Investigations on Dark Matter and Dark Energy

暗物质的识别和对暗能量的理解是物理学、天体物理学和宇宙学中的主要开放问题。该计划中概述的研究从以下方面解决了暗物质的性质问题：（1）了解弱相互作用大质量粒子（WIMP）的湮灭是否以及如何影响宇宙中第一批恒星的形成;（2）将中性伴子暗物质的质量和相互作用性质与最小暗物质结构的大小联系起来，（3）计算量子辐射修正，以可靠地评估多TeV中性伴子的密度及其可观测信号;（4）维持和升级用于中性伴子暗物质计算的DarkSUSY代码;（5）研究定向直接探测WIMP，目的是最大限度地提取WIMP天体物理学的信息;（6）研究银河系晕潮汐流中的暗物质含量，着眼于它们的可能探测。这项建议的更广泛的教育内容是，PI寻求继续与当地博物馆合作开展一项非常成功的基础物理公共演示推广计划。

The identification of dark matter and the understanding of dark energy are among the major open questions in physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. The research outlined in this proposal addresses the question of the nature of dark matter in the following ways: (1) understanding if and how the annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) affected the formation of the first stars in the universe; (2) connecting the mass and interaction properties of neutralino dark matter to the size of the smallest dark matter structures, which may be observable through gamma-ray emission; (3) computing the quantum radiative corrections necessary for a reliable evaluation of the density of multi-TeV neutralinos and their observable signals; (4) maintaining and upgrading the DarkSUSY code for neutralino dark matter calculations; (5) studying directional direct detection of WIMPs with the goal of extracting the maximum amount of information on the astrophysics of WIMPs; (6) examining the dark matter content of tidal streams in the Milky Way halo, with an eye on their possible detection. The broader educational component of this proposal is that the PI seeks to continue a very successful outreach program of public demonstrations on basic physics that has been taking place in collaboration with a local museum.