Research in Elementary Particle Physics

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。Tevatron和大型强子对撞机上的实验有望揭示电弱对称破缺的本质。人们正在使用新的实验和理论工具来探索高温高密度下的物质结构。超越标准模型的物理现象在中微子混合等现象中已经很明显了。暗物质和暗能量表明，远距离的天体物理和短距离的粒子物理之间存在着深刻的联系。有效场论方法是分离能量尺度和使强相互作用量子场论易于处理的必要工具。PI和co-PI将开发与跨越能量、强度、温度和密度以及宇宙边界的粒子物理现象学相关的有效场论描述。在能量前沿，我们将研究电弱对称破缺区中的复合性、超对称性和额外维度的信号。在强度前沿，将详细计算中微子和光子的新相互作用，并探索它们的现象学后果。在温度和密度下，弦理论中发展的前沿技术将被用来研究热而致密的强相互作用物质的相结构。在宇宙前沿，将研究由新的电弱尺度物理和轴子产生的暗物质候选者。更广泛的科学影响将是，PI和Co-PI将开发新的理论工具来分析可能的新基本粒子和相互作用，并将与实验者合作，帮助发现它们。合作者将以导师和顾问的身份参加芝加哥大学实验学校“五月计划”的自主学习项目。高中生将接触到大学水平的研究，并将有机会调查来自前沿地区之一的问题。PI和Co-PI都将参加其他外展项目，这些项目过去曾出现在当地电台和电视节目中，以及公开讲座。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Experiments at the Tevatron and the Large Hadron Collider are poised to shed light on the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking. New experimental and theoretical tools are being used to probe the structure of matter at high temperature and high density. Physics beyond the standard model is already apparent in phenomena such as neutrino mixing. Dark matter and dark energy suggest deep connections between astrophysics at large distances and particle physics at short distances. The methods of effective field theory are the essential tools for separating energy scales and rendering strongly-interacting quantum field theories tractable. The PI and co-PI will develop effective field theory descriptions relevant to particle physics phenomenology spanning the energy, intensity, temperature and density, and cosmic frontiers. At the energy frontier, signals of compositeness, supersymmetry and extra dimensions in the electroweak-symmetry breaking sector will be studied. At the intensity frontier, novel interactions of neutrinos and photons will be computed in detail, and their phenomenological consequences explored. At the temperature and density frontier techniques developed in string theory will be used to study the phase structure of hot and dense strongly interacting matter. At the cosmic frontier, dark matter candidates arising from new electroweak-scale physics, and from axions, will be studied. The broader scientific impact will be that the PI and Co-PI will develop new theoretical tools to analyze possible new fundamental particles and interactions, and will work with experimenters to help discover them. The co-PI will participate as a mentor and consultant in the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools "May Project" independent study program. High school seniors will be exposed to university-level research, and will have the opportunity to investigate a question from one of the frontier areas. Both the PI and Co-PI will participate in other outreach programs which in the past have included appearances on local radio and TV programs and public lectures.