New tests of fundamental physics with upcoming observations

目前的宇宙模型基于一个暴涨的开端，其内容目前由暗物质和暗能量主导，已经经受住了十年的严格审查。这与我们今天可获得的三种主要天文数据--宇宙微波背景(CMB)的涨落、星系的大尺度分布和遥远超新星的变暗--非常吻合。然而，暴胀的起源及其与其他高能物理的联系，以及暗物质和暗能量的性质，仍然没有解决。在接下来的十年里，预计这三种数据的质量都会有所改善。在这一前景的推动下，我们的建议集中在两个主要方向上。首先，我们将专注于对暗能量的新的观测测试，或者更广泛地说，引起宇宙表观加速的引力物理学。另一个重点将是在高能量下发生的过程，这些过程的观测特征要么与通胀特征混淆，要么有助于区分不同的通胀模型。

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.