In this project the PIs will study fundamental physics at the subnuclear level and its impact on our understanding of the Cosmos. A broad range of topics in particle physics such as supersymmetry, extra dimensions, neutrino physics and grand unification are covered. Topics in cosmology cover the nature and origin of dark matter and dark energy and their implications for large scale structure of the universe. The unifying theme is the search for new physics that explains various puzzles of the successful standard model of particle physics and cosmology and their tests at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and various ongoing non-accelerator searches for new physics such as dark matter, neutrino mixings, astrophysical anomalies and cosmic microwave background. These projects will extend the frontiers of our understanding of quark-lepton phenomena and the early Universe and may lead to discovery of new particles and forces. The research program will support graduate students and postdoctoral associates. The PIs will develop a strong program of research for high school and undergraduate students, with an emphasis on students from historically black colleges. The research work of this group will be disseminated through public and school lectures, participation in science fairs, and media broadcasts. The proposal will also enhance scientific collaboration with Johns Hopkins University as well as partnerships with Howard University, Hampton University, and the University of Iowa.
This NSF award was made to four principal investigators Kaustubh Agashe, Zacharia Chacko, S. James Gates Jr.and Rabindra N. Mohapatra. The main focus of this project was to conduct theoretical investigations offundamental physics at the subnuclear level with the goal of expanding our knowledge of the forces and constituents of natureand understanding of the Cosmos in a way that could be tested in current particle physics and cosmology experiments. Topics in particle physics studied covered a broad range of topics such as supersymmetry, extra space dimensions, neutrino physicsand grand unification of matter and forces. Topics in cosmology covered thenature and origin of matter, dark matter and dark energy and theirimplications for large scale structure of the universe. The unifying theme was the search for new physics %that explain various%puzzles of the successful standard model of particle physics and cosmology and relevant to the above topics that could be testable at the CERN Large Hadron Collider andvarious ongoing non-accelerator searches for new physics. %such as dark matter, neutrino mixings, astrophysical anomalies, cosmic microwave background. We believe that our results, noted below, took some important steps to help extend the frontier of ourunderstanding of quark-lepton phenomena and the early Universe. Major outcomes:In the domain of neutrino physics, we explored how the observations can be understood using extensions of the standard model such as the left-right symmetric models and grand unified theories of forces. Specifically it was shown how these ideas to understand the neutrinos and the origin of matter in the universe can be tested at the Large Hadron Collider and in the planned searches for matter stability. In the area of dark matter, models were constructed to understand the puzzles of dark matter physics such as similar magnitudes for matter and dark matter content of the universe as well as whether dark matters can provide an explanation of the recently observed astrophysical anomalies. The possibility that dark matter carries flavor quantum numbers was considered, and its phenomenological implications studied. Within collider physics, new techniques were developed to determine the parameters of the underlying physics models, including those giving dark matter. The work of SJG has been concentrated in exploring new connections of supersymmetry to information theory, graph theory, and algebraic geometry. Broader impact and outreach:The NSF supported PIs at Maryland had a substantial rolein training graduate students and post-doctoral researchers.During the past four years, six students received their Ph. D. from our group and we trained about six post-docs, although our NSF grant did not have support for post-docs during this grant except for the last year( the post-doc support came from the University funds.) We also mentored several undergraduatesstudents. Our research results were disseminated via publications in peer reviewed journals as well as through presentations in International conferences and have spurred further research in the field.
