Particle and Quantum Field Theory Investigations

该奖项资助纽约大学的S. Dubovskiy、G. Gabadadze和M. Porrati教授的研究活动。在这项资助下进行的研究旨在回答物理学中一些真正的基本问题。我们怎样才能最好地确定自然界的基本常数？正确的引力理论是什么？引力在宇宙尺度上的表现与我们在太阳系内遇到的较短距离上的表现不同吗？宇宙的演化是如何受到现代理论的限制的，这些理论试图将极小的物理与极大的物理统一起来，比如弦理论或量子引力？通过研究宇宙正在加速膨胀的事实，我们能学到什么？与量子力学一致的引力理论能否在简单的“玩具模型”设置中得到数学解？因此，这一领域的研究通过加深我们对美国基础科学的理解来促进国家利益。在这个项目中，pi将以并行和合作的方式努力回答这些问题，在整个研究过程中涉及博士后和研究生。他们还将向从研究科学家到高中生的不同听众进行公开演讲和学校讲座。更技术性的是，Dubovskiy将继续研究二维场论的某些可积变形及其与量子引力的关系。他计划探索单根长弦的世界表理论的高能渐近极限，以及在这种情况下出现的可积性。他还将研究黑洞扰动的一种新的近似对称性，这在他最近的一篇作品中得到了证实。这种对称性为黑洞潮汐响应的惊人特性（“Love数”）提供了解释。Gabadadze建议研究大质量五维引力理论的全息对偶理论及其在宇宙学和黑洞物理学中的应用，并研究有效的引力场论、其一致性域及其在宇宙学中的应用。他还将研究超越爱因斯坦引力理论的虫洞效应，以及这些效应对旋转黑洞溶液及其超辐射的影响。Porrati计划了解量子引力的各个方面。他计划在具有高格边界的空间上计算三维拓扑理论的配分函数，并利用高弯曲空间上弦理论的最新进展来理解它们在弦-黑洞过渡点的全息对偶。他还计划研究电磁对偶如何与无限维渐近代数相结合，他将研究某些最近发现的新型超引力理论，并利用它们找到具有现实特征的有效理论。最后，他将研究超重力的其他方面，并与Dubovskiy教授合作研究二维共形场理论的某些变形。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 S. Dubovskiy, G. Gabadadze, and M. Porrati at New York University. The research to be pursued under this grant aims at answering some of the truly fundamental questions in physics. How can we best determine the fundamental constants of nature? What is the correct theory of gravity? Does gravity behave differently over cosmic scales than over the shorter distances we encounter within our solar system? How is the evolution of the universe constrained by modern theories that attempt to unify the physics of the very small with the physics of the very large, such as string theory or quantum gravity? What can we learn by studying the fact that the universe is experiencing an accelerated expansion? Can gravitational theories that are consistent with quantum mechanics be solved mathematically in simple "toy model" settings? As such, research in this field advances the national interest by furthering our understanding of fundamental science in the United States. In this project, the PIs will work towards answering these questions both in parallel and in collaboration, involving postdocs and graduate students throughout the research process. They will also give public lectures and lecture in schools for diverse audiences ranging from research scientists to high-school students. More technically, Dubovskiy will continue the study of certain integrable deformations of two-dimensional field theory and their relations to quantum gravity. He plans to explore the high-energy asymptotic limit of the worldsheet theory of a single long string, and the emerging integrability in this regime. He will also study a new approximate symmetry of black-hole perturbations, which was identified in one of his recent works. This symmetry provides an explanation for surprising properties of black-hole tidal responses (``Love numbers"). Gabadadze proposes to investigate holographic dual theories for massive five-dimensional gravitational theories and their applications to cosmology and black-hole physics as well as study an effective field theory of gravity, its domain of consistency, and its applications to cosmology. He will also study the effects of wormholes in beyond-Einstein theories of gravity as well as the consequences of these effects for rotating black-hole solutions and for their superradiance. Porrati plans to understand diverse aspects of quantum gravity. He plans to compute partition functions of three-dimensional topological theories on spaces with high-genus boundaries and use recent advances in string theory on highly-curved spaces for understanding their holographic dual at the string-black hole transition point. He also plans to study how electric-magnetic duality combines with infinite-dimensional asymptotic algebras, and he will investigate certain recently discovered novel types of supergravity theories and use them to find effective theories with realistic features. Finally, he will investigate other aspects of supergravity and collaborate with Prof. Dubovskiy to study certain deformations of two-dimensional conformal field theories.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.