Physics Frontier Center at the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics: Pushing Cosmology to the Edge

卡维里宇宙物理研究所物理前沿中心：将宇宙学推向边缘

• 批准号: 1125897
• 负责人: Michael Turner
• 金额: $ 1700万
• 依托单位: University of Chicago
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-01 至 2020-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1125897&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Physics; Frontier; Center; Kavli; Institute

Cosmology and particle physics stand at a crossroads. In recent years, scientists have put together a remarkably successful model of cosmic evolution and the extraordinarily well tested Standard Model of elementary particles. In the current cosmological model, a rapid burst of expansion - inflation - occurred a tiny fraction of a second after the Big Bang, laying the seeds for the formation of structure in the Universe. Those seeds have been observed as hot and cold regions in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. The assembly of galaxies from those seeds and the vast web of large-scale structure seen in galaxy surveys was shaped by dark matter, which dominates the mass in galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Finally, the evidence that the cosmic expansion is now accelerating has become incontrovertible, pointing to a Universe dominated by dark energy or else to a modification of Einstein's theory of General Relativity.The success of the current cosmology rests upon its three mysterious pillars - inflation, particle dark matter, and dark energy - mysterious because they lie outside the Standard Model of particle physics. Cosmology has shown that the Standard Model is incomplete, and that there is new physics waiting to be discovered. In the coming decade, cosmology can help reveal the new physics underlying inflation, dark matter, and cosmic acceleration, and thereby play a critical role in pointing the way to a new paradigm for fundamental physics. The Physics Frontier Center at the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics (KICP) will bring together astronomers and physicists, theorists, observers and experimentalists, and early-career scientists and senior researchers from across the cosmology community. Since the complexity of these problems requires multiple, complementary approaches, the Center will enable datasets from different experiments to be combined in powerful new ways. As new discoveries are made, the Center will pursue new directions to promptly follow them up. Building upon the accomplishments, investments, and lessons learned over the past ten years of PFC funding, the Center focuses upon reaping the science from the projects that were initiated and developed at the KICP - South Pole Telescope (SPT), Dark Energy Survey (DES), Q/U Imaging Experiment (QUIET), and Chicagoland Observatory for Underground Particle Physics (COUPP) - and elsewhere to help solve these big mysteries. Built around the projects, the Center includes eight Major Activities (MAs), five research Hubs, an international Fellows exchange program, yearly hands-on summer schools, and multiple Education & Outreach partnerships. Twenty-one key collaborators have committed to carrying out specific tasks central to the Center. They come from local institutions, education and outreach partners, institutions around the country, and industry. Three science MAs are devoted to our research themes: the Inflation MA will take advantage of dramatic advances in measuring CMB polarization to pursue the "Bmode" polarization signature of