CAREER: Towards realistic halo-scale constraints on the nature of dark matter and gravity

职业：对暗物质和引力的性质进行现实的晕尺度限制

• 批准号: 2338388
• 负责人: Benedikt Diemer
• 金额: $ 101.96万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-09-01 至 2029-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2338388&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Towards; realistic; halo; scale

The nature of dark matter (DM) and gravity are among the foremost unsolved problems in astrophysics. To distinguish between the possible solutions, astrophysicists compare the observed distribution of galaxies to supercomputer simulations, which follow the formation and evolution of galaxies in “fake” Universes with different DM and gravity models. This team of investigators will create an ambitious simulation suite that uniformly covers an unprecedented range of DM and gravity models. The simulations will be publicly available and will enable detailed comparisons to observational surveys that are expected to release data during the 5-year lifetime of this award, potentially ruling out certain models of DM and gravity. This project will also support the mentoring of a postdoctoral researcher and a graduate student, as well as an exploration of novel tools such as 3D printing to teach cosmology to a wide range of learners. Enormous effort has been devoted to finding observable imprints of different DM and gravity models, but the work of different groups is most often impossible to inter-compare because they rely on different cosmological parameters, galaxy formation physics, simulation codes, and analysis tools. As a result, it is still unclear which model signatures are robust and which are degenerate with those of other models, cosmology, or poorly understood feedback processes. This project represents a systematic approach to searching for unique observable signatures on small scales, focusing on the density structure of (sub-)halos, the outskirts of galaxy clusters, and the distribution of satellite galaxies. The resulting simulation suite will be unique in its uniformity, its breadth of models, and its mass range from dwarf galaxies to clusters. The publicly available simulations will enable countless community projects.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.

暗物质（DM）和引力的性质是天体物理学中最重要的未解决问题之一，为了区分可能的解决方案，天体物理学家将观察到的星系分布与超级计算机模拟进行比较，超级计算机模拟遵循“假”宇宙中星系的形成和演化。该研究团队将创建一个雄心勃勃的模拟套件，统一涵盖前所未有的 DM 和重力模型范围，模拟将公开，并能够与观测进行详细比较。预计在该奖项的 5 年有效期内发布数据，可能排除某些 DM 和重力模型。该项目还将支持对博士后研究员和研究生的指导，以及对新颖的探索。诸如 3D 打印之类的工具来向广泛的学习者教授宇宙学，人们付出了巨大的努力来寻找不同的 DM 和重力模型的可观察印记，但不同小组的工作通常是不可能相互比较的，因为他们依赖于不同的方法。因此，目前还不清楚哪些模型特征是稳健的，哪些模型特征与其他模型、宇宙学或知之甚少的反馈过程相比是退化的。在小尺度上寻找独特的可观测特征的方法，重点关注（亚）晕的密度结构、星系团的外围以及卫星星系的分布，由此产生的模拟套件将具有独特的均匀性，其模型的广度和质量范围反映了从矮星系到星团的公开模拟将使无数的社区项目成为可能。该奖项符合 NSF 的法定使命，并且通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。 。