CAREER: New Dimensions in Particle Dark Matter & Physics Pedagogy

该职业奖资助加州大学河滨分校Philip Tanedo教授的研究活动。我们星系中的绝大多数物质不是由质子、中子或电子组成的。我们称这种未知成分为“暗物质”。虽然我们确定它的存在，但暗物质的特性仍然是一个诱人的谜。因此，发现暗物质粒子的质量和相互作用将照亮已知宇宙的宇宙学历史。实现这一目标的进展需要一个强大的理论框架，在这个框架内解释从对撞机到望远镜等一系列科学仪器获得的观测数据。Tanedo教授将领导一个研究项目，开发暗物质的新理论，解释为什么它无法通过我们的实验室测试，并展示即将进行的实验如何揭示它的性质。预计该项目还将产生更广泛的重大影响。Tanedo教授将把他的研究成果纳入中学和大专教育，包括为当地公立学校提供西班牙语/英语双语推广材料。Tanedo教授的研究和推广通过促进我们对自然基本规律的理解和促进代表性不足的群体充分参与科学，进一步促进了国家利益。从技术上讲，Tanedo教授将开发暗物质在大n极限下通过近共形规范部门相互作用的模型。该介质区由双五维理论描述，具有连续四维谱和小质量间隙的体场。这是一个特别引人注目的场景，它的实验特征与传统的暗物质模型截然不同。Tanedo教授将确定这种类型的基准模型，以实现观测到的暗物质密度，并激发新的实验搜索。他将阐明在这些模型中发现暗物质的新特征；这些包括分数幂律自相互作用，紧凑对象的有效捕获，以及固定目标实验中的修改分布。在该项目的教育和推广部分，Tanedo教授将评估有针对性的科学传播培训如何能够支持代表性不足的群体充分参与物理学。他将与加州大学河滨分校的西班牙裔研究项目合作，为当地高中生开发和部署学生制作的双语教材。这些努力将通过科学身份框架进行评估，并将有助于我们理解减少进入物理学障碍的方法。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 Philip Tanedo at the University of California, Riverside.The vast majority of the matter in our galaxy is not composed of protons, neutrons, or electrons. We call this unknown component "dark matter". While we are certain of its existence, the properties of dark matter remain a tantalizing mystery. Discovering the masses and interactions of the dark matter particles would therefore illuminate the cosmological history of the known universe. Progress towards this goal requires a robust theoretical framework within which to interpret the observational data from a range of scientific instruments, from colliders to telescopes. Professor Tanedo will lead a research program to develop new theories of dark matter that can explain why it has eluded our laboratory tests, and show how upcoming experiments may reveal its properties. This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. Professor Tanedo will incorporate his research results into secondary and post-secondary education, including bilingual Spanish/English outreach materials for local public schools. Professor Tanedo's research and outreach further the national interest by advancing our understanding of the fundamental laws of nature and by promoting full participation of under-represented groups in science.More technically, Professor Tanedo will develop models where dark matter interacts through a nearly-conformal gauge sector in the large-N limit. This mediator sector is described by a dual five-dimensional theory with bulk fields that can have a continuous 4D spectrum and a small mass gap. This is a particularly compelling scenario whose experimental signatures can differ dramatically from those of conventional dark sector models. Professor Tanedo will identify benchmark models of this type that realize the observed dark matter density and motivate novel experimental searches. He will elucidate the new signatures through which one could discover dark matter in these models; these include fractional-power law self-interactions, efficient capture on compact objects, and modified distributions in fixed-target experiments. In the education and outreach component of this project, Professor Tanedo will assess how targeted science communication training can support the full participation of under-represented groups in physics. He will collaborate with UC Riverside's Hispanic Studies Program to develop and deploy student-produced bilingual educational material to local high school students. These efforts will be assessed through the science identity framework and will contribute to our understanding of methods to reduce the barriers to entry into physics.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.