TESTING THE FOUNDATIONS OF COSMOLOGY

对于观测和实验宇宙学来说，过去的三年是激动人心的时期，其中最突出的是普朗克探测器数据的发布和大型强子对撞机发现希格斯粒子。除了这些旗舰实验之外，其他实验，如b模实验BICEP2和ACT，大型星系调查，如BOSS和暗能量调查（DES），以及许多直接探测暗物质的实验，正在迅速收敛到一个宇宙学的标准模型，该模型由一些参数描述，如宇宙中暗物质或暗能量的数量。然而，随着这些高质量数据的发布，我们对宇宙学基本组成部分的理解似乎一如既往地遥远。我们不知道宇宙学标准模型的起源是什么：暗物质和暗能量的本质是什么？宇宙大爆炸是如何以及为什么开始的？星系中心的超大质量黑洞的祖先是什么？我们会看到量子引力的特征吗？我们能在宇宙中看到宇宙（超）弦吗？什么东西比反物质还多？这些问题的答案将构成我们未来理解宇宙学的基础。在这个由伦敦国王学院物理系理论粒子物理和宇宙学（TPPC）小组成员提出的科学计划中，我们将通过探索这些基础背后的基本物理学并用观测预测来验证它们，直接解决这些问题。我们的努力围绕着三个主要项目。宇宙学中的强引力：宇宙大爆炸是如何开始的？星系中心的超大质量黑洞的本质是什么？我们能在天空中看到宇宙超弦吗？这些问题的答案之所以仍然未知，是因为它们需要我们以最完整、最复杂的形式来解决爱因斯坦的引力理论。我们将使用现代数值方法和最先进的计算机系统来找到它们。切伦科夫望远镜阵列（CTA）的物理学：英国是国际合作努力建造下一代望远镜的主要合作伙伴，该望远镜利用伽马射线以最具能量的形式探索宇宙。KCL是这项工作的合作伙伴，我们将使用望远镜研究暗物质的物理学，并测试我们最基本的理论，如狭义相对论。引力波的基础物理：引力波是爱因斯坦引力理论的预测。我们将通过研究它们的性质来研究它们的本质，从而了解引力的本质，并利用它们来照亮宇宙。

The past three years have been an exciting time for observational and experimental cosmology, highlighted by the release of the Planck Surveyor data and the discovery of the Higgs at the Large Hadron Collider. In addition to these flagship experiments, other experiments such as B-mode experiments BICEP2 and ACT, large galaxy surveys such as BOSS and the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the many direct detection Dark Matter experiments are rapidly converging to a Standard Model of Cosmology described by a few parameters such as the amount of Dark Matter or Dark Energy in the universe. Yet in the wake of the release of these high quality data, our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of cosmology seems as distant as ever. We do not understand what is the origin of the Standard Model of Cosmology: What is the nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy? How and why did the Big Bang begin? What are the progenitors of the super massive black holes in the centres of galaxies? Will we see signatures of quantum gravity? Can we see cosmic (super-)strings in the Universe? What is there more matter than anti-matter?The answers to these questions will form the foundations of our future understanding of cosmology.In this scientific programme proposed here by the members of the Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology (TPPC) Group in the Physics Department of King's College London, we will directly address these questions by exploring the fundamental physics that underlie these foundations and test them with observational predictions. Our efforts center around three main projects.1. Strong Gravity in Cosmology: How did the Big Bang begin? What is the nature of the super massive black holes in centres of galaxies? Can we see cosmic super strings in the sky? The reason the answers to these questions remain unknown is because they require us to solve Einstein's theory of gravity in its full, most complicated form. We will use modern numerical methods and state-of-the-art computer systems to find them.2. The physics of the Cerenkov Telescope Array (CTA): The United Kingdom is a major partner in the international collaborative efforts to construct the next generation telescope to explore the universe in its most energetic form using gamma rays. KCL is a partner of this effort, and we will use the telescope to study the physics of Dark Matter and test our most fundamental theories such as Special Relativity.3. Fundamental Physics with Gravitational Waves: Gravitational waves are a prediction of Einstein's theory of gravity. We will investigate their nature by studying their properties to understand the nature of gravity, and use them to illuminate the universe.