Research in Elementary Particle Theory

该奖项资助东北大学的Pran Nath、Brent D.Nelson和Tomasz R.Taylor教授的研究活动。到目前为止，来自大型强子对撞机(LHC)的数据非常成功，并导致了希格斯玻色的发现，这是粒子物理标准模型中最后一块缺失的部分。然而，预计来自大型强子对撞机的未来数据将在标准模型之外探索物理学的本质。作为他们研究的一部分，Nath、Nelson和Taylor教授将进行研究，旨在从即将到来的大型强子对撞机数据和天体物理数据中寻找这种新物理的线索。在他们的工作中，Nath、Nelson和Taylor教授将使用基于对称性的模型，该对称性将不同自旋的粒子相互联系起来，以及弦理论，这是一种非常高能量的物理方法，声称要统一自然力，包括重力。这一研究领域服务于国家利益，因为它在现有知识的前沿推进了我们对自然基本规律的认识。此外，这项研究还有很强的教育成分。几名博士论文学生将参与这些研究项目。同样，Nath、Nelson和Taylor教授将通过出版物、会议和研讨会演示以及受欢迎的讲座来传播他们的研究成果。此外，该提案的一个重要内容是“TheoryNet”。这是一个扩展项目，包括波士顿地区的理论家和高中生之间的直接互动，通过演讲和演示。更严格地说，纳特、纳尔逊和泰勒教授将在基于超重力的统一模型和包含可能的暗物质候选者的弦(包括隐藏区域中的暗物质)中进行暗物质研究。他们还将进行与基于弦和F理论的统一模型有关的进一步理论工作，并将进一步研究弦振幅的结构。他们还将调查粒子理论与宇宙学重叠的领域，特别是在研究膨胀和暗能量方面，并为两者寻找一个统一的框架。最后，他们将制定策略，在精度分析中寻找新的物理，这些分析有可能在当前或未来加速器无法触及的范围内探测物理。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award funds the research activities of Professors Pran Nath, Brent D. Nelson, and Tomasz R. Taylor at Northeastern University.Thus far, data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been highly successful and has led to the discovery of the Higgs boso, which was the last missing piece of the Standard Model of particle physics. However, future data expected from the LHC will explore the nature of physics beyond the Standard Model. As part of their research, Professors Nath, Nelson, and Taylor will conduct studies aimed at finding clues of such new physics in upcoming data from the LHC and well as in astrophysical data. In their work, Professors Nath, Nelson, and Taylor will use models based on a symmetry known as "supersymmetry" which relates particles of different spins to each other, and on string theory, an approach to physics at very high energies which purports to unify all forces of nature, including gravity. This area of research serves the national interest as it advances our knowledge of the fundamental laws of nature at the frontiers of current knowledge. In addition, there is a strong educational component to this research. Several Ph.D. thesis students will be involved in these research projects. Likewise, Professors Nath, Nelson, and Taylor will disseminate their research through publications, conference and workshop presentations, and popular lectures. In addition, an important element of the proposal is "TheoryNet". This is an outreach program consisting of direct interactions between Boston-Area theorists and high-school students, through lecture presentations and demonstrations.More technically, Professors Nath, Nelson, and Taylor will conduct studies of dark matter in unified models based on supergravity and strings which contain possible dark-matter candidates, including those in a hidden sector. They will also conduct further theoretical work related to unified models based on strings and F-theory and they will conduct further investigations into the structure of string amplitudes. They will also investigate areas where particle theory overlaps with cosmology, specifically in the study of inflation and dark energy, and search for a unified framework for both. Finally, they will develop strategies to search for new physics in precision analyses which have the potential to probe physics at scales far beyond the reach of current or future accelerators.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.