Constraining Physics Beyond the Standard Model with Cosmological Observations

该奖项资助塔夫茨大学马克·赫茨伯格教授的研究活动。宇宙学是学习标准模型之外的物理学的重要工具。由于对撞机上没有新物理的直接证据，我们可以使用天文数据来获得新物理的线索。也许最重要的问题是：什么新的物理学在早期宇宙中起作用？暗物质和引力扇区中有哪些类型的粒子和相互作用？ 该项目将通过首先开发理论模型，然后与天体物理学和宇宙学数据进行比较，来研究这些重要问题中的具体子主题。因此，这项研究通过追求具有重要意义的基本科学问题来促进国家利益。 该项目还将产生更广泛的影响。它将涉及研究生和本科生谁将在分析模型和执行计算工作中发挥重要作用;这将有助于他们发展基本的研究技能。赫茨伯格教授也将在更大的物理学界积极推进这些课题。更技术上，赫茨伯格教授将寻求对宇宙暴胀子与标准模型希格斯和其他新粒子的耦合施加约束--必须满足这些约束才能避免不稳定性。 作为这项研究的一部分，赫茨伯格教授还将探索（多场）超轻暗物质的影响，并探索强引力体系中的新物理学。 他还将研究这种轻轴子暗物质模型的行为，包括它们在星系内的行为，并限制天体物理体之间新的有效算子。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值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 Professor Mark Hertzberg at Tufts University.Cosmology is an essential tool to learn about physics beyond the standard model. With no direct evidence of new physics at colliders, we can use astronomical data to gain clues about new physics. Perhaps the most significant questions are: What new physics was at play in the early universe? What types of particles and interactions are in the dark matter and gravitational sectors? This project will investigate specific sub-topics within these important questions by first developing theoretical models and then comparing to astrophysical and cosmological data. This research therefore advances the national interest by pursuing basic scientific questions of high significance. The project will also have broader impacts. It will involve graduate and undergraduate students who will play an important role in analyzing models and performing computational work; this will help them develop essential research skills. Professor Hertzberg will also actively advance these topics within the larger physics community.More technically, Professor Hertzberg will seek to place constraints on the couplings of the cosmic inflaton to the Standard Model Higgs and other new particles --- constraints which must be satisfied in order to avoid instability. As part of this research, Professor Hertzberg will also explore the implications of (multi-field) ultralight dark matter and explore new physics in the strong gravity regime. He will also study the behavior of such light axion dark matter models, including their behavior within the galaxy, and constrain new effective operators between astrophysical bodies.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.