Explorations in Early Universe Cosmology and Dark Matter

早期宇宙宇宙学和暗物质的探索

• 批准号: 1506912
• 负责人: Daniel Boyanovsky
• 金额: $ 18万
• 依托单位: University of Pittsburgh
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-15 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1506912&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Explorations; Early; Universe; Cosmology; Dark

This award funds the research activities of Professor Daniel Boyanovsky at the Department of Physics, University of Pittsburgh. Our understanding of the early and present Universe has been revolutionized by observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background and galaxies, supporting the main paradigm of inflationary cosmology: quantum-mechanical fluctuations of primordial origin seed the formation of galaxies. These observations, along with the discovery of the Higgs Boson and the experimental confirmation of the theory of strong and electroweak interactions, confirm the Standard Models of Cosmology and Particle Physics. Along with these discoveries new challenging aspects emerge: 95% of the energy density in the Universe is in the form of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Furthermore, neutrinos, the most elusive particles in nature, are found to be massive and undergo mixing and oscillations among the different types --- a phenomenon beyond the Standard Model. These discoveries bring an unprecedented convergence of particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology in which observations of galaxies along with accelerator and reactor experiments will yield insights beyond the Standard Models, with the tantalizing possibility that a new species of neutrinos may explain Dark Matter. Professor Boyanovsky's research program seeks a fundamental understanding on two fronts: (i) the production and properties of a new species of neutrinos as possible Dark-Matter candidates, and (ii) a firmer assessment of the quantum fluctuations generated in the primordial Universe that ultimately seed the formation of galaxies. The program is at the forefront of particle astrophysics and cosmology, complements robust experimental and observational efforts, and is truly interdisciplinary as it implements methods from other fields in physics. Research in these areas thus advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in one of the most fundamental and stimulating endeavors of deep intellectual merit: the discovery of novel phenomena and the understanding of the evolution of our Universe and the origin of galaxies beginning from the smallest constituents. Through this cross-fertilization of concepts and methods, this research program also provides students with a broader perspective and unique opportunity to acquire a truly interdisciplinary educational experience. Specifically, Professor Boyanovsky will study mechanisms for production, evolution, and gravitational clustering of new species of neutrinos during the early stages of the Early Universe by implementing methods from out-of-equilibrium quantum field theory and from quantum kinetics. These powerful methods will allow a systematic assessment of the new species of neutrinos as a Dark-Matter candidate. In cosmology, the program will focus on a deeper understanding of quantum processes and correlations during the inflationary stage in the early Universe. In particular, Professor Boyanovsky will study modifications of the spectrum of fluctuations from interactions and pre- and post-inflationary dynamics and their potential for detection with forthcoming observations. The study of processes during the period of rapid inflationary expansion requires novel tools. New methods based on concepts borrowed from quantum optics, such as quantum master equations, and out-of-equilibrium effective field theory, will provide a deeper and more fundamental assessment of possible observational consequences.

该奖项资助匹兹堡大学物理系丹尼尔·博扬诺夫斯基教授的研究活动。我们对早期和现在宇宙的理解已经被宇宙微波背景和星系的观测彻底改变，支持了暴胀宇宙学的主要范式：原始起源的量子力学波动种子星系的形成。 这些观测结果，沿着希格斯玻色子的发现和强弱相互作用理论的实验证实，证实了宇宙学和粒子物理学的标准模型。 沿着这些发现，新的挑战性的方面出现了：宇宙中95%的能量密度是以暗物质和暗能量的形式存在的。 此外，中微子，自然界中最难以捉摸的粒子，被发现是有质量的，并经历不同类型之间的混合和振荡-一种超越标准模型的现象。这些发现带来了粒子物理学，天体物理学和宇宙学的前所未有的融合，其中对星系的观测沿着加速器和反应堆实验将产生超越标准模型的见解，一种新的中微子可能解释暗物质。 Boyanovsky教授的研究计划寻求在两个方面的基本理解：（i）作为可能的暗物质候选者的新中微子种类的产生和性质，以及（ii）对原始宇宙中产生的量子波动进行更坚定的评估，最终形成星系。该计划处于粒子天体物理学和宇宙学的最前沿，补充了强大的实验和观测工作，并且是真正的跨学科，因为它实现了物理学其他领域的方法。因此，在这些领域的研究通过促进科学在最基本和最具启发性的努力之一中的进步来促进国家利益。 新现象的发现和对宇宙演化的理解，以及从最小成分开始的星系起源。 通过这种概念和方法的交叉施肥，该研究计划还为学生提供了更广阔的视角和独特的机会，以获得真正的跨学科教育经验。具体来说，教授Boyanovsky将研究生产，进化和引力集群的中微子的新物种在早期宇宙的早期阶段通过实施方法从出平衡量子场论和量子动力学。这些强大的方法将允许系统地评估作为暗物质候选者的新中微子种类。在宇宙学方面，该计划将专注于更深入地了解早期宇宙膨胀阶段的量子过程和相关性。特别是，Boyanovsky教授将研究从相互作用和前和后通货膨胀动力学波动的频谱的修改及其与即将到来的观测检测的潜力。 研究暴胀膨胀时期的过程需要新的工具。 基于从量子光学借用的概念的新方法，如量子主方程和非平衡有效场论，将对可能的观测结果提供更深入和更基本的评估。