Dynamics and Signatures of New Physics

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My research goal is to unveil the fundamental laws of Nature. Our current theories - the Standard Model of particle physics and General Relativity - have been extremely successful in describing multitude of phenomena from laboratory experiments to the whole universe. There is, however, experimental and theoretical evidence that these theories are incomplete, with several key pieces of the puzzle missing. Identifying the theory that would complete and supersede them constitutes the central task of modern subatomic physics. Most of experimental evidence for new physics comes from cosmos. Our current cosmological paradigm implies that ordinary matter constitutes only a small fraction of the total mass in the universe, the rest being made of mysterious dark matter and dark energy. Further, the initial conditions for formation of all structures in the universe, such as galaxies and galaxy clusters, are believed to be set by a period of rapid exponential expansion called inflation which is driven by physics beyond the Standard Model. With this in mind, I have established a research program linking particle physics to cosmology and astrophysics. I study theoretically motivated models of dark matter and inflation with the aim to identify their signatures and ways to test them. A wealth of information about dynamics of dark matter, dark energy and inflation is encoded in the distribution of matter on super-galactic scales - the Large-Scale Structure of the universe. Extraction of this information requires efficient theoretical methods to relate the Large-Scale Structure observables to the underlying theory. I develop such methods providing tools for new physics searches. A significant part of my research concerns the problem of quantum gravity. Reconciling gravity with the principles of quantum mechanics has been a challenge in theoretical physics for almost a century. I explore an approach aiming to build quantum gravity closely following the route that proved successful for the description of other fundamental forces: that of quantum gauge field theory. On this path one has to sacrifice Lorentz invariance as a fundamental principle of Nature, reducing it to an emergent low energy symmetry. But this is a blessing in disguise: it allows one to test this scenario by looking for tiny deviations from Lorentz invariance in particle physics and gravity. In my work, I have constantly collaborated with young people and have trained a number of students and postdocs in various universities in Russia and Switzerland. Settled now in Canada, I intend to create a diverse and productive research group of students and postdocs at McMaster University. Implementation of my research program at McMaster will boost the visibility of its particle physics group and will enable to steadily attract into science brilliant young minds from across Canada and throughout the world.