Tom Melia (Kavli IPMU – Japan)“ ‘CMB-ing’ the Search for New Physics at Colliders”

The effect of dark matter and dark energy in the universe can be inferred through measurements of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The quantum effect of new physics on collisions at the Large Hadron Collider can be similarly inferred through measurements of what could be considered “anisotropies” in standard model processes. But how precise can one make the analogy? For example, does it make sense to talk of a “power spectrum of the standard model”? In this talk I will show how to construct just such a power spectrum, via a solution to a long-standing problem in effective field theory, and a hidden geometry in Fermi’s Golden Rule.