Research in High Energy Physics and Cosmology

高能物理与宇宙学研究

• 批准号: 1214302
• 负责人: Matthew Kleban
• 金额: $ 24万
• 依托单位: New York University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1214302&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Energy; Physics; Cosmology

This award funds the research activities of Professor Matthew B. Kleban at New York University. New data from cosmology have quantified many parameters of our universe to unprecedented accuracy. Among the most significant is the determination that much of the energy in the universe is "dark", of a form consistent with a small, positive vacuum energy. Such a result is famously difficult to explain, and accounting for it probably requires a theory of quantum gravity. Professor Kleban will advance his ongoing program of research in fundamental physics, with a focus on those aspects of string theory and quantum gravity that predict effects which can be tested with cosmology. Professor Kleban's recent work helped lay the foundation for understanding the effects of high-scale physics on cosmology, particularly signatures of cosmic bubble collisions, and in a recent development, an independent group recently analyzed Cosmic Microwave Background data for the signals of bubble collisions which were predicted by the Prof. Kleban. This search uncovered several anomalous features consistent with collisions, but the results were incomplete and inconclusive. Determining the origin of those anomalies is of paramount importance, and Prof. Kleban will pursue this along with a number of other related research directions. This work is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. The detection of a cosmic bubble collision would be a transformative discovery, permanently altering our understanding of the universe and humanity's place within it. It would demonstrate that our observable universe is a tiny part of a vastly larger multiverse populated by other bubbles containing regions of highly exotic physics. It would also confirm a prediction of string theory, provide crucial evidence for the nature of dark energy, and dramatically change our view of the Big Bang. This possibility continues to have a substantial broader impact in the form of magazine and newspaper articles, public lectures and interviews given by Prof. Kleban, and by inspiring undergraduate and graduate physics students at NYU. On another front, Prof. Kleban recently helped develop a survey that was administered to hundreds of NYU undergraduates, with the aim of determining if and why minority and women students drop out of the physics program at a higher rate than others. As part of his continuing research, he will continue the analysis of the results of this survey with the goal of using the conclusions to help improve the graduation and success rates of women and minority physics students. Finally, Prof. Kleban will train and aid in the professional development of graduate students that participate in this project.

该奖项资助纽约大学马修·B·克莱班教授的研究活动。来自宇宙学的新数据以前所未有的精度量化了我们宇宙的许多参数。其中最重要的是确定宇宙中的大部分能量是“暗的”，其形式与小的、正的真空能量一致。众所周知，这样的结果很难解释，而且可能需要量子引力理论才能解释。克莱班教授将推进他正在进行的基础物理学研究计划，重点放在弦理论和量子引力的那些方面，这些方面可以预测可以用宇宙学检验的效应。克莱班教授最近的工作帮助为理解大尺度物理对宇宙学的影响奠定了基础，特别是宇宙气泡碰撞的信号。在最近的发展中，一个独立的研究小组最近分析了宇宙微波背景数据，以寻找克莱班教授预测的气泡碰撞的信号。这次搜索发现了几个与碰撞一致的异常特征，但结果不完整，也没有定论。确定这些异常的来源是至关重要的，克莱班教授将与其他一些相关研究方向一起追寻这一点。这项工作预计也将产生重大的更广泛的影响。探测到宇宙气泡碰撞将是一项变革性的发现，永久性地改变我们对宇宙和人类在其中的位置的理解。这将证明，我们的可观测宇宙只是一个更大的多元宇宙的一小部分，这个多元宇宙中充斥着包含高度奇异物理区域的其他气泡。它还将证实弦理论的预测，为暗能量的性质提供关键证据，并极大地改变我们对大爆炸的看法。这种可能性继续以杂志和报纸文章的形式、克莱班教授的公开讲座和采访的形式，并通过激励纽约大学的本科生和研究生来继续产生重大而广泛的影响。另一方面，克莱班教授最近帮助制定了一项调查，对数百名纽约大学本科生进行了调查，目的是确定少数族裔和女性学生是否以及为什么会比其他学生更高地退出物理课程。作为他继续研究的一部分，他将继续分析这项调查的结果，目的是利用这些结论来帮助提高女性和少数民族物理专业学生的毕业率和成功率。最后，克莱班教授将培训和帮助参与该项目的研究生的专业发展。