Strings is a series of international conferences on the topic of

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 intera ...

and

quantum gravity Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics. It deals with environments in which neither gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as in the v ...

, held annually since 1988. It is a key event for the string theory community. In 2004, it gathered about 400 participants, with several more online. Important topics in string theory have been introduced for the first time during these conferences.

History

The first conference, Strings '88 was held from May 24 to 28, 1988 at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

. It was inspired by the International Workshop on Strings, Composite Structures and Cosmology held in the same venue a year before. The conferences were not that promising at first and some scientists suggested to stop the annual meetings, however it gained popularity in the 1990s. During Strings '95.

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 sc ...

discussed the concept of

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 1 ...

, sparking the second superstring revolution. In Strings '96, Tom Banks, Willy Fischler, Stephen Shenker, and

Leonard Susskind Leonard Susskind (; born June 16, 1940)his 60th birth anniversary was celebrated with a special symposium at Stanford University.in Geoffrey West's introduction, he gives Suskind's current age as 74 and says his birthday was recent. is an Americ ...

introduced

matrix theory In mathematics, a matrix (: matrices) is a rectangular array or table of numbers, symbols, or expressions, with elements or entries arranged in rows and columns, which is used to represent a mathematical object or property of such an object. ...

; and during Strings '98, Jeffrey A. Harvey composed a song to celebrate Juan Maldacena recent discovery of

AdS/CFT correspondence In theoretical physics, the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence (frequently abbreviated as AdS/CFT) is a conjectured relationship between two kinds of physical theories. On one side are anti-de Sitter spaces (AdS) that are used ...

Physics Problems for the Next Millenium

During the Strings 2000, participants proposed and selected a "Top Ten Problems in Fundamental Physics for the Next Millenium", similar to the

Millennium Prize Problems The Millennium Prize Problems are seven well-known complex mathematics, mathematical problems selected by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000. The Clay Institute has pledged a US $1 million prize for the first correct solution to each problem ...

in mathematics. The problems are:

List of conferences

Here is a list of Strings conferences:

References

{{reflist Physics conferences Recurring events established in 1988