Mapping Dark Matter with Light: Stellar Bar Driven Substructure in the Milky Way Dark Matter Halo

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Angela Collier is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct a program of research and education at the University of Colorado. Collier will perform theoretical calculations to predict the structure and flux of dark matter in the bar and near the center of the Milky Way. Results from this project will allow astronomers to understand how dark matter influences baryonic matter in barred galaxies. For the education component of this project, Collier will develop a planetarium show to improve the science outcomes and social-emotional development of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students, and she will provide research experiences to undergraduate students.This project will investigate the role of stellar bar-driven substructure in dark matter and its consequences for the detection of dark matter in the Galaxy. Analytical calculations and numerical simulations undertaken in this project will predict the impact of dark matter trapped in the stellar bar on dark matter in the Galactic halo. The resultant insight into halo-bar coupling and dynamics will permit accurate predictions of indirect signatures to aid future astronomical searches for dark matter near the Galactic Center. More generally, it will advance our understanding of how dark matter bars are formed in galaxies.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.