Time, Space and Information

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

The proposed research involves exploring novel connections between cosmology and the new physics beyond the Standard Model. The PI plans to use the Cosmic Microwave Background as a probe of the new physics near the scale of inflation that could leave a small, but detectable, imprint in the CMB anisotropy. The PI proposes a new explanation for the Type IA supernovae observations, which are postulated to be fainter because of dynamical conversion of photons into axions, without cosmic acceleration. The PI predicts a new particle, the ultralight axion instead of the assumption of dark energy to explain these observations. The PI also proposes to investigate whether the dynamics of extra dimensions can generate the primordial seed for extra-galactic magnetic fields. The PI also intends to apply techniques from statistical physics to understand the transmission of information in neurons.