Open Quantum Systems Research for Cosmology

该奖项资助宾夕法尼亚州立大学萨拉·山德拉教授的研究活动。在理解宇宙的起源、内容和演化方面，仍有许多谜题。在基本层面上，宇宙理论必须是量子力学的，必须能够描述任何一个观察者所看到的东西。当相互作用使量子信息能够在可观察和不可观察区域之间来回移动时，这样的描述是具有挑战性的。因此，这些模型必须能够描述所谓的“开放量子系统”。对这样的系统进行建模可能在理解极早期宇宙的特性方面发挥关键作用。作为她研究的一部分，山德拉教授将把我们对开放量子系统的理解应用于宇宙学问题。这项工作通过促进量子科学和宇宙研究领域的科学进步，为国家利益服务。宇宙学对理解宇宙的探索也提供了一个鼓舞人心的环境，在这个环境中，科学可以向广泛的受众传播。作为这项工作的一部分，山德拉教授将在各种促进对话和双向参与的场所会见公民团体和本科生。她还将继续将研究见解纳入主动学习的本科生量子力学序列。最后，山德拉教授将支持研究生的培训，以发展该领域的研究人员网络。更技术性的是，山德拉教授将研究开放量子系统的动力学在自由度从系统移动到环境时是如何变化的，以及在开放系统的环境中发生对称性破坏相互作用时是如何变化的。宇宙学开放系统，包括那些出现在原始暴胀时代的系统，往往相当复杂，往往不能用马尔可夫或微扰假设来准确地处理。Shandera教授将研究标准模型之外的宇宙学理论中典型的非线性相互作用，并使用动态图而不是掌握方程来研究精确的动力学。她将探索具有紧急，局部相互作用结构和非平衡动力学的系统，模拟观察到的丰富的宇宙热力学结构。人们期望这种基于开放系统和热力学的方法将为原始宇宙的可行模型空间提供新的视角。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 Professor Sarah Shandera at Penn State University. There are still many puzzles in understanding the origin, content, and evolution of the universe. At a fundamental level, the theory of the universe must be quantum-mechanical and must be able to describe what any one observer sees. Such a description is challenging when interactions enable quantum information to move back and forth between observable and unobservable regions. Such models must therefore be capable of describing what are called "open quantum systems". Modeling such systems may play a key role in understanding the properties of the very early universe. As part of her research, Professor Shandera will apply our understanding of open quantum systems to cosmological problems. This work serves the national interest by promoting the progress of science within the arenas of quantum science and studies of the universe. Cosmology's quest to understand the universe also provides an inspiring context in which to communicate science to a broad range of audiences. As part of this work, Professor Shandera will meet with citizen groups and undergraduate students in a variety of venues that promote conversation and two-way engagement. She will also continue to incorporate research insights into an active-learning undergraduate quantum mechanics sequence. Finally, Professor Shandera will support the training of graduate students in order to grow the network of researchers in this area. More technically, Professor Shandera will study how the dynamics of open quantum systems changes when degrees of freedom move from system to environment, and when symmetry-breaking interactions occur in the environment of the open system. Cosmological open systems, including those that arise in the era of primordial inflation, tend to be quite complex and often cannot be accurately treated by Markovian or perturbative assumptions. Professor Shandera will study non-linear interactions typical in theories for cosmology beyond the standard model and use dynamical maps rather than master equations to study exact dynamics. She will explore systems with emergent, local interaction structures and out-of-equilibrium dynamics, modeling the observed rich thermodynamic structure of the universe. It is expected that this open systems and thermodynamics-based approach will provide a new perspective on the space of viable models for the primordial universe.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.