Novel Astrophysical Windows into Fundamental Physics

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The past decade has been an incredibly exciting one for Cosmology: Two Nobel prizes were awarded for the discoveries of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies, and dark energy. Ground and space-based observatories provided us with the most detailed maps of the early and late universe yet. Moreover, a six-parameter model can describe the statistics of all these cosmological datasets, nearly perfectly. Equally exciting advances in astrophysical observations, from neutron stars and black holes to high-energy neutrinos, have opened windows into extreme conditions that test the limits of our physical theories. *******In spite of this incredible empirical success, several deep puzzles continue to haunt our understanding of the physical universe: What is the origin of the cosmological vacuum that dominates the energy budget of the Universe? What is the nature and structure of the Dark Matter that drives gravity on galactic scales? What is the state of most of the ordinary matter in the universe? What is the nature of the big bang? What happens to matter as it falls into a black hole? These last two questions (and possibly others) are ultimately related to the still elusive quantum nature of gravity, which has haunted theoretical physics for close to a century.*******The divide between the speculative forefronts of theoretical physics and the realities of empirical data is growing wider, faster than ever; thus it is imperative to find more common ground between our most promising theories and our most advanced telescopes. The plan of this proposal is to explore concrete and testable solutions to the puzzles outlined above, based on hints from the most recent cosmological and astrophysical observations, and by applying the state-of-the art numerical and statistical methods. *******One of the most striking features of modern cosmology is that close to 99 percent of energy density of the universe remains either unidentified, or invisible to us. On the phenomenological front, this proposal provides a concrete plan to model and map these invisible components, combining advanced observational data and statistical methods with theoretical insights. On a deeper level, it aims to bridge the fundamental nature of quantum gravity, with early universe cosmology, and late-time astrophysical phenomena. It will also demonstrate how these ideas are concrete and eminently testable against current and future data, and thus conform to the highest standards of the scientific method.******History has taught us that technological breakthroughs that fundamentally revolutionize our society often come out of the resolution to deep mysteries in abstract sciences and mathematics. Today's quest for a deeper understanding of our Universe will inevitably provide the ingredients of the future (material or intellectual) advancement of our civilization.