Discovering the dark sector with astroparticle phenomenology

宇宙中85%的物质消失了：天文观测毫无疑问地表明，某种形式的暗物质（DM）正在施加强大的引力影响，但其性质仍然未知。天体粒子物理学将亚原子物理学的研究与天体物理学和宇宙学的数据联系起来。我们的研究计划的目的是研究在寻找DM中受到相对较少关注的三个有希望的流。它们是：1)DM粒子在我们银河系中恒星的生命和死亡中的影响；2) DM和中微子之间的联系，中微子是2015年诺贝尔奖授予亚瑟·b·麦克唐纳（Arthur B. McDonald）的幽灵粒子，以及3)额外空间维度的有趣可能性，这可能导致早期宇宙中产生小黑洞，并可能构成宇宙缺失物质的一小部分。这些黑洞蒸发得相当快：这种消失的行为可以为了解暗区的性质提供进一步的线索。方法：该基金将培训一组学生和博士后研究人员来调查这些流。第一阶段将涉及DM对恒星影响的理论计算，然后是对太阳和其他恒星可能产生的影响的详细超级计算机模拟。这些数据将与最新的数据进行测试，包括盖亚卫星所观测的10亿颗恒星。流二将需要理论物理计算、现象学（理论与实验的联系）和最先进的统计技术的结合，以尝试和破译实验，包括中微子望远镜，如南极冰立方中微子天文台，和加拿大的新中微子望远镜P-ONE，可以告诉我们关于暗区和新的暗力。流三将包括分析和数值计算的结合，以确定额外维度如何影响宇宙学，包括大爆炸期间轻元素的产生，整个宇宙中星系的分布，以及与未来大型强子对撞机继任者的联系。影响：我们工作的主要影响将是使我们更接近了解暗物质本身的本质。我们的工作应该会带来对恒星演化、中微子物理学的新见解，并有可能找到“等级问题”的答案：为什么引力比其他基本力弱得多？除了获得粒子物理和天文学的核心知识外，员工还将接受包括高级研究计算、机器学习、贝叶斯数据分析、写作和演示在内的竞争性技能培训。

85% of the matter in the Universe is missing: astronomical observations show beyond any doubt that some form of Dark Matter (DM) is exerting a strong gravitational influence, but its nature remains unknown. Astroparticle physics links the study of subatomic physics with data from astrophysics and cosmology. The objective of our research program is to investigate three promising streams which have received comparatively little attention in the search for DM. These are: 1) the effect of particle DM in the life and death of stars in our galaxy; 2) the connection between DM and neutrinos, the ghostly particles behind the 2015 Nobel Prize awarded to Arthur B. McDonald (Queen's), and 3) the intriguing possibility of extra dimensions of space, which can lead to the production of small black holes in the early Universe and may constitute a fraction of the Universe's missing matter. These black holes can evaporate rather quickly: this disappearing act can provide further clues about the nature of the dark sector. Methods: This grant will train a team of students and postdoctoral researchers to investigate each of these streams. The first will involve theoretical calculations of DM's effect in stars, followed by detailed supercomputer simulations of possible effects on the Sun and other stars. These will be tested against the latest data, including the 1 billion stars surveyed by the Gaia satellite. Stream two will require a combination of theoretical physics calculations, phenomenology (the connection of theory with experiment), and state-of-the-art statistical techniques to try and decipher what experiments, including neutrino telescopes such as the South Pole IceCube Neutrino Observatory, and a new neutrino telescope in Canada called P-ONE, could tell us about the dark sector and new dark forces. Stream three will involve a combination of analytical and numerical calculations to determine how extra dimensions affect cosmology, including the production of the light elements during the Big Bang, and the distribution of galaxies throughout the Universe, and the link with future successors to the Large Hadron Collider. Impacts: the main impact of our work will be to bring us closer to understanding the nature of dark matter itself. Our work should lead to new insights into stellar evolution, neutrino physics, and potentially find answers to the "hierarchy problem": why is gravity so much weaker than the other fundamental forces? Personnel will be trained in competitive skillsets that include advanced research computing, machine learning, Bayesian data analysis, writing and presentation, in addition to acquiring core knowledge in particle physics and astronomy.