University of New Hampshire
McNair Scholar, 2021
Major: Physics
Mentor: Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein and Dr. Nathan Musoke, Department of Physics
Research Title: Placing Constraints on Fuzzy Dark Matter Properties
Abstract:
To understand the universe around us we must first know and understand its components. Our current understanding of the matter-energy composition of the universe is that it is about 5% baryonic (every day) matter, 68% dark energy, and about 27% dark matter. However, as of yet, we remain unsure how to define dark matter and understand its behavior. This research program focuses on a hypothetical particle candidate for the dark matter, the axion. This proposed dark matter evolves into unique physical structures, which we call solitons. Solitons may be described as a general area of center mass, a core, rather than a point. Our research will focus on the difference between axion-like fuzzy dark matter (FDM) and a more traditional dark matter paradigm, cold dark matter (CDM). We will use a publicly-available gravitational lensing code, deeplenstronomy, to simulate gravitational lensing data in the scenario where solitons are present. These datasets then - of the assumption of the Navarro-Frenk-White profile, and density profiles of the fuzzy dark matter - will be analyzed for their prediction of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time's (LSST) role in the search for fuzzy dark matter. We will examine how this gravitational lensing will differ from that of cold dark matter, and how the resulting data will compare to the data which will be found withi the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy LSST, and what this clarifies.
