Moduli Spaces of String Vacua with Four Supersymmetries

该奖项资助了杜克大学罗内恩·普莱塞教授的研究活动。弦理论是量子引力理论和对宇宙基本结构的统一描述的主要竞争者。在过去的三十年里，弦理论的研究在物理学和数学方面带来了令人兴奋的新见解。考虑弦在非平凡背景下的传播，为时空中的数学结构提供了物理解释。数学和物理直觉和技术之间的相互作用丰富了这两个领域。一个值得注意的例子是镜像对称的发现和许多应用，这是两个不同空间之间的惊人关系，当用作弦背景时，会导致相同的物理现象。Plesser的研究将以这些结果和这两个领域的最新进展为基础，在新的体制下进行这些研究。这项工作将与世界各地的物理学家和数学家合作完成，加强跨学科合作。因此，这一领域的研究通过促进科学在一个特定的跨学科方向上的进步来促进国家利益。普莱塞还将培训研究生，并让本科生参与研究。Plesser还将与当地的公立学校合作，通过访问教室，展示与学校合作开发的具体课程材料，加强科学教学，并激发年轻人对科学的热情。这些课程材料广泛地提供给其他地方使用。此外，普莱塞望远镜在过去十年中进行的定期公共观星活动将通过包括天体摄影功能而得到加强。从技术上讲，Plesser将采用各种方法来更好地理解具有四个不间断超对称性的弦真空模空间的结构。这包括微扰异质真空和与之相关的（0,2）超共形场理论，以及Calabi-Yau四倍上的f理论和m理论紧化。这些公式中的每一个都给出了模空间的一个区域的简单描述，并且在重叠区域中的两种描述之间的关系特别有趣。

This award funds the research activities of Professor Ronen Plesser of Duke University.String theory is the leading contender for a quantum theory of gravity and a unified description of the fundamental structure of the universe. Research in string theory in the past three decades has led to exciting new insights in physics and mathematics. Considering string propagation in nontrivial backgrounds produces physical interpretations for mathematical structures in spacetime. The interplay between mathematical and physical intuitions and techniques has enriched both fields. A notable example of this is the discovery and the many applications of mirror symmetry, a surprising relation between two distinct spaces that lead to indentical physics when used as string backgrounds. Plesser's research will build on these results and on recent progress in both fields to pursue these studies in new regimes. This work will be done in collaboration with physicists and mathematicians around the world, enhancing interdisciplinary cooperation. As a result, research in this area advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in a particularly interdisciplinary direction. Plesser will also train graduate students and involve undergraduate students in the research. Plesser will also collaborate with local public schools to enhance science teaching and generate enthusiasm for science in young people through visits to the classroom to present specific curriculum materials developed in concert with the schools. These curriculum materials are made broadly available for use elsewhere. Moreover, the regular public stargazing events conducted by Plesser for the past decade will be enhanced by including astrophotography capabilities.More technically, Plesser will pursue various approaches to better understand the structure of the moduli space of string vacua with four unbroken supersymmetries. This includes perturbative heterotic vacua and the (0,2) superconformal field theories associated to these, as well as F-theory and M-theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau fourfolds. Each of these formulations gives a simple description of a region of the moduli space, and the relation between the two descriptions in regions of overlap is of particular interest.