inflation-produced gravity waves, focusing initially on QUIET and SPTpol while laying the groundwork for future experiments. It will also combine CMB and large-scale structure measurements from DES to test whether the underlying density perturbations are Gaussian, as predicted by the simplest models of inflation. The Dark Energy MA will use the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and South Pole Telescope (SPT) and other future projects to probe the physical origin of cosmic acceleration and test the current paradigm - vacuum energy within Einstein's theory of gravity. The Dark Matter MA will synthesize the upcoming wealth of data from particle colliders, satellites, and ultra-sensitive dark matter detectors to confirm or refute the weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) hypothesis for dark matter.Within the three science MAs, five research "Hubs" will bring people and projects together to focus on specific challenges. The CMB Polarization Hub will facilitate coordination between different polarization experiments, including joint analysis; the non-Gaussianity Hub will bring together international researchers to constrain or detect non-Gaussianity and test inflation. The Joint Analysis Hub will bring together researchers on SPT and DES and other projects to develop and apply new tools to exploit and optimize galaxy clusters as probes of dark energy; the Supernova Hub will carry out a broad program to improve supernovae as cosmological distance indicators and apply these techniques to new surveys. The Dark Matter Hub will focus on particle theory and model building and signals for dark matter from colliders and indirect detection experiments, complementing the direct detection experiment COUPP and others.The Fellows MA is the centerpiece activity of the Center. Mentored by the faculty of the Center but given great independence, eleven early-career scientists will be able to shape research programs of their own design, work with faculty, other Fellows, students, and visitors in the interdisciplinary environment of the Center. They can also participate in an international Fellows exchange program and choose from a broad range of opportunities in education and outreach. All of this is designed to prepare them to be future leaders in cosmology.Two MAs are devoted to crosscutting, science-enabling activities. Detector Development, strongly leveraged by partnerships with Argonne, Fermilab, and other institutions, will develop innovative detectors to position us to take advantage of early discoveries and to broadly benefit cosmology and other areas of science. Computational Cosmology will coordinate the high-performance computing resources, both human and hardware, necessary to accomplish our science goals. The Conferences, Workshops, and Visitors MA will provide a program of specialized workshops, large symposia, yearly hands-on summer schools, and a visitors program featuring the David Schramm Distinguished Visiting Professorship to engage and benefit the broader cosmology community and further our science goals.By design, the broader impacts of the PFC are woven throughout the Center activities. More specifically, the Education, Outreach, & Diversity MA, will spearhead and coordinate a series of activities aimed at broadening the impact of the Center. This MA is strongly coupled to the science in the Center, involves 100% of the PFC faculty members, and has three overarching goals: increasing the diversity of the STEM workforce through programs from K-12 to the professoriate; educating