Dark Matter and Disk-Halo Interaction in the Milky Way

当我们观察宇宙时，我们看到的是恒星、行星、黑洞、中子星以及它们之间的气体和尘埃。所有这些都是由正常物质构成的。天文学家认为，每一磅正常物质中，就有五到六磅被称为暗物质的东西。我们只知道暗物质对我们所看到的正常物质的引力作用。研究人员试图发现暗物质在我们银河系的什么地方。如果研究人员能够找到银河系中恒星以预测的方式相互碰撞的斑点，他们将了解暗物质如何与常规物质相互作用。为了找到暗物质的位置，研究人员将研究正在落入银河系的较小星系的恒星的运动，以及银河系盘的运动，银河系盘是我们星系的一部分，包括旋臂。这些恒星将被拉向暗物质，这将使确定暗物质的位置和浓度成为可能。除了为研究人员提供宇宙中暗物质的约束外，研究人员还将直接为各级教育做出贡献。研究生和本科生将学习如何进行研究。他们将通过校园天文台的开放日活动与公众建立联系，帮助培训将在当地科学博物馆开放日活动中工作的高中生，并与世界各地自愿贡献计算机帮助研究人员进行计算的1.5万多人进行互动。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

When we look at the Universe, we see stars, planets, black holes, neutron stars, and the gas and dust between them. All of this is made from normal matter. Astronomers believe that for every pound of normal matter, there are five or six pounds of something called dark matter. We only know about dark matter by its gravitational attraction to the normal matter that we see. The investigators seek to discover where that dark matter is in our own Milky Way galaxy. If investigators can find spots were the stars in the Milky Way are jostled in predicted ways, they will learn how dark matter interacts with regular matter. To find the location of dark matter, the investigators will study the motions of stars from smaller galaxies that are falling into the Milky Way, and the motions in the Milky Way disk, which is the part of our galaxy that includes the spiral arms. These stars will be pulled towards the dark matter, which will make it possible for identify the dark matter location and concentration.In addition to providing researchers with constraints on dark matter in the Universe, the investigators will directly contribute to education at all levels. Graduate and undergraduate students will learn how to conduct research. They will connect with the public through open houses at the campus observatory, by helping to train high school students who will staff open houses at a local science museum, and by interacting with more than 15,000 people around the world who voluntarily contribute their computers to help the researchers do calculations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.