RUI: The Non-Linear Universe: Precision Numerical Cosmology and Fundamental Physics

该奖项资助小约翰·T·吉卜林教授的研究。在凯尼恩学院，宇宙是大自然最伟大的实验室；当我们期待着理解物质和能量的基本性质时，我们必须面对我们周围宇宙的秘密。在过去的几十年里，基础物理学留下了几个巨大的悬而未决的问题：暗能量的性质是什么，暗物质的性质是什么，粒子物理标准模型之外的能量是什么？吉布林教授的研究试图理解，当我们试图回答这些问题时，如何从对宇宙的观察中提取信息。随着宇宙从较高温度演化到较低温度，它可能经历了(有时)剧烈的转变。为了了解可能发生了什么，以及我们如何从这些过程的残余辐射中提取信息，对这些过程进行非常仔细的数字检查是必要的。吉布林教授和他的学生将开发这些技术，并给出我们如何在我们周围的宇宙中寻找基础物理特征的指示。此外，这项研究将产生重大的更广泛的影响，为本科生提供高影响力的动手研究体验，从而提高下一代的科学素养。该项目还将资助计算模块的开发，这些模块可以用来将基础物理带入全国各地的高中课堂。因此，这项工作符合国家利益，因为它使我们的学生准备好用复杂的技术来面对基础物理的重大问题。更具体地说，这项工作将使用数值方法来检验超导数阶非线性物理的后果。这种探索需要仔细处理-通常使用离散化(格子)方法进行。吉布林教授和他的学生将继续发展这些方法，因为它们适用于更复杂的规范场(阿贝尔和非阿贝尔)和有效场论。这项工作将探索规范场和引力波之间的关系，以研究引力波是否可以中介规范场之间的相互作用。此外，这项工作将考察引力反向反应的总体作用，以及它如何影响暴涨结束时的精确预测、致密结构的形成以及标量场暗物质的演化。这项工作还将预测未来宇宙学观测的影响。

This award funds the research of Professor John T. Giblin, Jr. at Kenyon College.The Universe is nature's greatest laboratory; as we look toward understanding the fundamental nature of matter and energy, we must confront the secrets of the Universe that surrounds us. The past few decades have left fundamental physics with several large, unanswered questions: what is the nature of dark energy, what is the nature of dark matter, and what lies at energies beyond the Standard Model of particle physics? Professor Giblin's research seeks to understand how we can extract information from observations of the Universe as we attempt to answer these questions. As the Universe evolved from higher to lower temperatures, it likely underwent (sometimes) violent transitions. To understand what might have occurred, and how we might extract information from the residual radiation from these processes, very careful numerical examinations of these processes will be necessary. Professor Giblin and his students will develop these techniques and give indications of how we can look for signatures of fundamental physics in the Universe around us. Additionally, this research will have significant broader impacts, providing high-impact hands-on research experiences for undergraduate students, thereby enhancing the scientific literacy of the next generation. This project will also fund the development of computational modules that can be used to bring fundamental physics to high-school classrooms across the country. This work is therefore in the national interest as it prepares our students to confront the great questions of fundamental physics with sophisticated technical skills.More specifically, this work will employ numerical methods in order to examine the consequences of beyond-leading-order non-linear physics. Such explorations require careful treatment --- generally conducted using discretized (lattice) methods. Professor Giblin and his students will continue to develop these methods as they apply to more complex gauge fields (both abelian and non-abelian) and to effective field theories. This work will explore the relationship between gauge fields and gravitational waves, to investigate whether gravitational waves can mediate the interactions of gauge fields. Additionally, this work will examine the role of gravitational back-reaction in general and how it affects precision predictions at the end of inflation, the formation of compact structures, and the evolution of scalar-field dark matter. This work will also provide predictions of the impact of future cosmological observations.