and preparing the next generation of teacher-scholars in an interdisciplinary environment by involving students and Fellows directly in outreach and teaching activities; and advancing the public's understanding and appreciation of science through collaborations with museums and planetariums, and through public lectures and events. This approach to broadening participation includes collaboration with Project Exploration working with the Chicago Public Schools, continuation of the successful Space Explorers K-12 program, partnering with the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge program and the University of Texas El Paso to bring students to UChicago for research experiences, supporting and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, and championing diversity in faculty hiring and retention within the Physical Sciences Division at UChicago. The Center will also use technology, developing visualization tools, to integrate research into the undergraduate curriculum and will partner with the Adler Planetarium on cosmology visualizations for a broader audience. Finally, the Conferences, Workshops, and Visitors MA will promote dissemination of cutting-edge research to the broader cosmology community and offer opportunities for those not currently engaged in cosmology research to transition into the field.

宇宙学和粒子物理学正站在一个十字路口。近年来，科学家们已经建立了一个非常成功的宇宙演化模型，以及经过非常充分测试的基本粒子标准模型。在目前的宇宙模型中，在大爆炸后不到一秒的时间里发生了一次快速的膨胀——暴胀，为宇宙结构的形成埋下了种子。这些种子在宇宙微波背景辐射（CMB）中被观测到为热区和冷区。这些种子形成的星系和星系调查中看到的大规模结构的巨大网络是由暗物质形成的，暗物质在星系和星系团中占主导地位。最后，宇宙正在加速膨胀的证据已经变得无可争议，这表明一个由暗能量主导的宇宙，或者是对爱因斯坦广义相对论的修正。当前宇宙学的成功取决于它的三个神秘支柱——暴胀、粒子暗物质和暗能量——神秘的原因是它们不在粒子物理学的标准模型范围内。宇宙学已经表明，标准模型是不完整的，还有新的物理学有待发现。在未来的十年里，宇宙学可以帮助揭示暴胀、暗物质和宇宙加速背后的新物理学，从而在为基础物理学指明新范式方面发挥关键作用。Kavli宇宙物理研究所（KICP）的物理前沿中心将汇集来自整个宇宙学社区的天文学家和物理学家，理论家，观察者和实验家，以及早期职业科学家和高级研究人员。由于这些问题的复杂性需要多种互补的方法，该中心将使来自不同实验的数据集能够以强大的新方式组合在一起。随着新发现的出现，中心将寻求新的方向，及时跟进。在过去十年PFC资助的成就、投资和经验教训的基础上，该中心专注于从KICP启动和发展的项目中收获科学——南极望远镜（SPT）、暗能量调查（DES）、Q/U成像实验（QUIET）和芝加哥地下粒子物理天文台（COUPP）——以及其他地方帮助解决这些重大谜团。围绕这些项目，该中心包括八个主要活动（MAs），五个研究中心，一个国际研究员交流计划，每年的动手暑期学校，以及多个教育和外展伙伴关系。21个主要合作者已承诺执行中心的核心具体任务。他们来自当地机构、教育和外展合作伙伴、全国各地的机构和行业。三个科学MA致力于我们的研究主题：暴胀MA将利用在测量CMB极化方面的巨大进步来追求暴胀产生的重力波的“b模”极化特征，最初专注于QUIET和SPTpol，同时为未来的实验奠定基础。它还将结合CMB和来自DES的大规模结构测量，以测试潜在的密度扰动是否像最简单的膨胀模型所预测的那样是高斯的。暗能量MA将使用暗能量调查（DES）和南极望远镜（SPT）以及其他未来的项目来探测宇宙加速的物理起源，并测试爱因斯坦引力理论中的当前范式——真空能。暗物质MA将综合来自粒子对撞机、卫星和超灵敏暗物质探测器的大量数据，以证实或反驳暗物质的弱相互作用大质量粒子（WIMP）假说。在三个科学硕士中，五个研究“中心”将把人们和项目聚集在一起，专注于具体的挑战。CMB极化中心将促进不同极化实验之间的协调，包括联合分析；非高斯中心将汇集国际研究人员来约束或检测非高斯性和测试暴涨。联合分析中心将汇集SPT和DES以及其他项目的研究人员，开发和应用新工具，利用和优化作为暗能量探测器的星系团；超新星中心将开展一项广泛的计划，以改进超新星作为宇宙距离指标，并将这些技术应用于新的调查。暗物质中心将专注于粒子理论和模型构建，以及来自对撞机和间接探测实验的暗物质信号，补充直接探测实验COUPP等。研究员MA是中心的核心活动。在中心教师的指导下，11位早期职业科学家将能够形成他们自己设计的研究项目，与中心的教师、其他研究员、学生和访客在跨学科的环境中合作。他们还可以参加国际奖学金生交换计划，并从广泛的教育和外展机会中进行选择。所有这一切都是为了让他们成为未来宇宙学的领导者。两个硕士专门从事横切的科学支持活动。通过与阿贡、费米实验室和其他机构的合作，探测器开发公司将开发创新的探测器，使我们能够利用早期的发现，并广泛地造福于宇宙学和其他科学领域。计算宇宙学将协调高性能计算资源，包括人力和硬件，以实现我们的科学目标。会议，研讨会和访客MA将提供一个专门的研讨会，大型专题讨论会，年度实践暑期学校，以及一个以大卫·施拉姆杰出客座教授为特色的访客计划，以参与和受益于更广泛的宇宙学社区，并进一步实现我们的科学目标。通过设计，PFC的广泛影响贯穿于整个中心活动。更具体地说，教育、外联和多样性MA将带头和协调一系列旨在扩大中心影响的活动。该硕士学位与中心的科学紧密结合，涉及100%的PFC教职员工，并有三个总体目标：通过从K-12到教授的项目增加STEM劳动力的多样性；通过让学生和研究员直接参与外展和教学活动，在跨学科的环境中教育和培养下一代教师学者；通过与博物馆和天文馆的合作，以及通过公开讲座和活动，促进公众对科学的理解和欣赏。这种扩大参与的方法包括与芝加哥公立学校的项目探索合作，继续成功的太空探险家K-12项目，与菲斯克-范德比尔特硕士到博士的桥梁项目和德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校合作，将学生带到芝加哥大学进行研究经验，支持和指导本科生和研究生，并倡导芝加哥大学物理科学系教师招聘和保留方面的多样性。该中心还将利用技术，开发可视化工具，将研究整合到本科课程中，并将与阿德勒天文馆合作，为更广泛的受众提供宇宙学可视化。最后，会议、研讨会和访客MA将促进前沿研究向更广泛的宇宙学社区传播，并为那些目前尚未从事宇宙学研究的人提供过渡到该领域的机会。