The Cosmology of the Early and Late Universe
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Physics & Astronomy
Abstract
Cosmology spans a wide range of physics, from the very small scales and high energies of the early Universe to galaxies and galaxy clusters in the late Universe. The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) (relic radiation from the big bang) and supernovae explosions allow us to probe the expansion history and constituents of the Universe. These observations suggest that most of matter in the Universe is composed of exotic dark matter. Furthermore the expansion of the Universe recently started accelerating, rather than continuing to slow down as expected. This late time acceleration could be due to an exotic dark energy component, or a modification of Einstein's laws of gravity. The late Universe has a rich structure of galaxies and galaxy clusters. These structures are believed to form from small initial fluctuations in the matter distribution, generated in the early Universe. However the mechanism responsible for producing these fluctuations is not yet understood. Connecting observations of the late time Universe, with the early Universe and fundamental particle physics is a major outstanding issue for cosmology and one of the main goals of our work. Particle physics and general relativity both break down at extreme energies, where a unified theory of quantum gravity is expected to operate. We will test the observational consequences of such theories. In particular string theory allows superstrings to stretch across the Universe, altering the fluctuations in the CMB, producing gravitational waves, emitting high energy particles and lensing galaxies. We will study the evolution of networks of cosmic superstrings and make accurate predictions for their observational signatures. This work could potentially provide the first evidence for string theory through cosmology. We will also study the cosmology of models which arise from string theory, including the very early Universe and the generation of the primordial fluctuations from which structure form. String theory, and other new particle physics models, also provide us with a dark matter candidate in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). WIMPs can be detected directly in the lab (via their rare interactions with atoms) or indirectly via the antiparticles and high energy gamma-rays that are produced when they come together and annihilate. They can also be produced in particle colliders such as the LHC. We will develop the tools required to unambiguously detect dark matter and measure its properties. We will also study the astrophysical and cosmological consequences of specific string theory dark matter candidates. We will take a two pronged approach to understanding the physics underlying the observed late time acceleration of the Universe. We will develop techniques which will allow us to test the laws of gravity, and models of dark energy, in both the early and late Universe. We will also continue to explore fundamental physics models which may provide a mechanism for the acceleration. Our research encompasses a wide range of scales and energies. This diversity is met with a corresponding array of techniques to study various phenomena, ranging from quantum gravity to classical dynamics and analytic calculations to numerical simulations using supercomputers.
Planned Impact
The particle physics and astronomy communities as well as the QG community working in cosmology are the obvious group of researchers who will benefit directly from the research proposed in this application. They will benefit in that our intention is to predict observational signatures for a number of Early Universe and Late Universe features. For example we will be determining the polarisation signal for a network of cosmic superstrings as a function of the string tension and coupling. This would be of direct interest to the string theory community as well as the CMB community who are searching for evidence of polarisation signals in the CMB. Similarly in the late universe we intend to develop the most complete parameterisation to date of modified gravity models, the PPF formalism. Through it cosmologists working on CMB and large scale structure surveys will have a means to constrain and possibly rule out classes of models by obtaining the required parameters and comparing them with General Relativity. Through our work on dark matter, we will be providing results of interest both to the experimental particle physics community and the astrophysics community working on dark matter detection. Our work on developing a framework for modeling the dark matter distribution to facilitate the unambiguous detection of dark matter and measure its properties, will be of significance for example for those working with the Cherenkov Telescope Array, as well as other upcoming WIMP indirect detection experiments, which are sensitive to WIMP annihilation in the remnants of WIMP microhalos. Our work on modified gravity emerging from string theory and braneworlds will open up a new avenue of using late universe observations for testing Early Universe physics. It will be of interest and could potentially have a significant impact on string theorists. As well as those directly benefitting from our research, we believe many will benefit indirectly. The graduate students and PDRAs that are trained through these projects often go on to work in industry and finance, taking with them the skill set developed in this research and applying it to new projects. We already have three students who have graduated in the past year and who are now working in climate modelling, finance and modelling wind turbines. There are also clear benefits for the wider public. For example undergraduate students will benefit through the opportunity to do projects with members of the group which will often involve learning about the physics involved in the grant. School and college students will benefit through masterclasses run by members of the group and talks given at schools. Similarly members of the public will benefit from public lectures given by group members in which their work will be discussed, through media activities such as radio and television appearances, as well as the continuing particpation of group members in the highly successful Sixty Symbols project. As mentioned above, the Knowledge Transfer will allow graduate students and PDRAs who have been trained by members of the group to enter the workplace and use their skills to beneift society.
