for both individual investigators and theory networks through the agency grant programs is essential for the health of theory programs; however, funding levels have remained flat and proposal success rates have been dropping throughout the past decade. Read the entire page →
From page 358... ... The panel suggests that the agency implement at least this augmentation of 25 percent and that the program resume its annual cadence. H.2.4 High-Performance and High-Throughput Computing Computation, both in theory and in data science, has emerged as foundational for essentially every topic in astronomy and astrophysics. Read the entire page →
From page 359... ... The panel suggests an approach that involves NASA taking the lead in supporting archiving and DOE and NSF taking the lead in providing HPC supercomputing facilities to scientists across astrophysics. H.2.5 Data Science and Machine Learning The interaction between astronomy and data science is a fruitful two-way exchange. Read the entire page →
From page 360... ... Machine learning has the potential of increasing the amount of information obtained from astronomical data sets by enabling modeling of complex nonlinear phenomena and instrumental effects. If machine learning can be successfully used to model multi-scale phenomena, it could open up the ability to more accurately simulate a wide range of astronomical processes from planet formation to galaxy formation. Read the entire page →
From page 361... ... Laboratory astrophysics has also been instrumental in advancing the fundamental understanding of the underlying physics governing stars. For example, in the early 2010s, a discrepancy between the theoretical convection zone boundary within the Sun and the value implied by asteroseismic data was identified. Read the entire page →
From page 362... ... This put the laboratory astrophysics field under severe pressure during a time when there are growing needs from the ALMA and JWST and stellar and exoplanet astrophysics communities. The panel suggests that going forward it is critical that agencies continue to fund the currently active groups, train the next generation of laboratory astrophysicists, and lower barriers of entry into the field. Read the entire page →
From page 363... ... APRA is broad-based and not specifically focused on strategic missions. It encompasses Suborbital/ Suborbital-Class Investigations, Detector Development, Supporting Technology, and Laboratory Astrophysics. Read the entire page →
From page 364... ... However, the average award of $575,000 over 3 years cannot be expected to yield significant technology progress. The panel suggests expanding the NSF ATI and MSIP programs to enable a significant increase in the number and size of awards to enable substantial technology progress. Read the entire page →
From page 365... ... It may involve a combination of more trained personnel with more flights per campaign, such as expanding the number of launches per season in Antarctica and W¯anaka Airport, New Zealand, with increased infrastructure investment. H.2.8.2 Sounding Rocket Program Like the balloon program, the sounding rocket program has been consistently returning science and technology results while training next-generation instrumentation builders over many decades. Read the entire page →
From page 366... ... . The panel suggests that a mid-decadal review of the status of the Explorers programs and the impact of the new SmallSat and Pioneers initiatives would be appropriate. Read the entire page →

From page 342...

... Extending our reach to the extreme UV opens up discovery space in stellar exopheres, magnetism, and CME detection on stars other than the Sun by allowing the study of lines such as FeIX, FeX, FeXI, and so on. Providing multiplexing capability in the near UV is critical for observing those few stars in large samples that trace nucleosynthetic enrichment from the first generation of stars, as well as from merging neutron stars.