A Large Scale Dark-Matter Axion Search

轴子是物理学中许多粒子中的一种，人们认为这些粒子的存在是由于理论上的原因，但从未在实验中被探测到。这笔拨款将使搜索技术的发展能够揭示轴子的存在或将其排除在外。轴子可以在粒子物理学中两个最重要的问题中发挥作用。首先，轴子可以构成宇宙的“冷暗物质”。宇宙的大部分质量可能以无法直接探测到的“冷暗物质”的形式存在。第二，轴子的存在可以解释为什么强作用力能保持自然的某些对称性，而弱作用力则不能。

The axion is one of many particles in physics which are believed to exist for theoretical reasons but which have never been detected experimentally. This grant will enable the development of search techniques which will either reveal the existence of the axion or rule it out. The axion could play a role in two of the most important problems in particle physics. First, the axion could make up the `cold dark matter` of the universe. Much of the mass of the universe may be in the form of `cold dark matter which is not directly detectable. Second, the axion's existence would explain why the strong force conserves certain symmetries of nature while the weak force does not.