Dark Matter and Mass: From the Early Universe to the Laboratory

将实施一项物理研究与教学并举的计划。这项研究本质上是理论性的，它将以多种方式探索宇宙中暗物质的可能性——由于其引力效应而已知存在的物质，但它不会发出任何使其可见的光——是由与实验室中已经发现的基本粒子不同的基本粒子组成的。对现有理论的延伸，可能指向这样的新粒子，将进行研究。将探索探测新粒子的方法。将研究包含新粒子和/或其他新特征的宇宙模型。教学将需要一些创新。这包括允许学生在物理入门课程中通过将他们在课堂上学到的概念应用于他们分析、设计和构建的机械系统来磨练他们解决问题的能力。还包括制作讲座录像，分发给第三世界国家的大学。暗物质的本质问题是天体物理学的核心问题之一，因此解决这个问题的研究将非常重要。在国内外大学生科学教学中进行创造性创新，对科学和社会的健康发展具有重要意义。

A program of both research and teaching in physics will be carried out. The research, theoretical in nature, will pursue in a variety of ways the possibility that the dark matter in the universe-matter which is known to exist because of its gravitational effects but which does not emit any light that would make it visible - is composed of elementary particles different from those already discovered in the laboratory. Extensions of existing theory that may point to such new particles will be pursued. Methods for detecting the new particles will be explored. Models of the universe which contain the new particles and/or other novel features will be studied. The teaching will entail a number of innovations. These include allowing students in an introductory physics course to hone their problem-solving skills by applying concepts they learn in class to mechanical systems which they analyze, design, and build. Also included is the creation of videotaped lectures for distribution to universities in third-world countries. The question of the nature of the dark matter is one of the central issues in astrophysics, so the research addressing this question will be very important. Creative innovations in the teaching of science to university students, both here and abroad are of great importance to the healthy future of science and society.