NSF Award
2412797
This award funds the research activities of Professor Andrew J. Long at Rice University. <br/><br/>Whereas the Standard Model of the Elementary Particles has been unerringly successful at describing the properties of the known elementary particles and the forces by which they interact, a combination of cosmological and astrophysical observations furnish overwhelming evidence that New Physics is at play in the fundamental laws of nature. The phenomena of dark matter, cosmic inflation, and the excess of matter over antimatter cannot be explained within the framework of the Standard Model. Candidate theories include the well-studied axion and dark photon, which are being targeted by experimental campaigns in laboratories on Earth. At the same time, it is important to seek out these new particles and forces through their possible manifestations in the cosmos, including the cosmic microwave background radiation, for example. Under this grant award, Professor Long will use the tools of quantum field theory and particle physics to make robust predictions for cosmological and astrophysical signatures of axion, dark photon, and other hypothetical new physics to strengthen the connection with ongoing (and bold, new) experimental activities. This research will advance the national interest by expanding the scope of human knowledge in an effort to better understand the fundamental constituents of nature. This grant award will provide the financial support for graduate student researchers at Rice University where Professor Long will supervise the training of these early-career physicists. In addition, Professor Long will deliver lectures at local high schools and invite students to visit his university’s campus in order to promote science literacy among the general public and to encourage the next generation of physicists. <br/><br/>Some specific examples of the work to be performed include: deriving predictions for cosmic microwave background birefringence arising from axion strings and assessing the compatibility with data, developing an analytical model for string network dynamics and assessing the observational implications (e.g., gravitational waves), deriving predictions for the isocurvature associated with gravitationally-produced dark matter to assess the signatures of light spectators during inflation, and evaluating the impact of dark photon dark matter on small-scale structure formation.<br/><br/>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.
