Black Holes as a Window into our Universe: Theory and Phenomenology

该奖项资助纽约州立大学布法罗分校德扬·斯托伊科维奇教授的研究活动。斯托伊科维奇教授的研究目标是解决粒子物理、宇宙学和重力前沿的公开问题。特别是，这项研究将致力于了解最近发现的希格斯粒子的性质与早期宇宙条件之间相互作用的重要方面。斯托伊科维奇教授还致力于研究某些可能存在于早期宇宙中的旋转黑洞的性质，从而在我们对引力的最基本层面的理解方面取得重要进展。因此，该项目通过促进美国国内基础科学的发展来促进国家利益。该项目还将为下一代科学家提供极好的培训，并将进一步开发创新的新想法，使其在许多科学学科中得到广泛应用。更严格地说，这项研究将集中在以下几个方面。首先，斯托伊科维奇教授将限制原始黑洞的丰度，包括旋转的影响，这涉及(I)计算不同质量和角动量的原始黑洞的发射光谱，包括夸克和胶子的强子化以及随后强子衰变为光子，(Ii)将结果与公认的天体物理观测进行对比，以及(Iii)应用新建立的限制，以改进对通过黑洞合并或直接霍金辐射产生引力波的预测。斯托伊科维奇教授还将通过以下方式将精确的希格斯物理学与引力和宇宙学联系起来：(I)完善和扩展对存在引力的虚假希格斯真空衰变的原始分析；(Ii)将双圈希格斯有效势与原始黑洞质量联系起来；以及(Iii)限制超出标准模型的物理。还将开发进行这种分析所需的改进的理论计算和计算工具。为了提取准确的信息，将对天体物理观测和实验室实验进行理论预测。这项研究还将与教育和外联活动相结合。开发的工具将为更大的研究社区的利益而公开提供。该项目还将为高中、本科和研究生水平的学生提供一个极好的培训基础，为他们未来可能在科学领域的职业生涯做好准备。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award funds the research activities of Professor Dejan Stojkovic at SUNY at Buffalo.The goal of the research of Professor Stojkovic is to address open questions at the frontiers of particle physics, cosmology, and gravity. In particular, this research will be oriented toward understanding important aspects of the interplay between the properties of the recently-discovered Higgs particle and conditions in the early universe. Professor Stojkovic also aims to investigate the properties of certain rotating black holes which might have existed in the early universe, and thereby make important progress in our understanding of gravity at its most fundamental level. As such, this project advances the national interest by fostering the development of basic science within the United States. This project will also provide excellent training for the next generation of scientists and will further the development of innovative new ideas with manifold applications across many scientific disciplines. More technically, this research will focus on the following topics. First, Professor Stojkovic will constrain the abundance of primordial black holes including the effects of rotation, which involves (i) calculating the emission spectra for primordial black holes of various masses and angular momenta, including hadronization of quarks and gluons and subsequent hadron decay into photons, (ii) contrasting the results with well-established astrophysical observations, and (iii) applying the newly established limits in order to improve the predictions for the production of gravitational waves through black-hole mergers or by direct Hawking radiation. Professor Stojkovic will also connect precision Higgs physics with gravity and cosmology by (i) refining and extending the original analysis of the false Higgs vacuum decay in the presence of gravity, (ii) relating the two-loop Higgs effective potential and primordial black-hole masses, and (iii) constraining physics beyond the Standard Model. Improved theoretical calculations and computational tools which are needed to perform this analysis will also be developed. In order to extract precise information, theoretical predictions for astrophysical observations and lab experiments will be made. This research will also be integrated with education and outreach. The tools developed will be made publicly available for the benefit of the larger research community. This project will also provide an excellent training ground for students at the high-school, undergraduate, and graduate levels, preparing them for possible future career in science.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.