Development of a Novel Dark Matter Search with the GAPS Experiment

Kerstin Perez博士被授予NSF天文学和天体物理学博士后奖学金，在哥伦比亚大学开展研究和教育计划。 目前的宇宙学范式包括两个重要的未知实体，称为“暗物质”和“暗能量”。“宇宙的物理学被它们的存在所主导，尽管它们的性质仍然未知。 目前对暗物质身份的研究集中在寻找全新的大质量粒子上。 许多暗物质搜索实验目前正在计划或正在进行中，其中许多实验受到来自传统天体物理过程的大背景信号和可能表明暗物质相互作用的大量签名的挑战。 该项目是通用反粒子光谱仪（GAPS）实验的一部分，旨在通过探测低能量亚原子粒子来描述暗物质的特征，这些粒子预计将在我们银河系的晕中自湮灭时产生。 该奖项的博士后研究员将领导该项目中探测这些粒子的探测器系统的调试。GAPS实验的优势在于它承诺提供暗物质的基本上无背景的签名，并且预期的测量将探测超对称和额外维度理论的大部分理论参数空间，这些理论是暗物质产生的主要模型，并将补充和扩大目前实验的范围。 具有良好时间和能量分辨率的半导体Si（Li）跟踪探测器层对于GAPS探测和背景抑制方案的成功至关重要。 GAPS将使用超过1000个这样的探测器，因此，一致的鉴定和校准程序将是理想的实验设计和最终性能之间的桥梁。 该研究员将带头分析来自原型气球飞行的数据，并将领导这些探测器的调试和校准，该项目的更广泛影响包括一个重要的教育部分。 该研究员将与哥伦比亚大学双发现中心（DDC）合作，实施实验室课程和指导计划，旨在鼓励代表性不足的学生在科学领域接受教育。 该研究员将为初中生开设一门实验室科学课程，课程以哥伦比亚大学社区成员进行的研究为基础。 本课程的一个关键方面将是面对学生的先入为主的观念，其中科学教育的领导，促进互动与榜样，从科学背景谁追求各种专业。

Dr. Kerstin Perez is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at Columbia University. The current cosmological paradigm includes two significant and unknown entities called "dark matter" and "dark energy." The physics of the Universe is dominated by their presence even though their nature remains unknown. Current investigations into the identity of dark matter focus on finding entirely new massive particles. Many dark matter search experiments are currently planned or ongoing, and many of them are challenged by the large background signal from conventional astrophysical processes and a vast array of signatures that could indicate a dark matter interaction. This project, part of the General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment, aims to characterize the dark matter by detecting the low-energy subatomic particles predicted to be created as dark matter particles self-annihilate in the halo of our Milky Way Galaxy. The postdoctoral fellow of this award will lead the commissioning of the detector system that would detect these particles in this project.The strength of the GAPS experiment is that it promises to provide an essentially background-free signature of dark matter, and the anticipated measurements will probe large portions of the theoretical parameter spaces of both supersymmetry and extra-dimensional theories, the leading models of dark matter production, and will complement and extend the reach of current experiments. Layers of semiconducting Si(Li) tracking detectors with excellent time and energy resolution are essential to the success of the GAPS detection and background rejection scheme. GAPS will utilize over 1000 of these detectors, and thus a consistent procedure for qualification and calibration will be the bridge between the ideal experimental design and its final performance. The fellow will spearhead the analysis of data from a prototype balloon flight and will lead the commissioning and calibration of these detectors.The broader impacts of this project include a significant educational component. The fellow will work with the Columbia University Double Discovery Center (DDC) to implement a laboratory course and mentoring program aimed at encouraging underrepresented students to pursue an education in a scientific field. The fellow will establish a laboratory science course for junior high school students with lessons based on research pursued by members of the Columbia University community. A key aspect of this course will be to confront students' preconceived notions of where a science education leads by promoting interaction with role models from science backgrounds who have pursued a variety of professions.