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

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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.