Cosmology Rolling Grant: Case for Renewal

2008年，世界上最强大的基础物理探测器——欧洲核子研究中心的大型强子对撞机（LHC）粒子加速器将开始运行。同年，欧洲航天局将发射普朗克卫星天文台，以前所未有的细节观测宇宙微波背景（CMB）。从这两个实验项目中，我们对粒子和力的基本理论，以及星系和更大的宇宙结构产生的“种子”密度扰动的理解，有了划时代的突破，这是令人兴奋的前景。这些新的发现可能的融合的身份暗物质,构成宇宙中25%的物质,gravity-repelling的神秘的暗能量占宇宙的70%,物质反物质不对称的起源(为什么宇宙是由质子和反质子)和最早的本质在宇宙的历史时代,被称为通货膨胀,星系形成的种子扰动。众所周知，粒子宇宙学从理论粒子物理学的角度直接解决了这些基本问题。它的主要目标是建立一个从宇宙最早时期开始的一致的历史。粒子宇宙学也为新的粒子物理理论提供了一个试验场，利用热大爆炸作为一个极其强大的粒子加速器，可以推断出新理论的重要约束条件。这项雄心勃勃的五年研究计划将寻求利用大型强子对撞机和普朗克的新发现，以深入了解宇宙的历史。该计划将讨论现代粒子宇宙学中的所有主要主题。该计划的目标包括：暗物质的性质；暴胀与LHC实验之间的联系；暴胀粒子理论的发展和星系种子的起源；宇宙微波背景中非常规“非高斯”特征的研究；星系大小的磁场的起源，可能起源于暴胀时代；弦理论和暗能量之间的联系。通过从粒子宇宙学中获得的见解，该计划将寻求为大型强子对撞机实验提出新的实验目标，并为普朗克研究宇宙微波背景的新特征。

In 2008 the world's most powerful probe of fundamental physics, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator at CERN, will begin operation. In the same year the European Space Agency will launch the Planck satellite observatory, which will observe the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) in unprecedented detail. From these two experimental programmes there is the exciting prospect of epoch-making breakthroughs in our understanding of the fundamental theory of particles and forces and of the 'seed' density perturbations from which galaxies and larger cosmological structures grow. The fusion of these new discoveries could shed light on the identity of dark matter, which constitutes 25% of the matter in the Universe, the mystery of the gravity-repelling 'dark energy' which makes up 70% of the Universe, the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry (why the Universe is made of protons and not anti-protons) and the nature of the very earliest epoch in the history of the Universe, known as Inflation, during which the seed perturbations for galaxy formation are created. Particle cosmology, as it is known, directly addresses these fundamental questions from the point of view of theoretical particle physics. Its primary goal is to construct a consistent history of the Universe from its earliest epoch. Particle cosmology also provides a testing ground for new particle physics theories, using the hot Big Bang as an extremely powerful particle accelerator from which important constraints on new theories can be deduced. The ambitious five year research programme of the proposal will seek to exploit the new discoveries from LHC and Planck to gain deep insights into the history of the Universe. The programme will address all the major themes in modern particle cosmology. Objectives of the programme include: the nature of dark matter; the connection between Inflation and LHC experiments; the development of particle theories of Inflation and the origin of galaxy seeds; the study of unconventional 'non-Gaussian' signatures in the cosmic microwave background; the origin of magnetic fields of the size of a galaxy, which may originate during the Inflation era; the connection between string theory and dark energy. Through insights gained from particle cosmology, the programme will seek to suggest new experimental targets for LHC experiments and new features in the CMB to be studied by Planck.