Fellowship focus: Exploring new constraints on the nature of dark matter.
The central aim of this Fellowship is to develop the theoretical framework and software needed to use the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations of galaxies beyond the Milky Way to probe the nature of dark matter. Dr Tollerud has pioneered techniques to measure the motions of individual stars, and support from the University of Surrey is essential to translate these measurements into robust physical interpretations of galactic mass, including unseen dark matter. The Fellowship will adapt these methods for use with other observatories and expand Surrey’s leadership in open-source astronomy software, while establishing a new collaboration with Dr Erkal and strengthening existing partnerships.