Towards Understanding of Properties and Nature of Dark Energy

Huterer博士被授予NSF天文学和天体物理学博士后奖学金，在芝加哥大学宇宙物理中心开展研究和教育计划。最近发现的宇宙加速膨胀背后的主导理论涉及一种称为暗能量的神秘成分。暗能量的性质和它存在的物理机制仍然是宇宙学和粒子物理学的核心问题之一。Huterer博士的研究计划将探索现有的和开发新的数学方法，旨在了解暗能量的性质。特别是，Huterer博士将（1）研究弱引力透镜的理论不确定性，从而为即将到来的观测调查推导理论精度要求，（2）建立唯象模型来帮助解释为什么暗能量只在低红移时才成为主导，（3）提出研究暗能量的新方法。Huterer博士还将开展互动讲座和活动的教育计划，专门为芝加哥南部的北肯伍德/奥克兰特许学校的城市中学生量身定制。Huterer博士将帮助开发宇宙学单元的课程，作为学校普通科学课程的一部分，组织和教授课后科学实验室，并每周指导学生。Huturer博士还将帮助在威斯康星州的耶基斯天文台组织一年一度的耶基斯夏季研究所研讨会，其中大多数参与者是城市芝加哥的高中生。

Dr. Huterer is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the Center for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago. The dominant theory behind the recent discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe involves a mysterious component called dark energy. The nature of dark energy and the physics mechanism responsible for its existence remain one of the central questions of cosmology and particle physics. Dr. Huterer's research program will both explore existing and develop new mathematical methods aimed to understand properties of dark energy. In particular, Dr. Huterer will (1) study theory uncertainty in weak gravitational lensing, leading to the derivation of theory accuracy requirements for upcoming observational surveys, (2) build phenomenological models to help explain why dark energy becomes dominant only at low redshifts, and (3) propose new methods for studying dark energy.Dr. Huterer will also carry out an educational program of interactive lectures and activities, tailored specifically for urban middle school students at North Kenwood/Oakland Charter School on Chicago's south side. Dr. Huterer will help to develop curriculum for a cosmology unit as part of the school's General Science program, organize and teach after-school science labs, and mentor students on a weekly basis. Dr. Huturer will also help to organize the annual Yerkes Summer Institute workshops at Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin, in which the majority of participants are urban Chicago high school students.