Theoretical Aspects of Dark Matter

该奖项资助了芝加哥伊利诺伊大学詹姆斯·昂温教授的研究活动。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，暗物质的本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有待发现。因此，对这一主题的研究通过促进我们对物理宇宙和支配它的定律的理解来促进科学的进步，从而促进了国家利益。昂温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，该项目将产生更广泛的重大影响，包括培训研究生、指导高中生和本科生，以及通过专门的外展活动促进年轻女性的科学事业。这项研究的结果将通过同行评议的期刊、研讨会和公开讲座传播。更具体地说，在这项研究中，Unwin教授将寻求开发一种新的暗物质间接探测搜索，在存在原始黑洞的情况下获得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，例如观测到的重子不对称性的出现和电弱对称性破断的过程。事实上，这项工作恰逢其时，因为在接下来的几年里，将会有来自多个互补实验的新的相关数据。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 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.