Dissipative Phenomena in Effective Field Theories

该奖项资助卡内基梅隆大学的里卡多·彭科教授的研究活动。耗散在自然界中产生了许多有趣的现象。在走向技术应用的道路上，这也可能是一个令人沮丧的障碍。尽管耗散在许多物理系统中扮演着重要的角色，但它经常被现象学地建模，而不是通过遵循基于基本原理的系统过程来建模。这个项目的首要目标是通过开发被称为有效场论的现代理论技术来发展对耗散的更系统的理解。为此，Penco教授将在两个不同的领域解决各种概念问题和具体应用：流体动力学和重力系统。预计该项目还将产生更广泛的社会影响。一个重要的成果将是博士后研究人员的高级培训。这直接促进了美国STEM劳动力的质量，从而促进了国家利益。Penco教授还将参与外联活动，目的是在典型的课堂环境之外传播科学知识，并将STEM领域的工作作为一种可行的职业选择加以促进。从技术上讲，Penco教授的工作将建立在耗散流体力学最新进展的基础上，并探索最近发现的热态对称性(BRST、KMS、超对称性)如何限制自发破裂的时空对称性的Goldstone模的有效作用。他计划探索的主题范围从应用的(例如流体和超流体)到形式的(例如有限密度和温度下的戈德斯通定理)。在引力物理学的背景下，Penco教授将探索黑洞物理中的各种耗散方面(例如，准正规模式、超辐射)，这些方面在天体物理和高能物理中都可以发挥重要作用，特别是在修改的引力和全息术的背景下。这一奖项反映了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 Riccardo Penco at Carnegie Mellon University. Dissipation gives rise to many interesting phenomena in Nature. It can also be a frustrating barrier to overcome on the path towards technological applications. Despite the important role that dissipation plays in many physical systems, it is often modeled phenomenologically rather than by following a systematic procedure based on fundamental principles. The overarching goal of this project is to develop a more systematic understanding of dissipation by exploiting modern theoretical techniques known as effective field theories. To this end, Professor Penco will tackle a variety of conceptual problems and concrete applications in two distinct areas: hydrodynamics and gravitational systems. This project is also expected to have broader societal impacts. An important outcome will be the advanced training of a postdoctoral researcher. This advances the national interest by directly contributing to the quality of the STEM workforce in the US. Professor Penco will also engage in outreach activities aimed at communicating scientific knowledge outside the typical classroom setting and promoting work in STEM fields as a viable career option. More technically, Professor Penco's work will build upon recent progress in dissipative hydrodynamics and explore how the recently uncovered symmetries of thermal states (BRST, KMS, supersymmetry) constrain the effective action of Goldstone modes of spontaneously broken spacetime symmetries. The spectrum of topics he plans to explore ranges from applied (e.g., fluids and superfluids) to formal (e.g., the Goldstone theorem at finite density and temperature). In the context of gravitational physics, Professor Penco will explore a variety of dissipative aspects in black-hole physics (e.g., quasi-normal modes, superradiance) which can play an important role both in astrophysics as well as in high-energy physics, particularly in the context of modified gravity and holography.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.