Grand Unified Theories and Cosmology

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Research in theoretical physics and astrophysics will concentrate on studies of cosmic topological defects and quantum cosmology. The topological defects can include strings, domain walls, and other structures which can help solve the riddle of how "lumps" such as galaxies formed out of a very smooth early universe. Quantum cosmology is an effort to understand the nature of the big bang, and in particular the very first instant of the universe.