Physics Beyond the Standard Model

该奖项资助了加州大学圣地亚哥分校的Elizabeth H. Simmons教授和R. Sekhar Chivukula教授的研究和专业活动。在奖励期间，大型强子对撞机（LHC）将开始第三次扩展运行，将收集比迄今为止更多的数据，大大扩展我们发现物质新成分和揭示新的物理原理的范围。Chivukula教授和Simmons教授将调查是否存在迄今为止尚未发现的额外空间维度，并在大型强子对撞机上检验这种额外维度理论的实验含义。Simmons教授和Chivukula教授将构建和分析描述希格斯玻色子和顶级夸克（迄今为止发现的两种最大质量的基本粒子）的性质和特性的新理论，并描绘出最佳的实验分析，以迅速和果断地阐明在大型强子对撞机中发现的任何新动力学的性质。他们还将探索大型强子对撞机结果与其他新物理学实验之间的互补性，包括那些旨在揭示暗物质本质的实验，暗物质构成了我们银河系的大部分质量。这些研究符合国家利益，因为它们将通过研究自然的基本力量来促进科学的进步。这项工作还将产生实质性的更广泛的影响。Simmons教授和Chivukula教授将专注于提高学生的入学机会和成功，以及在加州大学圣地亚哥分校开设新的和持续的物理课程，包括关于物理学代表性不足的原因和解决方案的课程。pi还将向所有年龄段的观众进行科学公开演讲，为所有参与者改善物理环境的广泛工作，并继续为加州大学圣地亚哥分校以及国内和国际物理界服务。该研究项目还将涉及学生和博士后研究人员，从而有助于培养和发展美国下一代科学家。从技术上讲，西蒙斯教授和奇夫库拉教授将把粒子搜索与其他实验结合起来，包括探测潜在的轻子味破坏和寻找暗物质。他们还将研究在许多复合希格斯模型中预测的顶级伴生态的理论和现象学，并研究在大型强子对撞机和其他实验设施中发现这些态的新策略。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 and professional activities of Professors Elizabeth H. Simmons and R. Sekhar Chivukula at UC San Diego.During the award period, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will commence a third extended run which will collect substantially more data than has been available to date, significantly extending our reach for discovering new constituents of matter and uncovering new physical principles. Professors Chivukula and Simmons will investigate whether there are extra spatial dimensions which are too small to have been discovered thus far and examine the experimental implications for such extra-dimensional theories at the LHC. Professors Simmons and Chivukula will construct and analyze new theories which describe the nature and properties of the Higgs Boson and the top quark (the two most massive fundamental particles discovered so far), and delineate the best experimental analyses for swiftly and decisively elucidating the nature of any new dynamics discovered at the LHC. They will also explore the complementarity between LHC results and other experimental searches for new physics, including those designed to uncover the nature of the dark matter which comprises most of the mass in our galaxy. These investigations are in the national interest since they will promote the progress of science through the examination of the fundamental forces of nature. This work will also have substantial broader impact. Professors Simmons and Chivukula will focus on improving student access and success and on the development of new and continuing physics courses at UC San Diego, including classes on the causes of and solutions for underrepresentation in physics. The PIs will also engage in public presentations on science to audiences of all ages, in extensive work to improve the environment in physics for all participants, and in continued service to UC San Diego and the national and international physics community. This research project will also involve students and postdoctoral researchers and thereby contribute to the training and development of the next generation of scientists in the US.More technically, Professors Simmons and Chivukula will combine particle searches with those from other experiments, including those probing potential lepton flavor violation and searching for dark matter. They will also study the theory and phenomenology of top-partner states which are predicted in numerous composite-Higgs models and examine novel strategies for discovering these states at the LHC and other experimental facilities.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.