New Frontiers in Particle Physics, Cosmology and Gravity

粒子物理学、宇宙学和引力的新领域

• 批准号: ST/X000583/1
• 负责人: Kostas Skenderis
• 金额: $ 211.87万
• 依托单位: University of Southampton
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FX000583%2F1
• 关键词: New; Frontiers; Particle; Physics; Cosmology

Particle physics is the study of the fundamental building blocks of nature, how they interact and how they lead to what we observe from the smallest scales to the largest. The Standard Model, which is built on quantum field theory, is an impressively accurate description of all data to date, from colliders to astronomical observations. Nevertheless, there are many aspects we do not understand from the pattern of particle masses to our lack of a quantum theory of gravity. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) continues to accumulate data; it famously discovered the Higgs particle in 2012 and could yet discover new physics beyond the SM. Currently there are possible hints of new physics in the muon g-2 experiment and in b-quark physics at LHC. We are actively engaged, through the NExT institute, in understanding these and other possible signatures, for example, through our easy-to-use interface to supercomputers (HEPMDB) and the definition of new experimental triggers. We are also developing models of what new physics could be and how they impact cosmology (early-universe physics). We try to explain the sizes of the different particle masses and why the Universe is dominated by matter rather than anti-matter. Many signatures involve hadrons, such as protons, made of quarks bound by the strong nuclear force. The strong force is poorly understood but we have expertise in using supercomputer simulations to study these particles. These simulations are vital to understand the LHC b-quark anomalies. It is important to continue to develop Quantum Field Theories, the structure that underpins all particle physics work. We study how to make very precise calculations of how particles scatter, trying to reduce the complexity of these computations. Understanding how the strong nuclear force generates hadron masses and how the Higgs field contributes other masses to particles such as the electron remain open questions we work on. There is also as yet no complete quantum theory of gravity and we work towards developing new ideas for gravity. String theory is a leading candidate for this theory and we study many aspects of this theory including scattering signatures. The notion of "holography", that emerged from string theory, has linked apparently very different systems such as QCD and Black Holes. We are developing it to learn more about a quantum gravity, and use gravity to study QCD including in extreme environments such as the cores of neutron stars. How black holes encode information is also a very deep question which shows we do not yet understand what happens at a black hole event horizon (the edge of a black hole from which even light can't escape). We are developing models of black holes and their microstates and we test their consistency. Quantum gravity should underpin the physics of the very early universe and we develop holographic models to model the physics of the Big Bang. We are extending lattice field theory simulations to study gravity and cosmology, including testing holographic models.

粒子物理学研究的是自然界的基本组成部分，它们如何相互作用，以及它们如何导致我们从最小尺度到最大尺度的观察。建立在量子场论基础上的标准模型对迄今为止的所有数据，从对撞机到天文观测，都进行了令人印象深刻的精确描述。然而，从粒子质量的模式到我们缺乏量子引力理论，我们还不了解很多方面。大型强子对撞机（LHC）继续积累数据；它在2012年发现了著名的希格斯粒子，并可能发现超越SM的新物理学。目前，在μ子g-2实验和大型强子对撞机的b-夸克物理学中，可能有新的物理学线索。通过NExT研究所，我们正在积极参与了解这些和其他可能的特征，例如，通过我们易于使用的超级计算机接口（HEPMDB）和新的实验触发器的定义。我们也在开发新的物理学模型，以及它们如何影响宇宙学（早期宇宙物理学）。我们试图解释不同粒子质量的大小，以及为什么宇宙是由物质而不是反物质主导的。许多特征涉及强子，如质子，由夸克组成，受强核力束缚。人们对强作用力知之甚少，但我们有利用超级计算机模拟来研究这些粒子的专业知识。这些模拟对于理解大型强子对撞机的b夸克异常是至关重要的。继续发展量子场论是很重要的，量子场论是支撑所有粒子物理学工作的结构。我们研究如何对粒子如何散射进行非常精确的计算，试图减少这些计算的复杂性。了解强核力如何产生强子质量，以及希格斯场如何为电子等粒子提供其他质量，仍然是我们研究的开放性问题。目前还没有完整的引力量子理论，我们正在努力发展引力的新思想。弦理论是该理论的主要候选理论，我们研究了该理论的许多方面，包括散射特征。从弦理论中产生的“全息”概念，将量子cd和黑洞等显然非常不同的系统联系在一起。我们正在开发它，以了解更多关于量子引力的知识，并利用引力来研究量子cd，包括在极端环境下，比如中子星的核心。黑洞如何编码信息也是一个非常深奥的问题，它表明我们还不了解黑洞视界（黑洞的边缘，连光都无法逃脱）发生了什么。我们正在开发黑洞及其微观状态的模型，并测试它们的一致性。量子引力应该是早期宇宙物理学的基础，我们开发了全息模型来模拟大爆炸的物理学。我们正在扩展晶格场理论模拟来研究重力和宇宙学，包括测试全息模型。