Research in High Energy Physics and Cosmology

该奖项资助纽约大学马修·b·克莱班教授的研究活动。近年来，在粒子物理学和宇宙学方面有了许多深刻的发现。近日，科学家首次探测到来自合并黑洞的引力波，证实了爱因斯坦广义相对论的一个预言，并为强引力和物质极端状态的物理学打开了一扇前所未有的新窗口。类似地，大型强子对撞机发现了希格斯粒子，尽管这一发现并没有提出任何解决某些问题的方法，比如所谓的“层次问题”，也没有提供任何明确的线索，说明在更短的距离尺度上存在什么物理现象。同样，暗能量的存在也有强有力的证据，暗能量是当前宇宙加速膨胀的原因，也是宇宙膨胀的原因，宇宙膨胀是大爆炸之后的一段爆炸性膨胀时期。然而，这些证据几乎没有告诉我们这两种现象背后的物理起源。在理解这些最近的深刻发现的意义方面取得突破，将从根本上促进科学的进步，揭示新的自然规律，并有助于解释我们宇宙的起源和命运。因此，这个方向的研究通过促进美国基础科学的发展来促进国家利益。作为他研究的一部分，克莱班教授将研究爱因斯坦广义相对论在奇异情况下的理论结果，比如在宇宙快速膨胀和黑洞附近。他还将研究如何在这种情况下理解量子力学的影响。此外，他将研究被称为“轴子”的假想粒子的物理学，它可能在解释粒子物理学标准模型的某些神秘特征方面发挥关键作用。Kleban教授的工作也被设想以公开讲座和访谈的形式产生更广泛的影响，并在纽约大学激励和培训本科和研究生物理学学生。Kleban教授还将培训和帮助一名参与本研究的博士后研究员的专业发展。更技术性的是，Kleban教授将研究轴子景观理论，利用他最近开发的技术来推动我们对这类理论的宇宙学的理解。他将继续他的工作，扩展经典广义相对论中具有非齐次初始条件的德西特时空的“无毛定理”，以及暴胀宇宙学中的初始条件问题。最后，他将在一个特殊的弦尺度曲率半径的三维反德西特时空中研究弦理论，在那里，弦理论似乎经历了一个由黑洞主导的阶段到由长弦主导的阶段的相变。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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 Matthew B. Kleban at New York University.Recent years have witnessed many profound discoveries in particle physics and cosmology. Gravitational waves from merging black holes were recently detected for the first time, confirming a prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity and opening an unprecedented new window into the physics of strong gravity and extreme states of matter. Similarly, the Large Hadron Collider discovered the Higgs particle, although this discovery does not suggest any way of solving certain issues such as the so-called "hierarchy problem" or provide any clear hint of what physics exists at shorter distance scales. Likewise, there is strong evidence for dark energy, which is responsible for the accelerated rate of expansion of the current universe, and for cosmic inflation, a period of explosive expansion just after the Big Bang. Yet this evidence tells us little about the underlying physical origin of either phenomenon. A breakthrough in understanding the meaning of these recent profound discoveries would promote the progress of science in a fundamental way, revealing new laws of nature and helping to explain the origin and fate of our universe. Research in this direction thus advances the national interest by furthering the development of basic science within the United States. As part of his research, Professor Kleban will investigate the theoretical consequences of Einstein's theory of general relativity in exotic situations, such as during rapid cosmic expansion and near black holes. He will also study how to understand the effects of quantum mechanics in such situations. Further, he will study the physics of hypothetical particles called "axions" that could play a key role in explaining certain mysterious features of the Standard Model of particle physics. Professor Kleban's work is also envisioned to have broader impacts in the form of public lectures and interviews, and in inspiring and training undergraduate and graduate physics students at New York University. Professor Kleban will also train and aid in the professional development of a postdoctoral researcher who will participate in this research.More technically, Professor Kleban will study the theory of axion landscapes, making use of the techniques he recently developed to push forward our understanding of the cosmology of such theories. He will continue his work on extending a "no-hair theorem" for de Sitter spacetime with inhomogeneous initial conditions in classical general relativity and the problem of initial conditions in inflationary cosmology. Lastly, he will study string theory in three-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime at a special string-scale radius of curvature, where the theory appears to undergo a phase transition from a phase dominated by black holes to one dominated by long strings.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.