Beyond the Standard Model: Searching for New Physics in Cosmology and Colliders

该奖项资助纽约大学尼尔·韦纳教授的研究活动。众所周知，标准模型是一种不完整的自然理论。宇宙中的大部分物质(由天文和宇宙学观测确定的“暗物质”)由一些未被发现的东西组成，因此一定存在标准模型中没有的新粒子。此外，希格斯玻色子的存在和量子场论的预期性质一起表明，大型强子对撞机(LHC)将发现新的粒子和场。然而，由于这两组新粒子的性质尚不清楚，需要进行广泛的理论研究，以评估目前的技术可能发现哪些新粒子，以及可能需要哪些新的搜索策略。作为该项目的一部分，韦纳教授打算调查广泛的理论情景，包括自上而下(由新的和现有的理论情景驱动)和自下而上(由新的签名驱动)，以及它们对大型强子对撞机和直接探测实验的实验影响。此外，韦纳教授将继续进行研究，以了解暗物质搜索的敏感性，重点是现有分析中存在的天体物理假设的敏感性。该项目的更广泛影响将是广泛的。韦纳教授将让学生和博士后参与他的研究项目，为培养未来的科学家提供机会。他还将继续参加物理暑期学校(应邀请)，如TASI、CLASHEP、ICTP和Les Houches项目，以教育当前的博士生积极的研究主题。最后，他将继续努力通过公开讲座以及他在高中层面的外展，以继续参与北卡罗来纳州州长的学校暑期计划为基础，努力让公众参与进来。

This award funds the research activities of Professor Neal Weiner at New York University.The Standard Model is known to be an incomplete theory of nature. Most of the matter of the universe (the "dark matter", solidly established by astronomical and cosmological observations) consists of something undiscovered, and thus there must exist new particles not in the Standard Model. Additionally, the presence of the Higgs boson and the expected properties of a quantum field theory together suggest that new particles and fields will be discovered at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). However, because the properties of both of these new sets of particles are unknown, a broad theoretical study is required in order to evaluate what possible new particles might be discoverable with present techniques and what new search strategies might be needed. As part of this project, Professor Weiner intends to investigate a broad range of theoretical scenarios, both top-down (motivated by new and existing theoretical scenarios) and bottom-up (motivated by new signatures) as well as their experimental implications for the LHC and for direct-detection experiments. Additionally, Professor Weiner will pursue studies to understand the sensitivities of dark-matter searches, with a focus on the sensitivities of the astrophysical assumptions present in the existing analyses.The broader impacts of this project will be wide ranging. Professor Weiner will involve both students and postdocs in his research program, providing opportunities to train future scientists. He will also continue his participation in physics summer schools (as invited), such as the TASI, CLASHEP, ICTP and Les Houches programs, to educate current PhD students on active research topics. Finally, he will continue his efforts to engage the public through public lectures as well as his outreach at the high-school level, anchored by his continued participation with the Governor's School summer program in North Carolina.