Decoding the Extreme Universe

Interpreting observations of the universe’s most energetic phenomena requires a detailed understanding of particle acceleration in astrophysical environments. These accelerated particles, or cosmic rays, are responsible for multi-wavelength and, in some cases, multi-messenger emission from astrophysical shocks such as those in novae, supernova remnants, active galactic nuclei, and merging galaxy clusters. Not only does this emission encode information about the microphysical processes that produce cosmic rays, it also—with a proper theoretical paradigm—reveals the dynamics of their cosmic accelerators.  In this seminar I will review the current paradigm of shock acceleration and present a fast, multi-zone modeling framework that self-consistently incorporates findings from state-of-the-art kinetic simulations. I will show how this model can resolve key tensions between theory and observations and make predictions for multi-messenger observations. In particular, I will apply this model to a variety of astrophysical objects, including supernova remnants, novae, and black hole winds.