Oakland University issued the following announcement on Jan. 20.
Oakland University Professor Ilias Cholis was recently awarded a $60,000 grant from the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science in support of his research on dark matter, a form of matter that has never been detected absorbing, reflecting or emitting light and is, therefore, extremely hard to spot.
It accounts for approximately 27 percent of the Universe, while the “normal” matter we know and can see — including the Earth, the sun, the stars, nebulae, and the light-emitting regions of galaxies — adds up to less than 5 percent.
“The nature of dark matter is one of the most puzzling questions in physics,” said Cholis, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics at Oakland University. “Astronomical observations have determined with superb precision the abundance of dark matter in the Universe, and from both observations and numerical simulations we know quite a bit about its distribution in halos like the one in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Still, its nature, i.e. its underlying physical properties, remains a mystery.”
Cholis will serve as the principal investigator on a new project, titled “Searching for Dark Matter Signals in Cosmic-Ray and Gamma-Ray Observations,” which aims to make use of astrophysical observations at high energies in gamma rays and cosmic rays to probe the nature of dark matter.
“We are focused on developing new data analysis techniques and making connections between different observations probing the same astrophysical processes or sources both within the Milky Way and in distant galaxies,” Cholis said.
“We will also develop theoretical models on the distribution and properties of cosmic rays and gamma rays in the Milky Way, their sources, as well as their propagation in the interstellar medium,” he said. “We will concentrate on observations suggesting high-energy cosmic-ray and/or gamma-ray fluxes, beyond the standard astrophysical expectations hinting to a possible dark matter signal from our galaxy.”
The grant will also provide funding to support the addition of an OU graduate student to the research team, which already includes three undergraduate physics students who are involved in various aspects of the project.
“I’m truly happy that we will be able to continue searching for signals of dark matter in the Milky Way from right here in Michigan,” Cholis said.
Dr. Ilias Cholis, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics at Oakland University.
Original source can be found here.
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