String Compactifications, Supersymmetry Breaking and Hierarchy Problems

弦理论是自然界所有基本力的候选理论，将开展一个广泛的研究项目。重点将是构建字符串模型，它自然地适应大规模的层次结构。这是由于弱核力的空间尺度（大致是原子核的大小）和引力变强的空间尺度（比原子核的大小短得多）之间存在神秘的差异而引起的。这是一个重要的问题，因为了解这两种截然不同的尺度如何以及为什么会在自然界中发生，可能是揭示基本粒子下一层结构的关键。

A broad program of research in string theory, the candidate theory of allthe basic forces of nature, will be undertaken. The focus will be onconstructing string models which naturally accommodate large hierarchiesof scales. This is motivated by the observed but mysterious discrepancybetween the spatial scale of the weak nuclear force (which is roughly thesize of the nucleus) and the scale at which the gravitational forcebecomes strong (which is a much shorter distance than nuclear sizes). This is an important problem because understanding how and why these twovery disparate scales occur in nature may be a key to uncovering the nextlayer of structure of the elementary particles.