Einstein's General Relativity is a pillar of modern physics, describing all known gravitational phenomena. The work in this project will advance our understanding of the foundations of General Relativity. Though it is our best fundamental theory of gravity to date, General Relativity has yet to be successfully combined with quantum theory and elementary particle theory into a single unified theory of physics. Recent work has pointed to the possibility that observable hints of such a unified theory could be manifested as minuscule violations of the foundations of General Relativity theory, including local Lorentz symmetry, which encapsulates the principles of Special Relativity. The proposed work will make use of a general theoretical framework for describing generic hypothetical Lorentz violation, called the Gravitational Standard-Model Extension, which has been widely adopted in recent years. The principal investigator will further develop this framework revealing new types of observable signals for Lorentz violation in experiments and observations including lunar laser ranging, gravimeter tests, and gravitational wave signals.
This work will positively impact researchers involved in precision tests of physical laws by providing motivation and additional areas in which to search for novel effects and new physics beyond General Relativity. The expected small size of any hypothetical Lorentz-violating signal continues to motivate the development of more precise measurement techniques by many experimental teams contributing to current precision instrument standards and the general field of metrology. The setting for this work is at a primarily undergraduate institution and this award will increase the visibility of such institutions in cutting-edge research. Accessible theoretical projects will be available to undergraduate students in physics, including minorities and women. This will impact undergraduate students who will be encouraged to pursue theoretical physics and be more likely to attend graduate school in physics.
