Mid-Atlantic Section Meeting 2021
Volume 66, Number 18
Friday–Sunday, December 3–5, 2021;
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Session C03: Astrophysics II
9:00 AM–11:00 AM,
Saturday, December 4, 2021
Room: 202A
Chair: Eric Gawiser, Rutgers University
Abstract: C03.00006 : Ex Luna Scientia! Nuclear Astrophysics Enabled by the Lunar Occultation eXplorer (LOX)*
10:24 AM–11:00 AM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Richard Miller
(Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory)
LOX is a focused science mission that will, for the first time, perform
systematic population studies of thermonuclear, or type-Ia, supernova
(SNeIa) using their emergent nuclear radiation. LOX will achieve this by
probing the fundamental nuclear processes that govern these ``beacons of the
Cosmos''. LOX measurements of the radioactivity left behind in the wake of
nuclear burning will reveal characteristic trends via population studies
that individual detections cannot, further our understanding of the
matter--energy life cycles within galaxies, and provide critical diagnostic
evidence for the multiple evolutionary pathways responsible this class of
supernovae. LOX will directly test the assumption of SNeIa homogeneity. Open
questions in cosmology (e.g., cosmic expansion history, dark energy) and
astrophysics (e.g., the details of the nucleosynthetic yields) requires us
to understand the fundamental nature of these objects and their progenitors.
LOX will achieve its science goals with a simple, low-cost, cross-cutting
implementation. LOX employs a single-instrument payload consisting of an
array of identical gamma-ray sensor modules. The instrument design and its
single mode of operation leverage decades of heritage derived from planetary
exploration endeavors. The LOX implementation approach mitigates the
challenges associated with increasingly complex space-based instrumentation.
LOX leverages the power of continuous all-sky monitoring to meet its science
goals. Therefore, LOX fills a long-standing astrophysical capability gap. In
fact, as the first high-sensitivity MeV astrophysics mission in a
generation, it has a significant capacity for discovery beyond our primary
SNeIa science goals. LOX is currently being prepared for submission to
NASA's astrophysics MIDEX program, and with it NASA will establish the Moon
as a platform for science and once again pry open a new window on the
Cosmos.
*Ex Luna Scientia! Nuclear Astrophysics Enabled by the Lunar Occultation eXplorer (LOX)