Dark Matter: Fundamental Processes and Quantum Information Aspects

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds the research activities of Professor Daniel Boyanovsky at the University of Pittsburgh. Dark Matter constitutes over 80% of the matter content of the Universe. It is also a fundamental ingredient in the formation of Galaxies such us our Milky Way. Yet after more than two decades of experiments dedicated to its direct detection, the nature of Dark Matter remains unknown. Understanding the nature of Dark Matter is thus one of the greatest scientific challenges of our time, fueling a large theoretical and observational effort. Research in this area advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in one of its most fundamental directions: understanding the nature of the fundamental building blocks of the natural world. In his research, Professor Boyanovsky aims to develop new methods through which to study the production and observational consequences of dark matter. He will also explore intriguing connections of this research to research in another discipline called "quantum information theory". This project also has significant broader and interdisciplinary impacts. Professor Boyanovsky will involve graduate students in his research, thereby providing critical training for junior physicists beginning research in this field. He also intends to give public lectures and develop new course curricula based on the results of his research, thereby stimulating the curiosity of the general public and the next generation of physicists. More technically, Professor Boyanovsky will study alternative production mechanisms of dark matter as a consequence of cosmological expansion and associated non-equilibrium dynamical processes. Incorporating the efforts of graduate students, these research projects will also explore recently-revealed intriguing connections between the dynamics of production and evolution of dark matter and aspects of quantum information. This aspect of the research program makes this endeavor truly interdisciplinary, with broad impact across fields and providing an enriching interdisciplinary educational component. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.