Theoretical Aspects of Dark Matter

该奖项为芝加哥伊利诺伊大学的James Unwin教授的研究活动提供资金。 用暗物质来解释天体物理观测的必要性已被广泛接受。 然而，暗物质的性质仍然是当代物理学的核心问题之一。此外，暗物质的存在是最令人信服的迹象之一，表明可能有新的基本粒子和现象被发现。因此，通过对这一课题的研究，我们对物理宇宙及其规律的认识将进一步促进科学的进步，从而推动国家利益的发展。Unwin教授的研究旨在更好地理解暗物质的本质。 因此，他的研究处于粒子物理学，天体物理学和宇宙学的交叉点。此外，该项目将产生广泛的影响，包括培训研究生，指导高中和本科生，并通过专门的外联活动促进年轻妇女的科学事业。这项研究的结果将通过同行评审的期刊，研讨会和公开讲座传播。 更具体地说，在这项研究中，Unwin教授将寻求开发一类新的暗物质间接探测搜索，以获得原始黑洞存在下暗物质模型的新约束，并探索将暗物质与其他现象联系起来的新可能性，例如观察到的重子不对称性的出现和电弱对称性破缺的过程。事实上，这项工作在其时间上是恰当的，因为在未来几年内，将有新的相关数据，从多个互补的实验。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得支持，通过评估使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

This award funds the research activities of Professor James Unwin at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The need for dark matter to explain astrophysical observations is widely accepted. However, the nature of dark matter remains one of the central questions in contemporary physics. Moreover, the existence of dark matter is one of the most compelling indications that there are likely new fundamental particles and phenomena to be discovered. Accordingly, research on this topic advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science by furthering our understanding of the physical universe and the laws which govern it. Professor Unwin’s research seeks to better understand the nature of dark matter. As such, his research lies at the intersection of particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. Furthermore, this project will have significant broader impacts including the training of graduate students, the mentoring of high-school and undergraduate students, and the promotion of scientific careers to young women through dedicated outreach events. The results of this research will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, seminars, and public lectures. More specifically, in this research Professor Unwin will seek to develop a new class of dark-matter indirect-detection searches, to obtain new constraints on dark-matter models in the presence of primordial black holes, and to explore novel possibilities that link dark matter to other phenomena, such as the emergence of the observed baryon asymmetry and the process of electroweak symmetry breaking. Indeed, this work is pertinent in its timing since over the next few years there will be new relevant data from multiple complementary experiments.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.