Theoretical Particle Physics

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

Theoretical particle physics is concerned with understanding matter and energy at its most fundamental level. The field is just now entering an unusually interesting phase. After more than twenty years of repeated and stunning success, the "Standard Model" of subnuclear physics is almost certain to fail in the next round of high-energy experiments, beginning an era of intense discovery that will dramatically deepen our understanding of the fundamental physics. This imminent revolution will be addressed from three directions. First, detailed analyses of Standard Model predictions will be used to look for discrepancies that would provide hints about the new physics that is to come. These discrepancies are most likely in rare processes, such as the radioactive decays of elementary particles, and in highly precise calculations of the electromagnetic properties of such particles as the electron-like muon. Second, new numerical methods will be further developed for analyzing theories in which the forces between elementary particles are very strong. These methods are essential for precise analyses of the Standard Model (and for the large experimental programs at SLAC, Cornell, etc.), and could also be essential for understanding the new physics to come --- strong forces are a quite common, almost generic feature of particle physics. Finally, there will be wide-ranging exploration of theoretical possibilities for the new physics, including such options as exotic new properties, like "supersymmetry", or extra directions in space-time. Central issues concern the relationship between quantum mechanics and gravity ("string theory"), and also between particle physics and cosmology. A fourth component of this project is interdisciplinary: Analytical and numerical techniques from particle physics will be applied to important problems in condensed matter and solid state physics.