Dark Components and Other Cosmological Mysteries Linked Through Extra Dimensions

对我们宇宙的一种非常连贯的描述已经出现，它以惊人的精确度证实了人们的预期，同时也突出了令人信服的证据，证明了物理学超出了我们目前的理解。宇宙中超过95%的物质是暗能量和暗物质的未知形式。暗能量的尺度比暗物质的能量尺度低15个数量级，但它们今天以类似的比例填充着宇宙。有趣的是，暗层次在介乎电弱尺度和普朗克尺度之间的粒子物理层次中重复出现。解决粒子层次结构的尝试引发了额外维度的存在，带来了一系列看似无关的宇宙学谜团：维度是如何稳定的？为什么只有三个维度大？是什么推动了早期宇宙的各向异性膨胀？PI提出，宇宙的暗成分通过宇宙几何结构的一个简单方面与其他看似无关的宇宙学奥秘联系在一起。她认为，暗能量就是卡西米尔能量，这是有限空间中量子力学的必然结果。卡西米尔能量可以推动空间外向器的体积，这取决于潜在的量子场。场的叠加使Oneto能够平衡力量并稳定额外的维度。根据文献中现有的建议，暗物质可能与最轻的卡鲁扎-克莱恩粒子有关，这是有限空间中普通量子力学的另一个直接结果。尺度之间的等级、维度的稳定以及早期宇宙的各向异性膨胀可以理解为这些卡西米尔能量的后果。这一提议的更广泛影响是，每年将有一到两名来自巴纳德学院的本科生参与这项关于黑暗成分和额外维度的研究。巴纳德学院是哥伦比亚大学附属的一所女子学院。学生们将学习如何解决描述高维宇宙学扩展的简单的微分方程组。她的项目的一个补充方面将包括通过巴纳德支持的公共宣传向纽约市高中的女孩传播这些想法。

A remarkably cohesive description of our universe has emerged that confirmsexpectations with stunning precision yet simultaneously highlights compelling evidencefor physics beyond our current understanding. Over 95% of the universe is in theunknown form of dark energy and dark matter. The scale of the dark energy is 15 orders of magnitude lower than the energy scale of dark matter, yet they fill the universe in comparable proportions today. The dark hierarchy is repeated, intriguingly, in a particle physics hierarchy between the electroweak scale and the Planck scale. Attempts to address the particle hierarchy have invoked the existence of extra dimensions bringing a seemingly unrelated list of cosmological mysteries: How are the dimensions stabilized? Why are only three dimensions large? What could have driven anisotropic inflation in the early universe?The PI proposes that the dark components of the universe are linked to these otherseemingly unrelated cosmological mysteries through one simple facet of the cosmos itsgeometry. The dark energy, she suggests, is Casimir energy, a necessary consequence ofquantum mechanics on a finite space. Casimir energy can push the volume of space outor in, depending on the underlying quantum fields. A superposition of fields allows oneto balance the forces and stabilize the extra dimensions. The dark matter, followingexisting suggestions in the literature, could be related to a lightest Kaluza-Klein particle,another direct consequence of ordinary quantum mechanics on a finite space. Thehierarchy between scales, stabilization of dimensions, as well as early universeanisotropic inflation can be understood as consequences of these Casimir energies.The broader impacts of this proposal are that each year one or two undergraduate students from Barnard College, a women's college affiliated with Columbia University, will be involved in this research on dark components and extra dimensions. The students will learn to solve simple systems of differential equations that describe the expansion of a higher-dimensional cosmology. A complementary aspect of her project will involve dissemination of the ideas through public outreach supported by Barnard to girls in NYC high schools.