This award funds the research activities of Professors S. Dubovskiy, G. Dvali, G. Gabadadze, M. Porrati and A. Sirlin at New York University.
This research project involves a number of interrelated topics aiming to answer fundamental questions in theoretical physics. Chief among them: how can experimentalists distinguish the signals of new physics in the Large Hadron Collider era? What is the correct description of black holes in the yet-to-be-completed theory of quantum gravity? More generally, what is indeed the correct description of quantum gravity? How is it related to the description of all other theories of elementary particles? What can happen if the quantum carrying the gravitational force, the graviton, has a mass, instead of moving at the speed of light? Can the graviton actually move faster than light? Is this necessarily an unresolvable problem associated with a massive gravity theory? How do fundamental particles of high spin interact with themselves and with other, "normal" elementary particles? As part of this project, these researchers will work towards solving these problems, both in parallel and in collaboration.
There are also significant broader impacts are germane to this project. All of the senior investigators conduct their research in close collaboration with graduate students and postdocs, thereby providing essential training to junior physicists beginning research. They will also give public lectures on their research results, as they did in the past, not only in the USA but also in Germany, Georgia, Italy, etc. They have already developed new courses and curricula based on their research results, and will continue to do so as part of this project.
