Quantum field Theory and String Theory

该奖项资助普林斯顿大学西尔维乌·普夫教授的研究活动。普富教授的研究从不同的角度探讨了物理系统的行为如何在短距离尺度和长距离尺度之间发生变化。这项研究的重点是有效的二维物理系统，例如层状材料，层之间具有弱相互作用，每层内部具有很强的相互作用。这样的二维系统之所以有趣，部分原因是它们可能实现物质的新的强相互作用相，部分原因是它们代表了在我们的三维世界中发生的难以理解的现象的玩具模型。普富教授将开发理论工具，以理解在这些二维系统中，短距离物理如何影响和约束远距离物理。这些工具部分基于弦理论的思想，据此，人们可以在三维空间中通过引力来描述强相互作用的二维系统。具体来说，这个项目的目标是通过研究可能的重整化群流的约束来加深我们对重整化群的理解；利用全息对偶研究三维量子场论的性质；并学习简单非超对称共形场论中的单极算子。这项研究不仅旨在巩固我们对量子场论和重整化群的理解，而且还旨在深入了解在四维强相互作用理论中难以理解的三维时空约束等现象。此外，用全息对偶研究强相互作用理论可以间接地给我们上关于量子引力的重要一课。所提出的研究为高能和凝聚态群体之间提供了一座桥梁，因为了解约束和单极算子对于理解哪种类型的一致理论可以描述，至少在原则上，各种晶格系统的低能物理非常重要。该项目具有重要的教育和指导成分，可用于培养博士后研究人员、研究生和高级本科生，并为他们成功的科学事业做好准备。普富将参与为有科学倾向的本科生提供建议，帮助他们为从事科学研究做好准备。

This award funds the research activities of Professor Silviu Pufu at Princeton University. Professor Pufu's research addresses, from different points of view, how the behavior of physical systems changes between short and long distance scales. This research is focused on physical systems that are effectively two-dimensional, such as layered materials that have weak interactions between the layers and very strong interactions within each layer. Such two-dimensional systems are interesting partly because they might realize new strongly-interacting phases of matter, and partly because they represent toy models for phenomena that occur in our three-dimensional world and are hard to understand. Professor Pufu will develop theoretical tools for understanding how, in these two-dimensional systems, the short-distance physics affects and constrains the long-distance physics. These tools are partly based on ideas from string theory, whereby one can describe strongly-interacting two-dimensional systems by gravity in three spatial dimensions.Specifically, this project's goals are to deepen our understanding of the renormalization group by investigating constraints on possible renormalization group flows; to study properties of three-dimensional quantum field theories with holographic duals; and to learn about monopole operators in simple non-supersymmetric conformal field theories. This research aims not only to cement our understanding of quantum field theory and of the renormalization group, but also to gain insight into phenomena like confinement in three space-time dimensions that are hard to understand in the theory of strong interactions in four space-time dimensions. In addition, studying strongly-interacting theories with holographic duals can teach us, indirectly, important lessons about quantum gravity. The proposed research provides a bridge between the high energy and condensed matter communities, because learning about confinement and monopole operators is very important in understanding which types of consistent theories can describe, at least in principle, the low-energy physics of various lattice systems. This project has a significant educational and mentoring component, whereby it can be used to train post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students and prepare them for successful scientific careers. Pufu will be involved in advising science-inclined beginning undergraduates on matters that would prepare them for careers in scientific research.