Publications
Acharya B
(2013)
Introducing the CTA concept
in Astroparticle Physics
Ade, P.A.R. And Others
(2013)
Planck 2013 results. XXI. Cosmology with the all-sky Planck Compton parameter $y$-map
Aghanim, N. And Others
(2013)
Planck 2013 results. II. The Low Frequency Instrument data processing
Alexandrov S
(2013)
Chiral description of massive gravity
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Amendola L
(2013)
Observables and unobservables in dark energy cosmologies
in Physical Review D
Amendola L
(2013)
Cosmology and Fundamental Physics with the Euclid Satellite.
in Living reviews in relativity
Avgoustidis A
(2012)
Fast analytic computation of cosmic string power spectra
in Physical Review D
Avilez A
(2014)
Cosmological constraints on Brans-Dicke theory.
in Physical review letters
Baker T
(2014)
A fast route to modified gravitational growth
in Physical Review D
Baker T
(2013)
The parameterized post-Friedmann framework for theories of modified gravity: Concepts, formalism, and examples
in Physical Review D
Barausse E
(2013)
Slowly rotating black holes in Horava-Lifshitz gravity
in Physical Review D
Barausse E
(2013)
Black holes in Lorentz-violating gravity theories
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Barbot, Thierry And Bonsante, Francesco And Danciger, Jeffrey And Goldman, William M. And Gueritaud, Francois And Others
(2012)
Some open questions on anti-de Sitter geometry
Barrett J
(2013)
A topological state sum model for fermions on the circle
in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
Barrett J
(2014)
Two-Dimensional State Sum Models and Spin Structures
in Communications in Mathematical Physics
Barrett J
(2012)
Holonomy observables in Ponzano-Regge-type state sum models
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Barrett, John W. And Kerr, Steven
(2013)
Gauge gravity and discrete quantum models
Batell B
(2015)
Probing light stops with stoponium
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Battye R
(2015)
Constraining dark sector perturbations I: cosmic shear and CMB lensing
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Battye R
(2015)
Tension between the power spectrum of density perturbations measured on large and small scales
in Physical Review D
Battye RA
(2014)
Evidence for massive neutrinos from cosmic microwave background and lensing observations.
in Physical review letters
Benkel R
(2018)
Dynamical obstruction to perpetual motion from Lorentz-violating black holes
in Physical Review D
Bjaelde O
(2012)
Origin of ? N eff as a result of an interaction between dark radiation and dark matter
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Bloomfield J
(2015)
Shape dependence of Vainshtein screening
in Physical Review D
Brax P
(2014)
Constraining disformally coupled scalar fields
in Physical Review D
Description | In the grant ST/J0003881 our research highlights included the determination of the B-mode polarisation signature from a network of cosmic superstrings - a cosmological test of string theory. We made a signicant contribution to the Planck pre-launch paper which determined the expected LFI polarisation ability and has become the standard used by the planck consortium. By studying the constraints on non-Gaussainity (NG) which arise from Primordial Black Hole (PBH) formation, we showed how PBH observations would rule out non negligible negative Non-Gaussianity signals. For the first time we constructed a class of observables and matter couplings in spin foam models of Quantum Gravity. We provided the first demonstration that general relativity can be described as an SU(2) gauge theory free from the infamous "conformal mode" problem of the usual metric formulation and this lead to a dramatic simplication of the graviton Feynman rules. We provided a new resolution of the infamous cosmological constant problem (CCP) based on selftuning in Horndeski's most general scalar-tensor theory of gravity. We created the Parameterized Post-Friedmannian (PPF) framework for model-independent testing of gravity and dark energy on cosmological scales. We ruled out a popular class of massive gravity models by demonstrating that they lead to a break down of predictability at unacceptably large distances in the earth's gravitational environment. We completed a highly cited review of modified theories of gravity that has quickly become the standard reference in the field. We presented a new formulation of a model-independent parameterisation of the WIMP momentum distribution which will allow the WIMP mass to be measured accurately using data from future direct detection experiments. Outside of academic breakthroughs we continued to train PhD students and Postdoctoral Fellows through our research and lecture programmes we ran. Members of the programme contributed significantly to Outreach activities including Sixty Symbols and Numberphile Youtube video series, Masterclasses in particle theory and numerous lectures given to schools. |
Exploitation Route | The research remains ongoing, and subsequent grant applications have been made to secure funding so that we may continue with out work. meanwhile other groups around the world have taken on our research ideas and are extending them. |
Sectors | Education |
Description | Our work has been published in academic journals and on electronic arXivs. It has been presented at numerous conferences around the world. Some of our work has reached audiences beyond academia as it has been reported through the Youtube channel Sixty Symbols and reached a global audience of well over 500,000. |
First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
Sector | Education |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | ERC Consolidator Grant |
Amount | € 1,150,000 (EUR) |
Funding ID | ERC-2013-CoG-617656 TheMoDS |
Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 07/2014 |
End | 07/2019 |
Description | Marie Curie |
Amount | £166,663 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 274326 --Anastasios Avgoustidis |
Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 09/2011 |
End | 09/2013 |
Description | Nottingham Advanced Research Fellowship |
Amount | £209,792 (GBP) |
Funding ID | Univ of Nottingham agresso code: A2RHR1 |
Organisation | University of Nottingham |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2013 |
End | 09/2016 |
Description | PhD studentship |
Amount | £60,745 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2013 |
End | 03/2016 |
Description | Reintegration grant |
Amount | £84,991 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RH2772 |
Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 08/2010 |
End | 09/2014 |
Description | Research fellowship |
Amount | £45,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RF- 2011-633 |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2011 |
End | 10/2013 |
Description | Royal Society URF |
Amount | £426,771 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 516002.K501/S C/PM/ROG |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2008 |
End | 10/2013 |
Description | Royal Society University Research Fellowship |
Amount | £410,731 (GBP) |
Funding ID | UF130549 |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2014 |
End | 09/2019 |
Description | Sir Norman Lockyer Fellowship |
Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Royal Astronomical Society |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2011 |
End | 09/2014 |
Description | Starter Grant |
Amount | £1,042,037 (GBP) |
Funding ID | FP7- 277570 |
Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 01/2012 |
End | 12/2016 |
Description | URF |
Amount | £519,188 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2013 |
End | 12/2017 |
Description | URF |
Amount | £339,861 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 516002.K501/S C/PM/ROG |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2013 |
End | 09/2016 |
Description | URF |
Amount | £451,598 (GBP) |
Funding ID | UF090598 |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2010 |
End | 09/2015 |
Description | Visiting Professor |
Amount | £27,981 (GBP) |
Funding ID | VP1-2012- 003 |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2013 |
End | 08/2013 |
Description | Visiting Professor |
Amount | £21,787 (GBP) |
Funding ID | VP2-2010-059 |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2011 |
End | 09/2011 |
Description | postdoctoral research fellowship |
Amount | £127,076 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RPG-192 |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2012 |
End | 03/2015 |
Description | COSMOS |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We have access to COSMOS supercomputer |
Collaborator Contribution | All partners have access to COSMOS to undertake basic research into cosmology |
Impact | Many publications too numerous to mention |
Description | Dark Energy Survey |
Organisation | Fermilab - Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Copeland is on the Theory Working Group |
Collaborator Contribution | They run the telescope |
Impact | None yet |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Euclid |
Organisation | European Space Agency |
Department | Science and Operations Department |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Skordis and Burrage are on Theory working group |
Collaborator Contribution | Support all elements of the satellite. |
Impact | None yet |
Description | Planck |
Organisation | European Space Agency |
Department | Science and Operations Department |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Adam Moss is on the Planck team, working primarily on polarisation. |
Collaborator Contribution | All aspects of the project |
Impact | Huge impact on cosmology. |
Description | Continued Sixty Symbols and Numberphile videos |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Videos made for the General public on maths and physics. reach audiences of well over 1 Million people (Numberphile) and 250,000 (Sixty Symbols) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/user/sixtysymbols |
Description | Edinburgh International Science Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked plenty of discussion afterwards. None |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Nottingham Masterclasses |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 60 pupils or so attend the masterclasses As well as exciting students, it has had an impact on ugd recruitment at Nottingham. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016 |
URL | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ppzphy7/webpages/outreach/ |
Description | Numberphile videos |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Tony Padilla and Ed Copeland have been involved in a a number of Numberphile videos. A recent one on the sum of the integers has attracted over 3 million hits on you tube. Hundreds of emails from students and interested people from around the world. Invitations to talk at numerous schools, articles in the NYT, de Spiegel and other major newspapers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014,2015,2016 |
URL | http://www.youtube.com/user/numberphile |
Description | School talks |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Generally very positive feedback from staff and students who appreciate us bringing cutting edge research ideas into the classroom. See above. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016 |
Description | Sixty Symbols Videos |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We have a big impact with these videos receiving thousands of comments on the videos and emails sent thanking us for the work. See above. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016 |
URL | http://www.youtube.com/user/sixtysymbols |
Description | Stargazing Live and Infinite Monkey Cage |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Appeared on BBC TV and Radio Plenty of positive feedback from members of the public and BBC. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013 |