Cosmic Origin of Matter: Nonequilibrium Field Theory and Inflationary Cosmology

目前的观测结果坚定地支持这样的观点，即早期宇宙经历了一段短时间的指数级膨胀，即所谓的暴涨。物质的起源可以追溯到这个通货膨胀时代的结束，当时推动通货膨胀的原始场将其能量转移到物质场。这种转变是戏剧性的：它有效地模拟了热的大爆炸--据信至少发生了两个阶段，即预热和再热。这一提议的目标是解决物质的起源及其在膨胀过渡到炽热的大爆炸模型时相对于反物质的过剩。PI计划对各种模型的预热和再加热阶段的非摄动动力学进行详细分析。。基于这一分析，PI希望为不同的模型提出几个预热/再热的观测结果，包括：e折叠的数量或通胀阶段的有效性；净重子数的产生；以及引力波随机背景的产生。这项研究的更广泛的影响是，这项提议中涉及的关于宇宙的基本问题引起了广泛的研究小组和普通公众的极大兴趣。除了培养自己的研究生外，PI还积极参与通过讲座、书籍和电视纪录片向公众传播科学。PI最近开始与佛蒙特州的蒙特郡科学博物馆合作，为当地社区组织一系列公开讲座。

Present observations firmly support the notion that the early Universe underwent a short period of exponential) expansion known as inflation. The origin of matter is traced to the end of this inflationary era, when the primordial field that drives inflation transfers its energy into matter fields. This transfer is dramatic: it effectively models the hot Big Bang - and is believed to have occurred in at least two phases, known as preheating and reheating. The goal of this proposal is to address both the origin of matter and its excess over antimatter as inflation transitions into the hot Big Bang model. The PI plans to analyze in detail the nonperturbative dynamics of the preheating and reheating stages for a variety of models. . Based on this analysis, the PI hopes to propose several observational consequences of pre/reheating for different models, including: the number of e-folds or efficacy of the inflationary phase; the generation of net baryon number; and the production of a stochastic background of gravitational waves. The broader impact of the research is that the fundamental questions about the Universe addressed in this proposal are of great interest to wide ranging research groups and to the general public.. Apart from training his own graduate students, the PI is actively engaged in disseminating science to the general public through lectures, books, and TV documentaries. The PI has recently started a collaboration with Vermont's Montshire Museum of Science, to organize a series of public lectures to the local community.