RUI: Solitons and Oscillons in Quantum Field Theory

这项提议要求支持一项研究被称为孤子和振子或“呼吸子”的非线性场论的特定解的计划。PI是一所本科院校的教员，让本科生参与他的研究。他还与麻省理工学院关系密切，他计划在2006-7学年在那里休假，并与美国和海外其他机构的合作者保持密切联系。孤子是非线性理论中的波的相干叠加，它不会随时间消散，但与自然时间尺度相比，在较长的时间内保持其构型。振荡器是一种类似的溶液，会周期性地振荡或“呼吸”。一个重要的问题是它们在量子修正下是否稳定；这种稳定性对于这些解决方案具有任何物理意义是必不可少的。PI和他的同事们将结合分析和计算技术来解决这个问题。可能的应用出现在早期宇宙中，在那里它们可能为重子生成和宇宙的重子-反重子不对称问题提供解决方案。它们还可能在卡西米尔力中发挥作用，并应用于纳米技术。更广泛的影响还包括关于现代物理的本科课程材料的显著改进，本科生参与研究，以及为同行学者和广大公众讲课。

This proposal requests support for a program of research into particular solutions of nonlinear field theories known as solitons and oscillons, or "breathers". The PI is a faculty member atan undergraduate institution and involves undergraduates in his research. He also has strong ties to MIT, where he plans to spend a sabbatical in the 2006-7 academic year, and to collaborators in other institutions both in the U.S. and abroad. Solitons are coherent superpositions of waves in nonlinear theories which do not dissipate in time, but preserve their configurations over periods long compared with natural time scales. Oscillons are similar solutions which oscillate, or "breathe" periodically. An important problem is whether they are stable under quantum corrections; such stability is essential for these solutions to have any physical significance. The PI and his colleagues will tackle this problem with a combination of analytic and computional techniques. Possible applications occur in the early universe, where they might provide a solution to the problems of baryon generation and the baryon-anti-baryon asymmetry of the universe. They may also play a role in Casimir forces and have applications to nanotechnology. The broader impacts also include significant improvements in undergraduate course materials regarding modern physics, involvement of undergraduates in research, and lectures for fellow academics and the public at large.