The goal of this CAREER project from Professor Liam McAllister at Cornell University is to provide compelling theoretical models of the early universe -- in particular, models of inflation in string theory -- and to use these ideas to interpret the coming generation of cosmological observations. Cosmology has made spectacular strides in the last decade, emerging as a precise experimental science with profound connections to fundamental physics. Recent observations are remarkably consistent with the predictions of inflation, which describes explosive expansion before the hot Big Bang. Inflation builds on quantum field theory and general relativity, and is sensitive to the interplay between them, i.e. to the ultraviolet completion of gravity. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of inflation requires a theory of quantum gravity, such as string theory. Moreover, by probing inflation through cosmological observations, one can examine physics at the highest energy scales, and shed light on the physical laws that governed the beginning of our universe.
This activity is also envisioned to have significant Broader Impacts. Specifically, the PI plans to communicate some of the compelling, urgent problems at the core of modern physics to high-school students and science teachers in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in New York City. To achieve this, the PI will begin by lecturing to an audience of public school teachers from New York City; then hold a professional development workshop for interested teachers, focusing on key questions of modern physics outside the standard curriculum; and finally, visit participating teachers' classrooms. By forming and maintaining long-term relationships with teachers, the PI will be able to assess the results on an ongoing basis and recalibrate the presentations as needed. The PI will have the assistance of a dedicated Cornell outreach coordinator for all of these activities.
