Novel Astrophysical Probes of Exotic Particle Dark Matter

This award funds the research activities of Professor Andrew Zentner at the University of Pittsburgh.

An overwhelming preponderance of evidence indicates that 85% of the matter content of the Universe is in the form of dark matter. Dark matter is an as-yet-unidentified form of matter. Evidence for dark matter currently comes only from its gravitational pull and this evidence has been accumulating, on many fronts, for a century.

The identity and properties of the dark matter nevertheless remain unknown. The nature of the dark matter and the physical laws governing the interactions of dark matter can be investigated in both earth-bound laboratories and indirectly through astronomical observations. As part of his research, Professor Zentner aims to further the quest to identify the dark matter through a combination of both theoretical investigations and astrophysical observations.

Dark matter lies beyond our current understanding of matter and forces in nature. Consequently, dark matter research advances the national interest by furthering efforts to discover new forms of matter and new forces with which matter may be manipulated. This project has two components.

In the first, Professor Zentner will attempt to identify subtle signatures of the properties of the dark matter particle in stars, while in the second he will build more complete theoretical models for the production and evolution of the dark matter that can be tested using large astronomical surveys of galaxies. Both components will reveal clues regarding the nature of dark matter and its interactions.

Professor Zentner's research will also have significant broader impacts. In particular, Professor Zentner will conduct his research in collaboration with a graduate student who will thereby receive training in cuttting-edge dark matter research. Professor Zentner also plans to build a program to pair local K-12 teachers with practicing physicists and astronomers in order to enable the teachers to bring physics and astronomy into the classroom.

Each scientist/teacher pair will receive professional training in science education, develop an inquiry-based curriculum, and co-teach the curriculum during several classroom visits throughout the academic year.

In further technical detail, the two components of Professor Zentner's project are as follows. In the first component, Professor Zentner will simulate the effects of exotic dark matter candidates --- particularly asymmetric dark matter, self-interacting dark matter, and strongly-interacting dark matter --- on stellar structure and stellar evolution.

These simulations will be tailored toward modeling stellar populations in specific astrophysical environments, such as Local Group dwarf galaxies. The predictions of these simulations can then be compared with detailed astronomical observations of stellar populations in these astrophysical environments to determine whether or not specific properties of the dark matter can be identified in the data.

In the second component of this proposal, Professor Zentner will build more complete theoretical models of so-called light and ultra-light dark matter particle candidates. In particular, he will study light and ultra-light dark matter models using the semi-classical techniques of quantum fields in curved spacetimes. In so doing, he will develop a better understanding of the possibilities for ultra-light dark matter and the implications of ultra-light dark matter for the evolution of structure in the universe.

This will, in turn, provide for more incisive comparisons of theoretical predictions with observational data that will yield more decisive conclusions on whether or not the dark matter may be an as-yet-undiscovered, ultra-light particle.

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.