RUI: Solitons and Oscillons in Quantum Field Theory

该提案要求支持一个研究非线性场论特解的计划，即所谓的孤子和振荡，或“呼吸子”。PI是一所本科院校的教员，他的研究涉及本科生。他还与麻省理工学院（MIT）以及美国和海外其他机构的合作者有着密切的联系，他计划在2006- 07学年在那里休假。在非线性理论中，孤子是波的相干叠加，它们不随时间消散，但与自然时间尺度相比，它们的构型在很长的时间内保持不变。振荡子是类似的周期性振荡或“呼吸”的解。一个重要的问题是它们在量子修正下是否稳定；这种稳定性对于这些溶液具有任何物理意义是必不可少的。PI和他的同事将结合分析和计算技术来解决这个问题。可能的应用发生在宇宙早期，在那里它们可能为重子产生和宇宙的重子-反重子不对称问题提供解决方案。它们也可能在卡西米尔力中发挥作用，并应用于纳米技术。更广泛的影响还包括现代物理学本科课程材料的显著改进，本科生参与研究，以及为同行学者和广大公众提供讲座。

This proposal requests support for a program of research into particular solutions of nonlinear field theories known as solitons and oscillons, or "breathers". The PI is a faculty member atan undergraduate institution and involves undergraduates in his research. He also has strong ties to MIT, where he plans to spend a sabbatical in the 2006-7 academic year, and to collaborators in other institutions both in the U.S. and abroad. Solitons are coherent superpositions of waves in nonlinear theories which do not dissipate in time, but preserve their configurations over periods long compared with natural time scales. Oscillons are similar solutions which oscillate, or "breathe" periodically. An important problem is whether they are stable under quantum corrections; such stability is essential for these solutions to have any physical significance. The PI and his colleagues will tackle this problem with a combination of analytic and computional techniques. Possible applications occur in the early universe, where they might provide a solution to the problems of baryon generation and the baryon-anti-baryon asymmetry of the universe. They may also play a role in Casimir forces and have applications to nanotechnology. The broader impacts also include significant improvements in undergraduate course materials regarding modern physics, involvement of undergraduates in research, and lectures for fellow academics and the public at large.