Research in Particle Theory, Cosmology, and Quantum Gravity

粒子论、宇宙学和量子引力研究

• 批准号: 2310429
• 负责人: Peter Graham
• 金额: $ 234万
• 依托单位: Stanford University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-15 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2310429&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Particle; Theory; Cosmology; Quantum

This award funds the research activities of Professors Savas Dimopoulos, Peter Graham, Renata Kallosh, Andrei Linde, Stephen Shenker, Eva Silverstein, and Leonard Susskind at Stanford University.This group of physicists studies a broad range of subjects all aimed at answering two basic questions: Can we understand the origin and historical evolution of our Universe? And can we determine the nature of the basic building blocks --- the elementary particles --- that constitute the world around us? As part of their research, these physicists will attempt to discover dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up most of the matter in the universe, by designing new detectors based on quantum sensor technology. They will also explore the beginnings of our universe using information contained in some of the earliest ‘pictures’ from mere moments after the big bang. Finally, they will investigate the nature of black holes in order to gain a better understanding of the fundamental laws of nature. This research also has significant broader impacts. New tools will be developed which can have applications in diverse areas of science. Students and postdoctoral fellows who are trained in the course of performing this research will move on to serve the nation in crucial ways, whether by joining the next generation of leaders in research and teaching, or by transferring their expertise to firms which develop important new technologies in Silicon Valley and beyond. These faculty will also expend considerable effort in outreach activities in order to bring the fruits of modern science to the general public through public lectures, videos, and popular publications, including books accessible to the general public.At a more technical level, Dimopoulos will search for innovative approaches for manipulating and detecting the Cosmic Neutrino Background (CnuB). This includes the construction of a Diffraction Grating for the CnuB, which involves structures approximately ten meters in size. This technique significantly amplifies the net neutrino excess by several orders of magnitude, potentially serving as a crucial initial step towards uncovering the CnuB. Graham will design and optimize dark matter detectors using electron and ion traps to search for millicharged particles, axions, and dark photons. Graham will also discover the science available with gravitational wave observations in the ‘mid-band’, roughly 0.01 – 10 Hz, which will help in the design and operation of previously proposed atomic gravitational wave detectors such as MAGIS. Kallosh and Linde will explore inflationary theory and the theory of dark energy inspired by supergravity and string theory. Shenker will investigate the fine structure of quantum black holes. He will use two-dimensional models that have proven useful in studying non-perturbative effects in quantum gravity. He will also study BPS black hole states in supersymmetric theories. Silverstein will extend her 3d de Sitter microstate count in pure gravity to incorporate local bulk matter and derive physical implications of M theory de Sitter models from hyperbolic compactifications. She will systematize the theory of non-perturbative non-Gaussianity and its relation to large scale structure analysis and develop novel algorithms for AI. Susskind’s research involves holography, and several candidates for holographic systems which may describe de Sitter spaces have already been identified. These include matrix theories similar to BFSS matrix theory, and a promising candidate based on the double-scaled limit of Sachdev-Yeh-Kitaev theory at infinite temperature.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该奖项资助斯坦福大学萨瓦斯·迪莫普洛斯 (Savas Dimopoulos)、彼得·格雷厄姆 (Peter Graham)、雷纳塔·卡洛什 (Renata Kallosh)、安德烈·林德 (Andrei Linde)、斯蒂芬·申克 (Stephen Shenker)、伊娃·西尔弗斯坦 (Eva Silverstein) 和伦纳德·苏斯金德 (Leonard Susskind) 教授的研究活动。这组物理学家研究了广泛的学科，旨在回答两个基本问题：我们能否了解宇宙的起源和历史演化？我们能否确定构成我们周围世界的基本构件（基本粒子）的性质？物理学家将尝试通过设计基于量子传感器技术的新探测器来发现暗物质，即构成宇宙中大部分物质的神秘物质。他们还将利用一些最早的探测器中包含的信息来探索我们宇宙的起源。最后，他们将研究黑洞的本质，以便更好地了解自然的基本规律，这项研究还将开发出具有更广泛影响的新工具。学生和博士后在不同科学领域的应用。在这项研究过程中接受培训的研究员将继续以关键方式为国家服务，无论是加入下一代研究和教学领导者的行列，还是将他们的专业知识转移给在硅谷开发重要新技术的公司这些教师还将在推广活动上投入大量精力，通过公开讲座、视频和流行出版物（包括向公众开放的书籍）将现代科学的成果带给公众。迪莫普洛斯将寻找创新的方法来操纵探测宇宙中微子背景（CnuB） 这包括为 CnuB 建造一个衍射光栅，该技术涉及大约十米大小的结构，该技术将净中微子过剩显着放大了几个数量级，可能是一个关键的技术。格雷厄姆将利用电子和离子陷阱来设计和优化暗物质探测器，以寻找毫带电粒子、轴子和暗光子。可以在“中频”（大约 0.01 – 10 Hz）进行引力波观测，这将有助于先前提出的原子引力波探测器（例如 MAGIS）的设计和操作，Kallosh 和 Linde 将探索暴胀理论和暗理论。受超引力和弦理论启发，他将使用二维模型来研究量子引力的非微扰效应。西尔弗斯坦还将研究超对称理论中的 BPS 黑洞态，她将扩展纯引力中的 3d 德西特微观态计数，以纳入局部块体物质，并从双曲紧致化中导出 M 理论德西特模型的物理含义。扰动非高斯性及其与大规模结构分析的关系，并为人工智能开发新颖的算法。苏斯金德的研究涉及全息术，并且已经有几个可以描述德西特空间的全息系统的候选者。其中包括反映类似于 BFSS 矩阵理论的矩阵理论，以及基于无限温度下 Sachdev-Yeh-Kitaev 理论的双尺度极限的有前途的候选理论。该奖项的法定使命是通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。