NSF Award
2112527
This award funds the research of Professor Luis Anchordoqui at CUNY Lehman College.<br/><br/>High energy physics is in a state of flux. Data from underground particle colliders, from astrophysics, and from cosmology are together allowing physicists to determine with unprecedented accuracy the values of the many parameters that describe our universe. The values of these parameters are turning out to be the keys to unlocking fundamental secrets concerning the evolution of the universe. One of the most prominent parameters describing the universe is the so-called Hubble parameter H0, which quantifies how rapidly the universe is expanding. Unfortunately, recent improved measurements of this quantity have led to a mystery, with the apparent value of H0 depending on how it is measured. Physicists using the Planck satellite to study the light from the "early" universe (only about 380,000 years after the big bang) obtain one value, while physicists analyzing astronomical observations from stars and galaxies in the "late" universe obtain a different value. The discrepancy between these two values of H0 is called the "Hubble tension". The resolution of this conundrum will likely require a coordinated effort involving theory, interpretation, data analysis, and observation. In this dynamic environment, Professor Anchordoqui will study methods that can help address the H0 tension while at the same time providing solid predictions for data from underground colliders. Research in this area thus advances the national interest by promoting the progress of fundamental science. Professor Anchordoqui will also involve students in his research, thereby helping to train the next generation of scientists.<br/><br/>More technically, Professor Anchordoqui will pursue a number of different approaches to addressing the Hubble tension. These include theoretical modeling of time dependent stringy backgrounds with potential cosmological implications for the Hubble tension; statistical analyses using Monte Carlo Markov Chain methods to constrain cosmological parameters which arise in string-inspired models as well as in explicit realizations of the Dynamical Dark Matter framework; theoretical and empirical modeling of inflation dynamics with potentials exhibiting S-duality; and interpreting the tension of astrophysical measurements by IceCube and the Fermi satellite using flavors of cosmological neutrinos with active-sterile mixing. Professor Anchordoqui is also involved with the Pierre Auger Collaboration, searching for the origin and nature of the highest-energy cosmic rays and studying particle interactions at center-of-mass energies well beyond those attained at the LHC.<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.
