Theory of Elementary Particles

该奖项资助佛罗里达州科勒尔盖布尔斯迈阿密大学的奥兰多·阿尔瓦雷斯教授和拉斐尔·内波梅奇教授的研究活动。描述已知基本粒子的标准模型是规范理论的一个例子。计算强子谱（质子质量等）的尚未解决的问题是规范理论中强耦合问题的一个例子。某些规范理论等价于相应的弦理论的发现，即所谓的AdS/CFT对应，已经彻底改变了理论物理学，因为它提供了一种解决如此困难的强耦合问题的方法。一个重要的发展是发现和利用了AdS/CFT的可积性，这可能导致这些理论的精确解。Nepomechie教授的主要目标是将可积量子自旋链和可积量子场论技术应用于规范/弦理论中的问题。与此同时，理论物理学的一个重大挑战是，为什么引力相对于其他基本力非常弱。因此，Alvarez教授将研究一类时空中没有重力的场论模型。这些理论没有一个基本的引力子，即负责引力的量子。这些理论的有趣之处在于，在位于时空内部的低维表面（所谓的膜）上，存在一种诱导弱引力理论。引力子只存在于低维表面上，作为表面几何的一种激发。预计该项目还将产生更广泛的重大影响。这项工作可能为弦理论和数学开辟新的方向。Alvarez教授和Nepomechie教授将在位于南非开普敦的非洲数学科学研究所（AIMS）为迈阿密和非洲的下一代科学家提供科学培训。他们的研究成果将通过互联网和科学出版物以及研讨会和国际会议传播。PI还将在当地学校和社区中心就他们的研究进行公开演讲。

This award funds the research activities of Professors Orlando Alvarez and Rafael Nepomechie at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.The Standard Model that describes the known elementary particles is an example of a gauge theory. The still-unsolved problem of computing the hadron spectrum (the masses of protons, etc.) is an example of a strong-coupling problem in gauge theory. The discovery that certain gauge theories are equivalent to corresponding string theories, i.e., the so-called AdS/CFT correspondence, has revolutionized theoretical physics, since it offers a way to address such difficult strong-coupling problems. An important development has been the discovery and exploitation of integrability in AdS/CFT, which could lead to exact solutions of these theories. Professor Nepomechie's main objective is to apply techniques of integrable quantum spin chains and integrable quantum field theories to problems in gauge/string theory. In parallel, one of the big challenges in theoretical physics is why the gravitational force is very weak relative to the other basic forces. Professor Alvarez will therefore study a class of field theoretic models where there is no gravity in spacetime. These theories do not have a fundamental graviton, the quantum responsible for the gravitational force. What is interesting about these theories is that on lower-dimensional surfaces (the so-called branes) sitting inside the spacetime there is an induced weak theory of gravity. The gravitons only exist on the low-dimensional surface as an excitation of the geometry of the surface. This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. This work may open new directions in string theory and mathematics. Both Professors Alvarez and Nepomechie will provide scientific training to the next generation of scientists in Miami and also in Africa at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in Cape Town, South Africa. Their research findings will be disseminated through the internet and scientific publications, as well as through seminars and international conferences. The PI's will also give public lectures on their research at local schools and community centers.