The document is a presentation given by Flip Tanedo to affiliates of UC Riverside on diving into the dark universe and what the universe is made of. It summarizes that dark matter exists based on evidence from astronomy but its true nature remains a puzzle that theorists are trying to solve using particle physics. It discusses how theoretical science works to make predictions about unseen phenomena and gives examples from the history of astronomy.

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Flip Tanedo
2 OCT 2018
UC Riverside Particle Theory
DIVING INTO THE DARK
W H A T T H E U N I V E R S E I S M A D E O F
f l i p . t a n e d o @ u c r . e d u AFFILIATES OF UCR LUNCHEON
&

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Who discovered water?
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/12/23/water-fish/
I don’t know. But it probably wasn’t a fish.

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What we know
Dark matter exists.
We cannot see, smell,
hear, touch, or taste it.
There’s way more of it
than ordinary stuff.
We’re swimming in it.
Our best representation so far:

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How do we know it?
5%
27%
68%
visible matter is not everything
GALACTIC
ROTATION CURVES
GRAVITATIONAL LENSING COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND
Evidencefromastro/cosmo

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So what is it?
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/12/23/water-fish/
I don’t know. But I’m a fish trying to find out.

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Particle physics
LookcloserImage: Lego (2017)

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Particle physics
IseverythingLego?!?!Image: Lego (2017)

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What are our legos?
/ /
¯ / − /
¯ / /
/ −/
¯ / −
/
/
( ) ( )
fundamental forces
matterparticles
Puzzleisinparticlephysics

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Everything we know about particles
Standard Model
dark matter?

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The situation
astronomy
particlephysics
?
Evidencefromastro/cosmo
Puzzleinparticlephysics

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The situation
astronomy
particlephysics
Evidence
for dark
matter
yeah, but
what is dark
matter, anyway?

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The situation
astronomy
particlephysics
Stars follow
gravitational
pull of
dark
matter
laboratory
experiments
see nothing (yet?)

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What we don’t see
Image: P-47 Thunderbolt, USAAF
Anecdote from How Not to Be Wrong by J. Ellenberg
Abraham
Wald
S TAT I S T I C A L
R E S E A R C H G R O U P
1.11
1.73
1.55
Puzzle: How to best armor a plane?
Data: bullet holes per sq. inch
Lots of bullet holes!
Not much damage

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The first dark matter: Neptune
Image: Magnus Manske via Wikipedia U. Le Verrier; hubpages.com/
education/The-Drama-of-Neptunes-Discovery
Astronomical observations + theory → missing stuff

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The second dark matter? Vulcan
Image: StarT, Magnus Manske via Wikipedia U. Le Verrier
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/einsteins-genius-changed-sciences-perception-gravity

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smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-everyone-went-wild-goose-chase-looking-planet-vulcan-180964822/

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Sometimes, a surprise!
Image: Magnus Manske via Wikipedia U. Le Verrier
No missing stuff. The laws of physics were wrong!

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The situation
astronomy
particlephysics
Can we use
the stuff we
see…
to learn
about the
stuff we cannot?

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What is theoretical science?
gravity from
missing stuff
Haven’t
seen it
in the lab
current theory
of particle physics

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What is theoretical science?
Haven’t
seen it
in the lab
current theory
of particle physics
gravity from
missing stuff
new particle:
dark matter

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What is theoretical science?
A “complete” theory that
includes previous knowledge
& new observations
previous
knowledge
gravity from
missing stuffprediction

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Theorist’s roadmap to tenure
HACK
full theory
predictions
interpretation
consistency

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WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO MOST PEOPLEWhat it looks like to my students

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What it looks like to my colleagues

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What it looks like most of the time
at a friend’s
wedding
(The friend is
a theoretical
physicist.)

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Our team at UCR
theory.ucr.edu

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Why do we do it?
Gauguin, “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?” (1897)
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
What is our cosmology?

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What we don’t always see
Vera Rubin
1928 - 2016
Astronomer whose
observations were
some of the the first
evidence for modern
dark matter.
Overlooked for Nobel.
airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/capturing-essence-astronomer-vera-rubin

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Cynthia K. Larive
Provost, executive vice
chancellor
“As a first-generation
student, I was always
worried about, ‘Was I good
enough, could I do it?’ To
be a first-generation
student means that you
are a pioneer. That you are
blazing a trail for you and
for those in your family
that come after you, and
it’s an exciting opportunity
to be the first. My advice is
to realize that you are good
enough, you can do it, and
that the whole of UCR is
here to support you.”
Sharon Oselin
Associate professor, sociology
“I didn’t really know what I
wanted to do in terms of my
major. I had a lot of anxiety
about that! I switched
majors a lot. I had this
fantasy that I was going to
be a doctor — a medical
doctor. I am a doctor now,
but I had no idea I wanted
to be a professor. That idea
never crossed my mind,
especially coming from a
household like I did. The
first two years, especially,
are the time to try different
courses, get exposed to
different disciplines, and
not necessarily rush into a
To date, 114 members of UC Riverside’s faculty
have self-identified as first-generation college
students. Here are some of their stories, in their
own words. Visit firstgen.ucr.edu for more
information on UCR’s First Generation campaign.
8 | UCR Winter 2018
be a first-generation
student means that you
are a pioneer. That you are
blazing a trail for you and
for those in your family
that come after you, and
it’s an exciting opportunity
to be the first. My advice is
to realize that you are good
enough, you can do it, and
that the whole of UCR is
here to support you.”
Flip Tanedo
Assistant professor, physics
“Many of the high-achieving
people around me were a step
ahead because they had
parents who were academics or
professionals. They had
stronger math and science
backgrounds, already did
research, knew how to talk to
professors, and knew how to
succeed in college. It didn’t
seem fair that other people
already knew the roadmap to
do well before they even came
here. I had to figure those
things out from watching other
people and finding the right
mentors. One thing I came to
appreciate, though, is that the
race we’re running is a
marathon and that these ended
up being small differences in
starting position.”
fantasy that I was going to
be a doctor — a medical
doctor. I am a doctor now,
but I had no idea I wanted
to be a professor. That idea
never crossed my mind,
especially coming from a
household like I did. The
first two years, especially,
are the time to try different
courses, get exposed to
different disciplines, and
not necessarily rush into a
major.”
Carole-Anne Tyler
Associate professor, English
“One of my very first classes
was French. It met at 8 a.m.,
and my teacher asked how
many of us had been to
France. Everyone in the room
but me raised a hand. I never
talked in class because of
that. I thought my
classmates really knew the
language and culture
because they’d been to
France. Meanwhile, I had a
perfect score on the national
achievement exam in French
and all A’s in my high school
French classes. It never
occurred to me that my
classmates had probably
gone with mom and dad on a
two-week vacation to France,
which hardly made them
experts.”
UCR Magazine Win 2018

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Paying it forward

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To learn more about dark matter
www.sciencefriday.com/person/flip-tanedo/