CAREER: Searching for Dark Sectors from Earth to Sky

此CAREER奖资助俄勒冈大学Yu天天教授的研究活动。经过多年越来越令人信服的观测证据，科学家们开始相信，宇宙中的大部分物质与我们每天看到和接触的普通物质不同。这种物质被称为“暗物质”，因为它不能被直接观察到。相反，暗物质的存在是通过其对天体物理物体（如恒星和星系）的引力作用推断出来的，这暗示它可能是一种新型粒子，也可能是几种不同类型的粒子共同构成了一个暗物质区。暗物质引力相互作用的事实表明它有质量，但可能的暗物质质量范围是未知的。近年来，研究促进了想法和实验的爆炸式增长，目的是在大范围的质量中寻找暗物质候选者。由于这些实验工作将带来大量的数据和潜在的发现，余教授将开展一个原创的研究项目，专注于寻找和理解广泛的暗物质理论，她将在其中阐明对假定实验信号的可能解释。对暗物质物理的研究通过促进科学在其最基本的方向之一的进步来推进国家利益：发现和理解新的物理定律。从技术上讲，余教授将通过将各种不同的天体物理模型应用于暗物质电子散射计算，揭示暗物质直接探测率对天体物理不确定性的依赖。此外，她将开发一个框架，以一种独立于潜在天体物理模型的方式呈现暗物质电子散射率，从而规避天体物理不确定性对解释的限制。她还将通过探索广泛理论模型的特征，揭示亚gev暗物质实验的潜力。她的工作将允许对实验数据进行更有力的解释，并为潜在的变革性发现提供基础研究。她还将从中子星超辐射的全面计算开始，更详细地探索暗物质和引力波之间的相互作用。预计该项目还将产生更广泛的重大影响。余教授将把她的研究和教育目标结合起来，开发一个独特的科学交流项目，旨在通过视觉媒体增加复杂物理概念的可访问性。漫画和视觉媒体提供了一种独特的和可访问的格式，以吸引不同的观众。余教授将通过与俄勒冈大学强大的漫画研究项目合作，开发一个新的视觉科学传播项目。通过整合视觉媒体作为主要框架，该项目旨在培养代表性不足的少数民族学生在物理方面的技能和态度，以提高保留率，同时为包括人文和设计专业学生在内的广大受众提供有吸引力的非正式STEM教育。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。

This CAREER award funds the research activities of Professor Tien-Tien Yu at the University of Oregon. After many years of increasingly compelling observational evidence, scientists have come to believe that most of the matter in the Universe is unlike the ordinary matter that we see and interact with every day. This matter is called “dark matter” as it cannot be observed directly. Instead, the existence of dark matter is deduced through its gravitational effects on astrophysical objects such as stars and galaxies, which hints that it could be either a new type of particle or several different types of particles that together comprise a dark sector. The fact that dark matter interacts gravitationally suggests that it has a mass, but the range of possible dark-matter masses is unknown. In recent years, research has facilitated an explosion of ideas and experimental efforts aimed at searching for dark-sector candidates across a wide range of masses. In anticipation of the plethora of data and potential discoveries that will be enabled by these experimental efforts, Professor Yu will conduct an original research program focused on searching for and understanding a wide range of dark-sector theories in which she will elucidate the possible interpretations of a putative experimental signal. Research on dark-sector physics advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in one of its most fundamental directions: the discovery and understanding of new physical law.More technically, Professor Yu will unravel the dependence of dark-matter direct-detection rates on astrophysical uncertainties by applying a variety of different astrophysical models to dark matter-electron scattering calculations. In addition, she will develop a framework for presenting dark matter-electron scattering rates in a manner that is independent of the underlying astrophysical model, thereby circumventing the limitations on interpretation set by astrophysical uncertainties. She will also uncover the potential of sub-GeV dark matter experiments by exploring the signatures of a broad range of theoretical models. Her work will allow for more robust interpretations of the experimental data and provide the foundational research for potential transformative discoveries. She will also explore in more detail the interplay between dark matter and gravitational waves, starting with a thorough calculation of neutron-star superradiance. This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. Professor Yu will integrate her research and educational goals by developing a unique scientific communication program that aims to increase the accessibility of complex physics concepts through visual media. Comics and visual media provide a unique and accessible format to engage diverse audiences. Professor Yu will develop a new program in visual scientific communication through collaboration with the University of Oregon’s strong Comic Studies program. By integrating visual media as the primary framework, this program aims to build skills and attitudes among underrepresented minority students in physics to enhance retention while simultaneously providing engaging, informal STEM education to a broad audience including humanities and design students.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.