NSF Award
2412834
This award funds the research activities of Professor Pearl Sandick at the University of Utah.<br/><br/>It’s a profound fact that the nature of more than 80% of the matter content of the Universe is unknown. This so-called "dark matter" has thus far been observed only via its gravitational interactions, but a more comprehensive understanding of its identity, and any behaviors beyond gravitational attraction, is one of the most important outstanding challenges in modern physics. Professor Sandick seeks to understand the nature of dark matter as an avenue to potentially deep and revolutionary insights about the Universe we inhabit, the particles it contains, and how it came to be. This project supports her work on a suite of theoretical studies of dark matter and its impact on astrophysical and cosmological processes, as well as the development of practical tools that will increase efficiency and accuracy of studies searching for signals from dark matter in our galaxy. This work will improve our understanding of dark matter and could potentially lead to a major breakthrough. Furthermore, this project supports efforts to increase inclusivity, retention, and success of talented scientists; activities to educate and engage the public about the science pursued through this project; and the creation and maintenance of computational and community-based infrastructure to enhance prospects for discovery. This research advances the national interest through its potential for innovation and discovery, by increasing human knowledge regarding the composition and dynamics of our Universe, through the training of junior scientists and their workforce potential, and by furthering our world-leading reputation in the basic sciences.<br/><br/>More technically, it’s well known that the landscape of observable phenomena that could be related to dark matter and other physics beyond the Standard Model is vast, probed by terrestrial and space-based experiments and by making use of the cosmos as laboratory. This project reflects that breadth. Professor Sandick will study the indirect detection of dark matter, the impact of dark matter on stellar evolution, and the interplay of dark matter and black holes. Our understanding of the distribution of dark matter in the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies continues to become more sophisticated thanks to investments in state-of-the-art observatories and important theoretical advances in understanding the implications of the data. Professor Sandick will leverage this increasing astrophysical knowledge to improve constraints on a wide variety of well-motivated dark matter models. She will pursue new improvements to the Model-Agnostic Dark Halo Analysis Tool (MADHAT), including extending the energy range of photons analyzed with data from different telescopes and integrating MADHAT into popular likelihood calculators for new physics models. Professor Sandick will also undertake a detailed study of the observable effects from early stars for which dark matter may have had a critical impact on their evolution. In a third direction, Professor Sandick will study the interplay of dark matter with black holes, particularly as related to black hole mergers, their dynamics, and observable astrophysical signals.<br/><br/>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.
