Collaborative Research: Investigations in Strings, Fields and Gravity

这一合作奖项资助了纽约城市大学城市学院的Sebastian Franco教授和V.P.Nair教授以及纽约城市大学Lehman学院的Daniel Kabat教授的研究活动。这个项目旨在加深我们对自然最基本层面的理解，解决量子场论(QFT)、引力和弦理论中的问题。Franco、Nair和Kabat教授将在不同的维度上研究QFT的动力学，这是一个至关重要的主题，因为QFT提供了一个一般框架，物理学家可以通过它来研究从基本粒子的行为到凝聚态物理的各种主题。佛朗哥、奈尔和卡巴特教授将从多个角度探讨这个问题，包括弦理论工具的使用。他们还将研究量子态的纠缠-这是一种神秘的现象，与量子计算和奇怪的新物质相等不同的主题有关。因此，这些方向的研究通过推动美国国内基础科学的边界来促进国家利益。这项研究还具有重大的、更广泛的影响组成部分。佛朗哥、奈尔和卡巴特教授将积极邀请本科生和研究生以及博士后助理参与他们的研究，为进入该领域研究的初级物理学家提供理想的培训。这一研究项目还将加强城市学院和雷曼学院之间的密切合作。保持联合研究计划对吸引学生进入这些研究领域产生了积极影响，特别是来自少数民族和代表性不足群体的学生，这些群体构成了两所学院学生群体的很大一部分。佛朗哥、奈尔和卡巴特教授还将继续并扩大他们近年来在城市学院建立的广泛的外联计划，与几个为贫困人口服务的当地机构建立伙伴关系。从技术上讲，这项研究的主要目标可以归纳为三个方面：1)量子场理论及其应用和变体，包括Casimir效应、纠缠、非对易几何和引力，以及非阿贝尔规范理论的红外行为；2)多维量子傅立叶变换的动力学和对偶性，以及用于这些目的的新型膜结构的发展和应用；以及3)弦理论研究非微扰D膜瞬子效应、ADS/CFT对应中的体物理重建以及全息宇宙学。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This collaborative award funds the research activities of Professors Sebastian Franco and V.P. Nair at the City College of the City University of New York, and Professor Daniel Kabat at Lehman College of the City University of New York. This project aims to further our understanding of nature at its most fundamental level, tackling questions in quantum field theory (QFT), gravity, and string theory. Professors Franco, Nair, and Kabat will study the dynamics of QFT's in various dimensions, a topic of fundamental importance since QFT's provide a general framework through which physicists study subjects ranging from the behavior of the elementary particles to the physics of condensed matter. Professors Franco, Nair, and Kabat will approach this problem from multiple perspectives, including the use of string-theoretic tools. They will also investigate the entanglement of quantum states --- a mysterious phenomenon that has bearing on diverse topics such as quantum computing and strange new phases of matter. As such, research in these directions advances the national interest by pushing forward the boundaries of fundamental science within the United States. This research also has significant broader impact components. Professors Franco, Nair, and Kabat will actively involve undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral associates in their research, providing ideal training to junior physicists entering research in this field. This research project will also strengthen the close collaboration between City College and Lehman College. Maintaining a joint research program has had a positive impact on attracting students to these research areas, especially from minority and underrepresented groups which constitute a large part of the student body at both colleges. Professors Franco, Nair, and Kabat will also continue and expand a broad outreach program that they established in recent years at City College, building partnerships with several local institutions which serve underprivileged populations. More technically, the key objectives of this research can be organized into three areas: 1) Quantum field theory, its applications and variants including the Casimir effect, entanglement, noncommutative geometry and gravity, and infrared behavior of non-abelian gauge theories; 2) The dynamics and dualities of QFT's in various dimensions, and development and application of novel brane constructions for these purposes; and 3) String-theoretic investigations into nonperturbative D-brane instanton effects, reconstruction of bulk physics in the AdS/CFT correspondence, and holographic cosmology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.