Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and Fundamental Physics

This award funds the research activities of Professor Paolo Gondolo at the University of Utah. Dark matter and dark energy are two of the most intriguing and mysterious components of our universe. Dark matter is an unseen substance that does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, yet it exerts a gravitational force, helping to hold galaxies together. Dark energy is an unknown form of energy that is driving the accelerated expansion of the universe. Understanding the nature of dark matter and dark energy is crucial because they make up about 25% and 70% of the universe's total mass-energy content, respectively. Unraveling their secrets could fundamentally change our comprehension of the cosmos and the laws that govern it. Thus research in this area advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in one of its most fundamental directions: the discovery and understanding of new physical law. In his research, Professor Gondolo will develop innovative methods to investigate the nature of dark matter and dark energy in areas that have been hitherto only slightly explored, such as newly proposed forms of dark matter (e.g., molecular dark matter), the possibility of trapping dark energy, and of using rotating particles to probe gravity theories. This project also envisions to have significant broader impacts. Professor Gondolo will involve undergraduate students in his research, thereby providing critical opportunities for a next generation of physicists. Professor Gondolo will also lead a science outreach program for K-12 students and their families. More technically, Professor Gondolo will (a) explore theoretical explanations for the dark matter in the Universe based on particle physics beyond the Standard Model, including strategies to eventually measure astrophysical properties of particle dark matter; (b) make progress toward an understanding of dark energy by studying compact objects with vacuum interior, including their possible observational signatures and models for their formation and rotation; and (c) test aspects of gravity, like its coupling to spin, by exploiting the precision of modern gravitational measurements of the motion of matter in strong gravitational fields. 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.