New Physics meets the Strong Force

标准模型(SM)是对最深刻的科学理论成就之一的命名(诚然很枯燥)。这是一种压倒性的成功描述，不仅是对基本粒子的描述，也是对支配它们相互作用的力的描述。尽管取得了成功，但SM是不完整的，给我们留下了深刻的悬而未决的问题。其中一个谜题就是暗物质的性质。这种神秘的物质充满了我们的宇宙，比形成恒星和行星的众所周知的物质要丰富得多。到目前为止，人们只能通过它的引力特征来理解它，它与标准物质的关系尚不清楚。第二个问题来自一个公认的事实，即每个粒子都有一个相应的反粒子，而且一旦接触，物质和反物质就会在一次光爆炸中湮灭。鉴于这种非凡的对应性，尚不清楚物质是如何主导反物质的，从而导致星系、恒星和行星的形成。这一提议将结合先进的理论思想和高性能计算来研究这两个基本问题。该项目通过探索暗物质、物质/反物质不平衡与标准模型中被称为强力的特定部分之间的联系，将自己与该领域正在进行的其他研究区分开来。这种强大的作用力将被称为夸克和胶子的基本粒子束缚成质子和中子，这些相互作用的能量产生了几乎所有日常物质的质量。它还将质子和中子结合成原子核，产生所有已知的元素。但使强力如此丰富的相同性质也使它对理论物理学家来说是一个令人难以置信的挑战。最著名的方法包括将强大的理论工具与由世界级超级计算机驱动的数值计算相结合。拟议项目的第一个方面将使用这些方法来了解相互作用强烈的暗物质粒子之间的相互作用，并研究其实验意义。第二部分将阐明对撞机实验中产生的重粒子是如何衰变成被探测到的较轻粒子的，并探索这样一个引人注目的事实：这种衰变违反了与物质和反物质有关的对称性。目前尚不清楚新物理学是否在发挥作用，但如果是的话，这很可能与导致早期宇宙中物质主导的机制有关。

The Standard Model (SM) is the (admittedly dull) name given to one of most profound theoretical achievements of science. It is an overwhelmingly successful description, not just of fundamental particles, but of the forces that govern their interactions. Despite its success, the SM is incomplete and leaves us with deep open questions. One such puzzle is the nature of dark matter. This mysterious material fills our universe, in greater abundance than the well-understood material forming stars and planets. To date it is only understood through its gravitational signature and its relation to standard material is unknown. A second question follows from the well-established fact that every particle has a corresponding anti-particle and that, upon contact, matter and anti-matter annihilate in an explosion of light. Given this remarkable correspondence, it is unknown how matter came to dominate anti-matter, leading to the formation of galaxies, stars and planets.This proposal will combine advanced theoretical ideas with high-performance computing to investigate these two fundamental issues. The project distinguishes itself from other on-going research in this area by exploring the connections between dark matter, matter/anti-matter imbalance and a specific part of the Standard Model known as the strong force. The strong force binds fundamental particles called quarks and gluons into protons and neutrons, and the energy of these interactions generates nearly all of the mass of everyday matter. It also binds protons and neutrons together into nuclei, giving rise to all known elements.But the same properties that make the strong-force so rich also make it an incredible challenge for theoretical physicists. The best known methods involve combining powerful theoretical tools with numerical calculations driven by world-class supercomputers. The first aspect of the proposed project will use these methods to understand how strongly-interacting dark matter particles might interact with each other, and investigate the experimental implications. The second part will shed light on exactly how heavy particles produced in collider experiments decay into the lighter particles that are detected and explore the remarkable fact that such decays violate symmetries relating matter and anti-matter. It is currently unknown if new physics is playing a role but, if it is, this could well be related to the mechanism that led to matter dominance in the early universe.