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S-duality
In theoretical physics, S-duality (short for strong–weak duality, or Sen duality) is an equivalence of two physical theories, which may be either quantum field theories or string theories. S-duality is useful for doing calculations in theoretical physics because it relates a theory in which calculations are difficult to a theory in which they are easier. In quantum field theory, S-duality generalizes a well established fact from classical electrodynamics, namely the invariance of Maxwell's equations under the interchange of electric and magnetic fields. One of the earliest known examples of S-duality in quantum field theory is Montonen–Olive duality which relates two versions of a quantum field theory called ''N'' = 4 supersymmetric Yang–Mills theory. Recent work of Anton Kapustin and Edward Witten suggests that Montonen–Olive duality is closely related to a research program in mathematics called the geometric Langlands program. Another realization of S-duality i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
M-theory
In physics, M-theory is a theory that unifies all Consistency, consistent versions of superstring theory. Edward Witten first conjectured the existence of such a theory at a string theory conference at the University of Southern California in 1995. Witten's announcement initiated a flurry of research activity known as the second superstring revolution. Prior to Witten's announcement, string theorists had identified five versions of superstring theory. Although these theories initially appeared to be very different, work by many physicists showed that the theories were related in intricate and nontrivial ways. Physicists found that apparently distinct theories could be unified by mathematical transformations called S-duality and T-duality. Witten's conjecture was based in part on the existence of these dualities and in part on the relationship of the string theories to a field theory (physics), field theory called eleven-dimensional supergravity. Although a complete formulation o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
String Theory
In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interact with each other. On distance scales larger than the string scale, a string acts like a particle, with its mass, charge, and other properties determined by the vibrational state of the string. In string theory, one of the many vibrational states of the string corresponds to the graviton, a quantum mechanical particle that carries the gravitational force. Thus, string theory is a theory of quantum gravity. String theory is a broad and varied subject that attempts to address a number of deep questions of fundamental physics. String theory has contributed a number of advances to mathematical physics, which have been applied to a variety of problems in black hole physics, early universe cosmology, nuclear physics, and condensed matter ph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
String Duality
String duality is a class of symmetries in physics that link different string theories, theories which assume that the fundamental building blocks of the universe are strings instead of point particles. Overview Before the so-called "duality revolution" there were believed to be five distinct versions of string theory, plus the (unstable) bosonic and gluonic theories. Note that in the type IIA and type IIB string theories closed strings are allowed to move everywhere throughout the ten-dimensional space-time (called the ''bulk''), while open strings have their ends attached to D-branes, which are membranes of lower dimensionality (their dimension is odd - 1,3,5,7 or 9 - in type IIA and even - 0,2,4,6 or 8 - in type IIB, including the time direction). Before the 1990s, string theorists believed there were five distinct superstring theories: type I, types IIA and IIB, and the two heterotic string theories ( SO(32) and ''E''8×''E''8). The thinking was that out of these fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montonen–Olive Duality
Montonen–Olive duality or electric–magnetic duality is the oldest known example of strong–weak duality or S-duality according to current terminology. It generalizes the electro-magnetic symmetry of Maxwell's equations by stating that magnetic monopoles, which are usually viewed as emergent quasiparticles that are "composite" (i.e. they are solitons or topological defects), can in fact be viewed as "elementary" quantized particles with electrons playing the reverse role of "composite" topological solitons; the viewpoints are equivalent and the situation dependent on the duality. It was later proven to hold true when dealing with a ''N'' = 4 supersymmetric Yang–Mills theory. It is named after Finnish physicist Claus Montonen and British physicist David Olive after they proposed the idea in their academic paper '' Magnetic monopoles as gauge particles?'' where they state: S-duality is now a basic ingredient in topological quantum field theories and string theori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N = 4 Supersymmetric Yang–Mills Theory
''N'' = 4 supersymmetric Yang–Mills (SYM) theory is a relativistic conformally invariant Lagrangian gauge theory describing the interactions of fermions via gauge field exchanges. In ''D''=4 spacetime dimensions, ''N''=4 is the maximal number of supersymmetries or supersymmetry charges. SYM theory is a toy theory based on Yang–Mills theory; it does not model the real world, but it is useful because it can act as a proving ground for approaches for attacking problems in more complex theories. It describes a universe containing boson fields and fermion fields which are related by four supersymmetries (this means that transforming bosonic and fermionic fields in a certain way leaves the theory invariant). It is one of the simplest (in the sense that it has no free parameters except for the gauge group) and one of the few ultraviolet finite quantum field theories in 4 dimensions. It can be thought of as the most symmetric field theory that does not involve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seiberg Duality
