The Queen's College Record 2023

Reports and College Activities
is called the Standard Model of Particle Physics and is much like a periodic table for
elementary particles. Notably, it has been surprisingly successful in the sense that
within the realm of particle physics observables it has yet to encounter any robust
discrepancies from theoretical prediction.
On the other hand, the Standard Model has a number of theoretical deficiencies,
for instance its structure is not understood (unlike the periodic table of elements).
Moreover, observations of our universe reveal that there is seemingly some unknown
class of particles (or macroscopic bodies) that cannot be understood within the
Standard Model, so called “dark matter”. The best evidence for dark matter comes
from the observation that many galaxies would behave quite differently if they didn’t
have sizeable populations of invisible objects to source new gravitational attraction.
Little is known about this hypothetical dark matter, but certainly they must not
interact very significantly with regular particles, or we would be able to observe them
directly or produce them in the lab.
With so few observational handles, there are a myriad of possibilities for the nature of
dark matter. For instance, one might ask if they could be related to other theoretical
deficiencies of the Standard Model? Perhaps small black holes with masses
much less than our Sun could be the dark matter, or contribute to the observed
phenomenon? It is then important to ask what the observable consequences would
be for each scenario. Most recently my collaborators and I have been thinking about
how dark matter particles may convert to regular “visible” particles around small
black holes. We have also been considering how the orbits of exoplanets might be
tilted or deformed to eclipses if a small black hole flew close to the parent star. The
aim of such research is to identify new possibilities for discerning the nature of dark
matter, and thus answering one of the most fundamental questions regarding the
make-up of our universe.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of my time in Oxford was interacting with the
brilliant students. Indeed, I was delighted to get the opportunity to start an ongoing
collaboration with one graduate student. It is always apparent that many of the Oxford
students will doubtlessly go on to achieve great things and perhaps even become
future leaders in my field. I will take these experiences and new collaborations formed
at Queen’s College back to my home university and they will no doubt enrich my
research program for years to come.
24 The Queen’s College | College Record 2023