Theoretical Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The research supported under this proposal touches cosmology,observational astronomy, aspects of particle physics, plasma physics,high energy astrophysics, black holes and computational physics.Techniques will be developed to best exploit future high precision dataon the cosmic microwave background radiation and irregularities in thedistribution of galaxies. The evolution of galaxies and some aspects ofgamma ray bursts will be studied using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey andKeck telescopes. Theoretical work will attempt to elucidate theproperties and distribution of dark matter, the origin of the excess ofmatter over antimatter in the Universe, the underlying physics ofgamma ray bursts, the source of the highest energy cosmic rays, theprocess by which large black holes form and accrete matter, andselected issues in particle physics.The work will help pin down the fundamental cosmological parameters suchas Einstein's cosmological constant, the curvature of theuniverse, and the matter content of the universe. Conditions in theUniverse in the instant after the Big Bang will be inferred. Themechanism by which the Big Bang developed and then ended will beelucidated and the "Inflationary Scenario" will be tested. Novelproperties of space-time, such as extra dimensions or intrinsicallyquantum mechanical dimensions whose distances cannot be described byordinary numbers, are inherent in string theory; it is an importantchallenge to find ways to discover these hidden features of theUniverse, if they are there. Identifying and measuring the dark matterand dark energy, and answering the questions above, are prerequisites todeducing the fundamental theory of nature and to understanding why theUniverse is hospitable to life at this or any epoch in its history.