In quantum field theory, Seiberg duality, conjectured by Nathan Seiberg in 1994, is an S-duality relating two different super QCD, supersymmetric QCDs. The two theories are not identical, but they agree at low energies. More precisely under a renormalization group flow they flow to the same IR fixed point, and so are in the same universality class. It is an extension to nonabelian group, nonabelian gauge theory, gauge theories with N=1 supersymmetry of Montonen–Olive duality in N=4 theories and electromagnetic duality in abelian group, abelian theories. The statement of Seiberg duality Seiberg duality is an equivalence of the IR fixed points in an ''N''=1 theory with SU(Nc) as the gauge group and Nf flavor (physics), flavors of fundamental representation, fundamental chiral superfield, chiral multiplets and Nf flavors of antifundamental chiral multiplets in the chiral limit (no bare masses) and an N=1 chiral QCD with Nf-Nc colors and Nf flavors, where Nc and Nf are positive i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anton Kapustin
Anton Nikolayevich Kapustin (born November 10, 1971, Moscow) is a Russian-American theoretical physicist and the Earle C. Anthony Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology. His interests lie in quantum field theory and string theory, and their applications to particle physics and condensed matter theory. He is the son of the pianist-composer Nikolai Kapustin. Education Kapustin obtained a B.S. in physics from Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ... in 1993. He received a Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1997 with John Preskill as his advisor. Research He has made several contributions to dualities and other aspects of quantum field theories, in particular topological fie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Witten
Edward Witten (born August 26, 1951) is an American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist known for his contributions to string theory, topological quantum field theory, and various areas of mathematics. He is a professor emeritus in the school of natural sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton. Witten is a researcher in string theory, quantum gravity, supersymmetry, supersymmetric quantum field theories, and other areas of mathematical physics. Witten's work has also significantly impacted pure mathematics. In 1990, he became the first physicist to be awarded a Fields Medal by the International Mathematical Union, for his mathematical insights in physics, such as his 1981 proof of the positive energy theorem in general relativity, and his interpretation of the Vaughan Jones, Jones invariants of knots as Feynman integrals. He is considered the practical founder of M-theory.Duff 1998, p. 65 Early life and education Witten was born on A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geometric Langlands Program
In mathematics, the geometric Langlands correspondence relates algebraic geometry and representation theory. It is a reformulation of the Langlands correspondence obtained by replacing the number fields appearing in the original number theoretic version by function fields and applying techniques from algebraic geometry. The correspondence is named for the Canadian mathematician Robert Langlands, who formulated the original form of it in the late 1960s. The geometric Langlands conjecture asserts the existence of the geometric Langlands correspondence. The existence of the geometric Langlands correspondence in the specific case of general linear groups over function fields was proven by Laurent Lafforgue in 2002, where it follows as a consequence of Lafforgue's theorem. Background In mathematics, the classical Langlands correspondence is a collection of results and conjectures relating number theory and representation theory. Formulated by Robert Langlands in the late 1960s, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Theory Of Relativity
General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. General relativity generalizes special relativity and refines Newton's law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time, or four-dimensional spacetime. In particular, the ''curvature of spacetime'' is directly related to the energy and momentum of whatever is present, including matter and radiation. The relation is specified by the Einstein field equations, a system of second-order partial differential equations. Newton's law of universal gravitation, which describes gravity in classical mechanics, can be seen as a prediction of general relativity for the almost flat spacetime geometry around stationary mass distributions. Some predictions of general relativity, howeve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electromagnetic Force
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interactions of atoms and molecules. Electromagnetism can be thought of as a combination of electrostatics and magnetism, which are distinct but closely intertwined phenomena. Electromagnetic forces occur between any two charged particles. Electric forces cause an attraction between particles with opposite charges and repulsion between particles with the same charge, while magnetism is an interaction that occurs between charged particles in relative motion. These two forces are described in terms of electromagnetic fields. Macroscopic charged objects are described in terms of Coulomb's law for electricity and Ampère's force law for magnetism; the Lorentz force describes microscopic charged particles. The electromagnetic force is responsible fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
