Investigations On The Nature Of Dark Matter

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This award funds the research of Professor Paolo Gondolo at the University of Utah.A few decades ago it was realized that the motions of galaxies within the universe could not be explained by the gravitational pull of visible galaxies, stars and gases. A new unseen dark matter is believed to exist within and around galaxies, and to provide the missing gravitational pull. Dark matter also appears as 25 percent of the mass balance of the cosmos as determined from studies of the expansion rate of the universe and of the cosmic microwave radiation. Professor Gondolo's research aims at discovering the nature of dark matter. Over the years, numerous theories were proposed as to its nature: from tiny black holes and stars that never ignited to subatomic particles named WIMPs, or Weakly Interacting Massive Particles. In this project, Professor Gondolo will continue to examine the WIMP possibility by understanding the role of WIMPs in the formation of the first stars, the informational content of WIMP direct searches on Earth, and the discovery potential of detecting WIMP by-products in cosmic rays. As a service to the scientific community, Professor Gondolo will also contribute to the maintenance and upgrade of the DarkSUSY software package, the leading computer program for studies of WIMP dark matter.This project also envisions to have significant broader impacts. Professor Gondolo will continue a very successful outreach program of public demonstrations on basic physics that has been taking place in collaboration with a local museum. In addition, the broader component of this project addresses the local situation in science education and literacy through a special course that partners undergraduate students, the university, and K-12 schools in underserved neighborhoods.