RUI: Pion Lagrangian for Large Scale Structure in Cosmology

这一瑞奖资助了曼哈顿学院巴特·霍恩教授的研究活动。宇宙中大尺度结构的测量有望在未来五到十年内改变宇宙学领域。通过测量星系和物质的分布及其随时间的演化，物理学家希望测量原始宇宙学的参数，并以前所未有的精度探索宇宙的年龄、组成和早期历史。作为研究的一部分，霍恩教授将开发分析这些大型数据集所需的一些新的计算工具。除了支持科学研究的进展外，这项工作还将通过帮助将新一代研究人员引入该领域来进一步促进国家利益。该项目还将为本科生参与前沿研究创造多重机会。更具体地说，霍恩教授将应用高能理论物理学中的有效场论技术来模拟宇宙中大尺度结构的生长和演化，使用有效的介子拉格朗日描述物质的引力崩塌，以便将理论输入和实验观测数据很好地连接到非线性系统中。这种描述有助于保持对称性的明显，类似于对称性在核物理和粒子物理学的场论中所扮演的角色，这种描述可能会提出将原始物理的输入与大规模结构的实验观测相联系的新方法。这些方法将与实验数据和N-Body模拟进行比较，尽管它们具有准确性，但计算成本很高，预计获得的额外效率将有助于新一代研究人员更容易进入该领域。该奖项反映了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 RUI award funds the research activities of Professor Bart Horn at Manhattan College.Surveys of large-scale structure in the Universe are poised to transform the field of cosmology over the next five to ten years. By measuring the distribution of galaxies and matter and their evolution over time, physicists hope to measure parameters of primordial cosmology and to probe the age, composition, and early history of the Universe to unprecedented levels of precision. As part of his research, Professor Horn will develop some of the new computational tools that will be required to analyze these large data sets. In addition to supporting the progress of scientific research, this work will further the national interest by helping to introduce a new generation of researchers to the field. This project will also create multiple opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in cutting-edge research. Moreover, as an additional broader impact, this program will also support outreach to local high schools and other venues in New York City.More specifically, Professor Horn will apply effective field theory techniques from high-energy theoretical physics to modeling the growth and evolution of large-scale structure in the Universe, using an effective pion Lagrangian description for the gravitational collapse of matter in order to connect theoretical inputs and experimental observables well into the nonlinear regime. This description helps keep the symmetries manifest, similar to the role symmetries have played in field theories of nuclear and particle physics, and this description may suggest new ways of connecting the inputs of primordial physics to experimental observables of large-scale structure. These methods will be compared against experimental data and N-body simulations, which are computationally expensive despite their accuracy, and it is expected that the additional efficiency obtained will help make the field more accessible to a new generation of researchers.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.