Research in Elementary Particle Theory

该奖项资助了Pran Nath、James Halverson、布伦特D.纳尔逊和托马斯R.泰勒在东北大学。根据这项资助，研究将在理论高能物理学的广泛主题中进行。 这些主题包括许多最令人兴奋的当前研究领域，从称为“超对称性”的基本粒子之间的独特对称性到可能能够统一量子力学和引力的投机理论，如弦论和F理论，以及研究粒子散射时行为的新方法-涉及所谓“天体振幅”的方法。 此外，机器学习工具将用于探索标准模型之外的基础物理学的本质。预计将从大型强子对撞机（LHC）的RUN 3和各种天体物理实验中出现的新数据也将被探索，以寻找超越电弱和强相互作用标准模型的新物理学的证据。这项研究将通过在美国当前知识的前沿推进基础物理来促进国家利益。 这些研究项目还将涉及多名博士。学生在PI的指导下工作。 此外，该项目的一个重要组成部分是外展计划TheoryNet，该计划通过讲座和演示促进波士顿地区理论家和高中学生之间的直接互动。更技术性地说，要进行的研究旨在开发新的形式和工具，以研究目前可获得的能量范围之外的物理学本质。这包括与基于弦和F理论的统一模型相关的理论工作，以及对天体振幅的进一步研究。这项工作还包括开发方法，以在LHC可能出现的新数据中找到超对称性或弦的可能证据。该项目还将包括机器学习在探索弦景观和相关现象中的应用。该项目还将包括粒子理论和宇宙学接口的工作，包括一个包含暗物质和暗能量的更统一的框架。研究的另一个领域包括对隐藏扇区的研究，这些隐藏扇区出现在一大类超引力和弦模型中，并开始在粒子物理学和宇宙学现象中发挥越来越重要的作用。 这个项目有一个强大的教育组成部分，其中包括研究生的研究培训，以及本科物理专业的指导。 同样，“TheoryNet”计划将继续培养年轻人对科学的兴趣和热情，帮助培养未来一代有潜力的科学家和教育家。该奖项反映了NSF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, James Halverson, Brent D. Nelson, and Tomasz R. Taylor at Northeastern University. Under this grant, research will be conducted across a wide range of topics in theoretical high-energy physics. These topics include many of the most exciting current research areas ranging from a unique kind of symmetry amongst the elementary particles called "supersymmetry" to speculative theories that might be able to unify quantum mechanics and gravity, such as string theory and F-theory, and studies of new ways of studying the behavior of particles when they scatter --- methods involving so-called "celestial amplitudes". In addition, machine-learning tools will be used to explore the nature of fundamental physics beyond the Standard Model. New data expected to emerge from RUN3 of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and from a variety of astrophysical experiments will also be explored for evidence of new physics beyond the Standard Model of electroweak and strong interactions. This research will advance the national interest by advancing fundamental physics at the frontiers of current knowledge within the United States. These research projects will also involve several Ph.D. students working under the guidance of the PIs. In addition, an important part of this project is the outreach program TheoryNet, which fosters direct interactions between Boston-area theorists and high-school students through lecture presentations and demonstrations.More technically, the research to be performed is aimed at developing new formalisms and tools to investigate the nature of physics beyond energy scales currently accessible. This includes theoretical work related to unified models based on strings and F-theory and further investigations on celestial amplitudes. This work also includes the development of methods to find possible evidence of supersymmetry or strings in new data expected to emerge from the LHC. This project will also include the application of machine learning for the exploration of the string landscape and related phenomena. This project will also include work at the interface of particle theory and cosmology, including a more unified framework encompassing dark matter and dark energy. Another area of investigation includes the study of hidden sectors which appear in a broad class of supergravity and string models and which have begun to play an increasingly significant role in both particle physics and cosmological phenomena. This project has a strong educational component which includes the training of graduate students for research as well as the mentoring of undergraduate physics majors. Likewise, the "TheoryNet" program will continue to cultivate interest and excitement for science among the young, to help prepare a future generation of potential scientists and educators.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.