Research in Elementary Particle Theory

该奖项资助了东北大学Pran Nath、Brent D. Nelson和Tomasz R. Taylor教授的研究活动。到目前为止，来自大型强子对撞机（LHC）的数据非常成功，并导致了希格斯玻色子的发现，这是粒子物理学标准模型中最后一个缺失的部分。然而，从大型强子对撞机获得的未来数据将探索超越标准模型的物理本质。作为他们研究的一部分，Nath、Nelson和Taylor教授将进行研究，旨在从LHC即将获得的数据和天体物理学数据中寻找这种新物理学的线索。在他们的工作中，Nath、Nelson和Taylor教授将使用基于一种被称为“超对称”的对称性模型，这种对称性将不同自旋的粒子相互联系起来，以及基于弦理论的模型。弦理论是一种研究高能物理的方法，旨在统一包括重力在内的所有自然力。这一研究领域符合国家利益，因为它在当前知识的前沿推进了我们对自然基本规律的认识。此外，这项研究有很强的教育成分。这些研究项目将有几位博士论文学生参与。同样，Nath、Nelson和Taylor教授将通过出版物、会议和研讨会演讲以及大众讲座来传播他们的研究。此外，该提案的一个重要组成部分是“理论网”。这是一个拓展项目，包括波士顿地区的理论家和高中生之间的直接互动，通过讲座和演示。从技术上讲，Nath、Nelson和Taylor教授将在基于超引力和弦的统一模型中对暗物质进行研究，这些模型包含可能的暗物质候选者，包括隐藏区域的暗物质。他们还将进一步开展与基于弦和f理论的统一模型相关的理论工作，并将进一步研究弦振幅的结构。他们还将研究粒子理论与宇宙学重叠的领域，特别是在暴胀和暗能量的研究方面，并为两者寻找一个统一的框架。最后，他们将制定策略，在精确分析中寻找新的物理，这些分析有可能在远远超出当前或未来加速器所能达到的尺度上探测物理。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 Professors Pran Nath, Brent D. Nelson, and Tomasz R. Taylor at Northeastern University.Thus far, data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been highly successful and has led to the discovery of the Higgs boso, which was the last missing piece of the Standard Model of particle physics. However, future data expected from the LHC will explore the nature of physics beyond the Standard Model. As part of their research, Professors Nath, Nelson, and Taylor will conduct studies aimed at finding clues of such new physics in upcoming data from the LHC and well as in astrophysical data. In their work, Professors Nath, Nelson, and Taylor will use models based on a symmetry known as "supersymmetry" which relates particles of different spins to each other, and on string theory, an approach to physics at very high energies which purports to unify all forces of nature, including gravity. This area of research serves the national interest as it advances our knowledge of the fundamental laws of nature at the frontiers of current knowledge. In addition, there is a strong educational component to this research. Several Ph.D. thesis students will be involved in these research projects. Likewise, Professors Nath, Nelson, and Taylor will disseminate their research through publications, conference and workshop presentations, and popular lectures. In addition, an important element of the proposal is "TheoryNet". This is an outreach program consisting of direct interactions between Boston-Area theorists and high-school students, through lecture presentations and demonstrations.More technically, Professors Nath, Nelson, and Taylor will conduct studies of dark matter in unified models based on supergravity and strings which contain possible dark-matter candidates, including those in a hidden sector. They will also conduct further theoretical work related to unified models based on strings and F-theory and they will conduct further investigations into the structure of string amplitudes. They will also investigate areas where particle theory overlaps with cosmology, specifically in the study of inflation and dark energy, and search for a unified framework for both. Finally, they will develop strategies to search for new physics in precision analyses which have the potential to probe physics at scales far beyond the reach of current or future accelerators.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.