Investigating the Nature of Dark Matter throughout Cosmic History

基础物理学中最突出和最令人兴奋的挑战之一是理解暗物质的性质，暗物质占整个已知宇宙中所有物质的85%。暗物质通过其对普通粒子的引力作用，在形成星系、星系团和更大的物质结构方面发挥着至关重要的作用。一个关键的问题是，暗物质是否会受到引力以外的任何力。到目前为止，致力于寻找新的暗物质物理的实验努力没有产生任何结果，促使新的理论想法和探测技术的发展。PI的研究计划将在宇宙学和粒子物理学的交叉点上解决暗物质问题，利用宇宙学和天体物理观测来研究暗物质的微观性质。由于近年来它们在精确度和灵敏度方面的提高，这种观测已经成为对暗物质的强大探测器。PI的研究将为未来的暗物质分析提供基础工作，为下一代仪器和调查在未来十年开始运行时潜在的新发现做准备。与研究相结合，该计划结合了对学生和博士后的指导和培训，他们有望成为该领域的未来科学领导者。这项研究将研究暗物质与普通粒子在整个宇宙时间内相互作用的影响。例如，这些相互作用影响宇宙微波背景和小尺度结构的形成，使人们有机会利用宇宙学和天体物理观测来寻找新的暗物质物理。这项研究将寻求新的途径，在理论模型和观测技术之间架起桥梁，研究暗物质。它将涉及开发复杂的工具来使用多个数据集进行联合分析。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

One of the most prominent and exciting challenges in fundamental physics is understanding the nature of dark matter, which accounts for 85% of all matter throughout the known Universe. Dark matter plays a crucial role in forming galaxies, galaxy clusters, and larger structures of matter through its gravitational effects on ordinary particles. A key question is whether or not dark matter experiences any forces beyond gravity. Dedicated experimental efforts to search for new dark matter physics have thus far produced null results, prompting the development of new theoretical ideas and detection techniques. The PI's research program will tackle the dark matter problem at the intersection of cosmology and particle physics, using cosmological and astrophysical observations to study the microscopic properties of dark matter. Such observations have emerged as a powerful probe of dark matter, due to their increase in precision and sensitivity over recent years. The PI's research will provide foundational work for future dark matter analyses, in preparation for potential new discoveries as next-generation instruments and surveys begin operations in the upcoming decade. In conjunction with research, this program incorporates the mentoring and training of students and postdocs, who are poised become the future scientific leaders of the field.This research will study the impact of dark matter interactions with ordinary particles throughout cosmic time. These interactions affect the formation of, for example, the cosmic microwave background and small-scale structure, enabling the opportunity to search for new dark matter physics using cosmological and astrophysical observations. This research will pursue new avenues to bridge theoretical models and observational techniques to study dark matter. It will involve the development of sophisticated tools to perform joint analyses using multiple datasets.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.