The dark matter comprise 25% of the total matter in the Universe and yet its nature remains unknown. Recent observations in dwarf galaxies suggest the standard model of cosmology may be flawed. My work focuses on unraveling its nature by exploring different dark matter scenarios, including but not limited to the standard Cold Dark Matter paradigm, Self-Interacting dark matter and the ultra-light Scalar Field/Bose-Einstein Dark Matter.
Despite the existence of millions of galaxies in our Universe, galaxies share some fundamental properties. Numerical simulations allow us to test our understanding of how galaxies form by following the complex evolution that they undergo for 13.7 Billion years (about the age of the Universe) in just a few minutes! As a member of the FIRE project, I use the code GIZMO to perform hydrodynamics simulations. My research centers on analyzing the non-linear impact on the stars and gas in dwarf galaxies caused by modifications in the dark matter nature; recently I started the project "FIRE in the Freezer".
It is often believed that quantum physics phenomena are restricted to small scales, far smaller than those we encounter in our everyday life. However, recent advances in experiments with quantum fluids and cold atoms have proven the contrary, one example is Bose-Einstein condensation. Interestingly, if dark matter has quantum properties at galactic scales, then each galaxy would reside in a macroscopic Bose-Eintein condensate of dark matter. I am actively working on deriving theoretical and observational implications of such quantum mechanics-astrophysics connection.
SIDM on FIRE: Hydrodynamical Self-Interacting Dark Matter simulations of low-mass dwarf...
Press Release: Is Dark Matter "Fuzzy"?
Published in Chandra X-Ray Observatory and in Phys.org. Original article: "Scalar field dark matter in clusters of galaxies" MNRAS 468, 3135-3149 (2017)
publication list
Dr. Victor H. Robles