U.S.-France Cooperative Research: The Nature and Distribution of Dark Matter

这一为期三年的奖项支持加州大学伯克利分校NSF粒子天体物理科学和技术中心(STC)与南方巴黎大学理论和高能物理实验室在天体物理学方面的美法合作研究。美国和法国的研究团队将由伯克利STC主任Bernard Sadoulet和法国研究小组主任Jean Kaplan领导。具体地说，将为伯克利STC附属的高级美国研究生和年轻博士后研究人员前往法国提供支持。其目的是为这些年轻的研究人员提供在法国卓越科学中心的研究经验，并在美国和法国的研究项目之间建立长期的联系，从而提高两个群体的科学生产率。美国和法国的团队将专注于暗物质的基本问题，这是天体物理学研究中最优先考虑的话题。有证据表明，宇宙的90%或更多是由暗物质组成的，这种物质可能是可以追溯到宇宙起源时的粒子形式。暗物质问题的研究对于理解宇宙的起源和物质的基本性质具有重要的意义。美国和法国的团队将集中精力：(1)以弱相互作用粒子的形式或以大质量天体物理致密晕物体的形式对暗物质进行实验搜索；(2)对各种暗物质候选粒子及其在物理环境中的特征进行理论研究；以及(3)发展宇宙中星系形成和聚集的理论，暗物质可能在其中发挥核心作用。

This three-year award supports U.S.-France cooperative research in astrophysics between the NSF Science and Technology Center (STC) for Particle Astrophysics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Theoretical and High Energy Physics Laboratory of the University of Paris, South. The U.S. and French research teams will be led by Bernard Sadoulet, Director of the STC at Berkeley, and Jean Kaplan, director of the French research group. Specifically, support will be provided to advanced U.S. graduate students and young postdoctoral researchers affiliated with the Berkeley STC for travel to France. The objectives are to provide these young investigators with research experience at a French center of scientific excellence and to establish long-lasting links between the research programs in the U.S. and France, thereby, enhancing the scientific productivity of both groups. The U.S. and French teams will focus on the fundamental problem of dark matter, a topic identified as the highest priority in astrophysics research. Evidence indicates that 90% or more of the universe is made of dark matter, and that this matter may be in the form of particles dating back to the beginning of the universe. The study of the dark matter problem has important implications for understanding the origin of the universe and the fundamental nature of matter. The U.S. and French teams will focus their efforts on: (1) experimental searches for dark matter either in the form of weakly interactive particles or in the form of massive astrophysical compact halo objects; (2) theoretical investigations of various dark matter particle candidates and their signatures in the atrophysical environment; and (3) development of a theory of galaxy formation and clustering in the universe, in which dark matter may play a central role.