Exploring the Topography of String Theory and Quantum Field Theory

该奖项资助了芝加哥大学Savdeep Sethi教授的研究活动。理解空间和时间的结构是自然界永恒的奥秘之一。空间和时间是在某种大爆炸中出现的吗？宇宙会在大爆炸中终结吗？导致宇宙加速膨胀的所谓“暗能量”的本质是什么？为了回答这些关于我们宇宙物理的基本问题，Sethi教授将利用量子场论和弦理论的理论技术，这是理论高能物理中解决这些问题的两个理论框架。Sethi教授将处理的研究课题范围相当广泛，包括物理学家在许多不同分支学科中潜在感兴趣的问题，包括凝聚态物质物理学和构成自然世界最终“构建块”的基本粒子物理学，以及宇宙学。这一领域的研究符合自然利益，因为它促进了我们对基础科学的理解。预计这项研究还会产生一些更广泛的影响。第一项包括为本科生提供研究机会，包括继续参与芝加哥REU项目，并继续在芝加哥菲尔德自然历史博物馆等地进行公众宣传。第二个目标是通过直接参与将在芝加哥大学举行的物理学本科女性会议（CUWiP），以及通过直接指导物理学本科女性，来改善物理学女性的氛围。最后一个方面涉及通过在学校和研讨会上的讲座，通过直接合作，以及通过在卡达诺夫理论物理中心组织研讨会，发展与宇宙学家、凝聚态物理学家和数学家之间更好的跨学科联系。从技术上讲，塞西教授的研究将主要关注两个问题。首先，德西特空间能否在弦理论中实现？或者暗能量一定是一种动力学现象？第二，在局域量子场论和弦论之间存在什么样的理论？从最近通过不相关算子研究量子场论变形的进展中，有一个非常令人兴奋的新结构存在于该区域的线索。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award funds the research activities of Professor Savdeep Sethi at the University of Chicago.Understanding the structure of space and time is one of the enduring mysteries of nature. Did space and time emerge in some kind of Big Bang? Will the universe end in a Big Crunch? What is the nature of the so-called "dark energy" which is responsible for the accelerated expansion of the universe? In order to answer such basic questions about the physics of our universe, Professor Sethi will utilize theoretical techniques coming from quantum field theory and string theory, which are the two theoretical frameworks for tackling such questions in theoretical high-energy physics. The research topics Professor Sethi will tackle are quite varied in scope and include issues of potential interest to physicists in many different subdisciplines, including the physics of condensed matter and the physics of the elementary particles that form the ultimate "building blocks" of the natural world, as well as cosmology. Research in this area is thus in the natural interest because it advances our understanding of fundamental science. This research is also envisioned to have a number of broader impacts. The first involves providing research opportunities for undergraduates, including continued participation in the Chicago REU program and continued public outreach at places like the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The second aims to improve the climate for women in physics through direct involvement in a CUWiP (Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics) conference to be held at the University of Chicago, and through direct mentoring of undergraduate women in physics. The final aspect involves the development of improved interdisciplinary ties with cosmologists, condensed-matter physicists, and mathematicians through lectures at schools and workshops, through direct collaborations, and through the organization of workshops at the Kadanoff Center for Theoretical Physics. More technically, Professor Sethi's research will have a strong primary focus on two questions. First, can de Sitter space be realized in string theory? Or must dark energy be a dynamical phenomenon? Second, what kind of theories exist in the region between local quantum field theory and string theory? There are very exciting hints of a new structure residing in that region from recent progress in studying deformations of quantum field theory by irrelevant operators.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.