Dark Matter and New Physics

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds the research of Professors Paolo Gondolo and Pearl Sandick at the University of Utah. The nature of more than 80% of the matter in the universe is unknown. To discover the nature of this so-called dark matter is a major open question in physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. Dark matter has been detected only by means of the gravity it generates, and has properties that are completely different from those of any other known physical matter. Establishing the nature of dark matter may have implications as important as the Copernican revolution that shifted the Earth's place in the Universe away from its center, this time by relegating the material substance humans are made of to a minority component. Research in this area advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in one of its most fundamental aspects: discovering the nature and composition of our physical universe. In their research, Professors Gondolo and Sandick aim to further our understanding of dark matter and our ability to sort viable dark-matter models on the basis of their observable effects. This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts, including educating and exciting the local non-academic community about science and training early-career scientists. The project will also support a long-standing and successful outreach program at a local science museum and in local schools that reaches thousands of young students with the goal of attracting them to science in a fun, energetic, and engaging way. At the same time, this project supports efforts to recruit and retain talented women and minorities in the physical sciences through a suite of outreach and professional-development programs at the University of Utah, in the broader community, and at the national level. Technically, Professors Gondolo and Sandick will conduct individual research programs with elements in common. They will (a) explore theoretical explanations for the dark matter in the Universe and for theories of new particle physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics; (b) better understand the assumptions and the uncertainties inherent in the relevant calculations; and (c) determine and suggest robust strategies for the identification of dark matter and, potentially, other new physics. These objectives will be achieved through phenomenological studies of collider and dark-matter signatures in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and in simplified models, the development of the DarkSUSY software to address generic weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP) models, and the pursuit of a minimal number of assumptions in the particle physics and astrophysics of dark matter through astrophysics-independent methods and general interaction lagrangians.