New tests of fundamental physics with upcoming observations

目前的宇宙模型是建立在一个膨胀的开端和目前主要由暗物质和暗能量组成的基础上的，它经受住了10年的严格审查。它与我们今天可以获得的三种主要天文数据——宇宙微波背景辐射（CMB）的波动、星系的大规模分布以及遥远超新星的变暗——非常吻合。然而，暴胀的起源及其与其他高能物理的联系仍然没有得到解决，暗物质和暗能量的本质也是如此。在今后十年中，预计这三种数据的质量都将得到改善。基于这一前景，我们的建议主要侧重于两个方向。其中一个，我们将专注于暗能量的新观测测试，或者更一般地说，引起宇宙明显加速的引力物理。另一个重点将是发生在高能量下的过程，这些过程的观测特征可能与暴胀的特征相混淆，或者有助于区分不同的暴胀模型。

The current model of the universe, based on an inflationary beginning and the content presently dominated by dark matter and dark energy, has survived a decade of intense scrutiny. It is in an excellent agreement with the three main kinds of astronomical data available to us today -- fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the large scale distribution of galaxies, and the dimming of distant supernovae. However, the origin of inflation and its connection to the rest of high energy physics remains unresolved, as does the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Over the next decade, qualitative improvements are expected in all three types of data. Motivated by this prospect, our proposal focuses on two main directions. In one, we will concentrate on new observational tests of dark energy or, more generally, the gravitational physics causing the apparent acceleration of the universe. The other focus will be on processes that took place at high energies and whose observational signatures can either be confused with those of inflation or help to discriminate among different models of inflation.