This award funds work done by the Stanford High Energy Theory Group. The faculty personnel on this award are Professors Savas Dimopoulos, Renata Kallosh, Shamit Kachru, Andrei Linde, Stephen Shenker, Eva Silverstein and Leonard Susskind.
Under this award, this group will engage in a broad program of research at the leading edge of theoretical physics. Dimopoulos will pursue the correct theoretical interpretation of data from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN as it sharpens over the next years. He will also continue his focus on astrophysical probes of dark matter and on novel methods of detecting gravitational waves. Kallosh, Linde and Silverstein will work at the interface of inflation with fundamental theory, including the embedding of new classes of models into supergravity and string theory. Furthermore, Linde, Shenker and Susskind will continue their studies of the mysteries of eternal inflation, while Silverstein's program of research will tie these pieces to an interlinked, concrete program of studying field theory in time-dependent backgrounds. Kachru and Silverstein propose to use holography in Anti de Sitter (AdS) space to understand novel phases of quantum field theory at finite density, and Kachru is pursuing a complementary program of research on pure field theory questions with possible applications to condensed matter systems. Shenker proposes a program of research to unearth further lessons from new dualities involving higher-spin theories of gravity, while Kachru, Shenker and Susskind will pursue recent advances in the theory of black holes.
The PI's also have a consistent history of pursuing the broader impacts of their research, and will continue to do so during the period of this award. They will devote substantial energy toward the training of graduate students and postdocs, who represent the future of this field. They will also continue their efforts to reach the broader public. In the past these broader impacts have taken the form of appearances in popular television shows, public lectures, participation in events such as the World Science Festival, authorship of popular books and magazine articles, organizational work that benefits the field as a whole, and interdisciplinary teaching. These activities will continue at a high level during this award.
