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FIGURE 7.7 Launch <strong>of</strong> the balloon‐borne instrument ARCADE (Absolute Radiometer for<br />

Cosmology, <strong>Astrophysics</strong>, and Diffuse Emission) in 2009. Credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL/UCSB.<br />

<strong>The</strong>ory and Computation Networks<br />

As described in Chapter 5, as observational capabilities advance, the theoretical efforts required<br />

to anticipate, understand, and interpret data become more complex. <strong>The</strong> scientific programs<br />

recommended by Astro2010 in many cases require large coordinated theory and computational efforts.<br />

<strong>The</strong>se are <strong>of</strong> a scale inconsistent with the funding levels <strong>of</strong> the individual investigator grants currently<br />

supported by NASA’s <strong>Astrophysics</strong> <strong>The</strong>ory Program. Examples <strong>of</strong> particular urgency include<br />

cosmological simulations <strong>of</strong> large-scale structure formation, modeling <strong>of</strong> galactic flows and feedback, and<br />

the general relativistic simulations <strong>of</strong> physical processes associated with the mergers <strong>of</strong> neutron stars.<br />

A NASA annual funding level <strong>of</strong> $5 million, capable <strong>of</strong> supporting about eight networks, is<br />

recommended. <strong>The</strong> level <strong>of</strong> funding should be driven by the quality and relevance to NASA’s missions <strong>of</strong><br />

proposals received in response to competitive peer review. <strong>The</strong> networks should be funded in addition to<br />

maintaining a healthy <strong>Astrophysics</strong> <strong>The</strong>ory Program, not at its expense.<br />

PREPUBLICATION COPY—SUBJECT TO FURTHER EDITORIAL CORRECTION<br />

7-28

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