Astrophysical Searches for New Physics

我们对超越标准模型的物理学的一些最令人信服的证据来自天体物理学-观测告诉我们，宇宙95%的能量预算包括暗物质和暗能量。天体物理学使我们能够获得在实验室中无法复制的能量和距离尺度，因此是寻找新物理学的理想环境。该博士项目将利用现有和即将到来的望远镜的数据来寻找暗物质的身份和其他新的物理场景。一个很有动机的暗物质候选者是轴子-一种超轻粒子，出现在弦理论紧化中，并作为强CP问题的解决方案。在背景磁场中，轴子和光子可以相互转换。这一过程将在天体物理磁场中产生引人注目的特征，这可能会被下一代望远镜观测到。博士项目将分析恒星，星系和星系团中轴子-光子相互作用的影响，并旨在开发寻找轴子的新方法。以及研究轴子现象学，计算机模拟和统计分析是这项工作的主要组成部分。另一个强有力的新物理探测是超辐射--旋转星星或黑洞周围玻色子场的指数放大。这项工作在本质上更具有数学性。博士项目将研究不同环境下的超辐射，研究可能阻止它的因素以及如何观察它

Some of our most compelling evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model comes from astrophysics - the observations which tell us that 95% of the universe's energy budget comprises Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Astrophysics gives us access to energy and distance scales that would be impossible to reproduce in a lab, and is therefore an ideal setting to search for new physics. The PhD project will use data from existing and upcoming telescopes to search for the identity of Dark Matter and for other new physics scenarios.One well motivated Dark Matter candidate is the axion - an ultralight particle that arises in string theory compactifications and as a solution to the strong CP problem. In a background magnetic field, axions and photons can interconvert. This process would produce striking signatures in astrophysical magnetic fields, which may be observed by the next generation of telescopes. The PhD project will analyse the effect of the axion-photon interaction in stars, galaxies and galaxy clusters and aim to develop novel ways of searching for axions. As well as studying axion phenomenology, computer simulation and statistical analysis are a major part of this work. Another powerful probe of new physics is superradiance - the exponential amplification of a bosonic field around a rotating star or black hole. This work is more mathematical in nature. The PhD project will study superradiance in different settings, looking at factors that may prevent it and at how it could be observed