Making cosmic particle accelerators visible and audible

TL;DR

This paper presents a multimedia project that visualizes and sonifies cosmic particle accelerators, specifically Eta Carinae and GRB190829A, to enhance public understanding of astrophysical phenomena through realistic animations and music.

Contribution

It introduces a novel interdisciplinary approach combining astrophysics, animation, and music to make cosmic accelerators accessible and engaging for the general public.

Findings

Realistic animations of Eta Carinae's binary system.

Detailed visualization of particle acceleration in GRB190829A.

Music composition enhances scientific storytelling.

Abstract

In a collaboration between astroparticle physicists, animation artists from the award-winning Science Communication Lab, and musician Carsten Nicolai (a.k.a. Alva Noto), two cosmic particle accelerators have been brought to life: the massive binary star Eta Carinae, and the exploding star, which resulted in the gamma-ray burst GRB190829A. For Eta Carinae, the computer-generated images are close to reality because the measured orbital, stellar and wind parameters were used for this purpose. Particle acceleration in the jet of GRB190829A has also been animated at a level of detail not seen before. The internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Carsten Nicolai, who uses the pseudonym Alva Noto for his musical works, exclusively composed the sound for the animations. The multimedia projects aim at making the discoveries more accessible to the general public, and to mediate scientific results and their reference to reality from an artistic point of view.