US-Ireland Cooperative Research: Classical Topology and Quantum Symmetries

该奖项将支持美国和爱尔兰物理学家在经典拓扑学和量子对称性方面的合作研究。美国调查人员均来自锡拉丘兹大学，他们是A·P·巴拉钱德兰博士、拉斐尔·D·索尔金博士和威廉·麦克格林博士。爱尔兰的调查人员是L.O‘Raifeartaigh教授(都柏林高级研究所)、S.Sen博士(都柏林大学)和C.E.Nash博士(圣帕特里克学院，梅努斯)。拓扑概念和对称性原理在理论物理的许多分支中扮演着重要的角色。研究人员将研究拓扑学的作用，以及它与量子引力、共形场理论(CFT)和磁单极子理论中的量子力学和对称原理的相互作用。在重力学中，他们将研究三维空间丰富的拓扑特征，相关量子理论的结构及其对对称原理的影响。我们还将研究与这些空间相关的某些被称为几何粒子的类粒子激发的性质。其他主题包括：1)作为CFT基础的对称群的性质，以及2)在量子水平上某些对称性的可能恢复，在单极子理论中，由于拓扑原因，这些对称性经典地被打破。参与这一联合项目的两组美国和爱尔兰物理学家在拟议的主题领域都拥有广泛的专业知识。

This award will support collaborative research between U.S. and Irish physicists on classical topology and quantum symmetries. The U.S. investigators, all from Syracuse University, are Dr. A. P. Balachandran, Dr. Rafael D. Sorkin and Dr. William McGlinn. The Irish investigators are Professor L. O'Raifeartaigh (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), Dr. S. Sen (Dublin University) and Dr. C. E. Nash (St. Patrick's College, Maynooth). Topological concepts and symmetry principles play a significant role in many branches of theoretical physics. The investigators will study the role of topology, and its interplay with quantum mechanics and symmetry principles in quantum gravity, conformal field theories (CFT's) and the theory of magnetic monopoles. In gravity, they will examine the rich topological features of three dimensional spaces, the structure of associated quantum theories and its influence on symmetry principles. The properties of certain particle-like excitations called geons, associated with these spaces, will also be studied. Other topics include: 1) the properties of symmetry groups underlying CFT's and 2) the possible restoration of certain symmetries at the quantum level, which classically are "broken" for topological reasons in monopole theories. Both groups of U. S. and Irish physicists involved in this joint project have extensive expertise in the proposed subject area.