Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology at UC Irvine

粒子物理学正站在十字路口。在大型强子对撞机上发现希格斯玻色子，完成了粒子物理的标准模型，但仍有许多谜团。对宇宙的观察表明，标准模型没有描述的暗能量和暗物质等成分，以及宇宙主要由物质(而不是反物质)组成的事实，都指向包含在其中的那些物质之外的动力学。要理解这些奥秘，需要进行理论解释，以了解大型强子对撞机和宇宙学观测等粒子物理实验目前收集的大量数据的含义，并提出未来的实验探索。该奖项支持的研究将在粒子物理学和宇宙学以及它们的界面上发展创新想法，以解决广泛领域的突出问题，包括寻找新粒子、中微子物理、暗物质的性质及其可观察到的特征、粒子宇宙学，以及增进我们对量子场论的理解。它通过促进科学在最基本方向上的进步来促进国家利益：这项工作将加深我们对最小和最大长度尺度的物理宇宙的理解，并进一步加深我们对构成和塑造我们宇宙的基本构件和力量的知识。该小组活动的更广泛影响旨在提高公众对物理学和天文学研究令人振奋的成果的兴趣，并增进公众对这些成果的理解。该小组的活动包括为来自不同社会经济背景的成绩优异的高中生开发和教授关于粒子物理和宇宙学的宇宙暑期课程，加强物理学和其他STEM领域未被充分代表的少数群体的代表性的计划，通过印刷和基于网络的媒体进行广泛的公开演讲和推广活动，培训加州大学欧文分校和世界各地的博士后研究人员和研究生，以及在专业服务领域的重大贡献。更严格地说，研究将通过应用理论物理的尖端工具来完成，包括量子场论、数值模拟、和机器学习算法，以促进我们对粒子物理和宇宙学的理解，提出基本粒子和相互作用的新模型，认识到粒子物理实验和宇宙学观测目前收集的大量数据的含义，并提出未来的实验研究。通过这些技术的应用，这项工作将促进我们对暗物质、中微子物理和粒子宇宙学的了解。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。

Particle physics stands at a crossroads. The discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider has completed the Standard Model of particle physics, but many mysteries remain. Observations of the Universe indicate that components such as dark energy and dark matter which the Standard Model does not describe, and the fact that the Universe is predominantly composed of matter (as opposed to anti-matter), all point to dynamics beyond those contained within it. Understanding these mysteries requires theoretical interpretation to realize the implications of the vast amount of data currently being collected by particle physics experiments such as the Large Hadron Collider and cosmological observations and to propose future experimental searches. The research supported by this award will develop innovative ideas in particle physics and cosmology, and at their interface, to address outstanding problems in a wide variety of fields, including searches for new particles, neutrino physics, the nature of dark matter and its observable signatures, particle cosmology, and advancing our understanding of quantum field theory. It advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in its most fundamental directions: the work will deepen our understanding of the physical Universe at both the smallest and largest length scales and further our knowledge of the basic building blocks and forces that make up and shape our Universe. The broader impacts of the group's activities are aimed at increasing public interest in and improving public understanding of the exciting results of physics and astronomy research. The group's activities include developing and teaching a COSMOS summer course on particle physics and cosmology to high-achieving high school students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, programs to strengthen the representation of underrepresented minorities in physics and other STEM fields, a wide array of public talks and outreach activities through print and web-based media, the training of postdoctoral researchers and graduate students both at UC Irvine and around the world, and significant contributions in the area of professional service.More technically, the research will be accomplished by applying cutting edge tools in theoretical physics, including quantum field theory, numerical simulations, and machine learning algorithms to advance our understanding of particle physics and cosmology to propose new models of fundamental particles and interactions, to realize the implications of the vast amount of data currently being collected by particle physics experiments and cosmological observations, and to propose future experimental searches. Through applications of these techniques, this work will advance our knowledge of dark matter, neutrino physics, and particle cosmology.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.