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）资助的。在Tevatron和大型强子对撞机上进行的实验将揭示电弱对称性破缺的本质。新的实验和理论工具被用来探测高温高密度下物质的结构。标准模型之外的物理现象在中微子混合等现象中已经很明显。暗物质和暗能量表明，远距离天体物理学和短距离粒子物理学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重要工具。PI和co-PI将开发与粒子物理现象学相关的有效场论描述，涵盖能量，强度，温度和密度以及宇宙边界。在能量前沿，将研究电弱对称性破缺扇区中的复合、超对称和额外维信号。在强度边界，将详细计算中微子和光子的新相互作用，并探讨其现象学后果。在温度和密度前沿，弦理论中发展的技术将用于研究热致密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学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，并将与实验人员合作，帮助发现它们。共同项目负责人将以导师和顾问的身份参与芝加哥大学实验室学校的“五月计划”独立研究项目。高中毕业生将接触到大学水平的研究，并将有机会调查来自前沿领域之一的问题。PI和共同PI都将参加其他外联计划，这些计划过去包括在当地广播和电视节目中露面以及公开演讲。

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.