Dark matter probed by promising cosmologist (5/25/2008)

The winner of a prestigious international science fellowship has chosen the University of Portsmouth as her host to study dark matter.

Dr Karen Masters is a British researcher working at Harvard University. She will work alongside Professor Bob Nichol in the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation to probe and map mysterious dark matter. The fellowship is conditional on the host university being a centre of excellence. Dr Masters has won the 2008 $US50,000 2008 Fellowship from the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation to work with Professor Nichol measuring distances to spiral galaxies to make an improved map of the distribution of dark matter in our local universe.

She said: "We cannot see dark matter directly, but we know it's there because of the impact of its gravity. The gravity from dark matter pulls on the galaxies we see, so by measuring very carefully the motions of galaxies in the local universe we can trace the distribution of dark matter. What we expect to see is a 'cosmic web' of structure - that is the prediction from simulations of the universe, and is also traced by the galaxies we observe (like fairy lights on a tree). These enormous web-like structures of dark matter are the remnants of tiny fluctuations in the very early universe and the exact details of their shape, size and distribution actually tell us about cosmology. "I use a relationship between how fast spiral galaxies rotate and how luminous they are to work out their distance from us. This combined with an observation of the redshift of the galaxy gives a measurement of its motion under the influence of gravity from the dark matter structures.

"I am very excited to make the move to Portsmouth. The ICG is now a centre of excellence for both theoretical and observational cosmology and I'm sure that the move will be very beneficial to my research. I look forward to developing many new collaborations and exploring new avenues of research." Dr Masters will arrive in Portsmouth in October. Professor Nichol said: "Karen's observations are very topical and many of the theoretical cosmologists at the ICG are eager to talk with her. It will be interesting to see what comes out of those conversations; maybe new tests of gravity of the scale of our local universe."

The fellowship is run by the International Astronomical Union and awarded annually to an "extremely promising" young astrophysicist working in theoretical, observational or experimental astrophysics.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by the University of Portsmouth

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