Quantum Field Theory, Quantum Gravity, and the Swampland

该奖项资助了马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校本杰明·海德赖希教授的研究活动。理论物理学的一个长期目标是调和量子力学和广义相对论（爱因斯坦的引力理论），这两个非常成功的范例用于描述巨大不同尺度的物理学。弦理论为这种量子引力理论提供了许多数学上一致的例子，但目前尚不清楚，如果有的话，哪一个能正确地描述我们的宇宙。因此，很难做出实验上可验证的预测。Heidenreich教授的研究涉及所谓的“沼泽”计划，该计划试图确定所有数学上一致的量子引力的共同特征，可能导致可以在未来实验中验证的预测。这一领域的研究通过促进量子引力本质这一至关重要的问题的科学进步来服务于国家利益，而量子引力是许多理论物理学的核心。长期效益可能包括与实验物理的协同作用。该项目还将对马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校参与该研究的本科生和研究生的科学培训以及通过Heidenreich教授与阿默斯特地区高中生的外展活动产生重大而广泛的影响。此外，Heidenreich教授将通过一篇计划中的评论文章，向更广泛的科学受众传达量子引力研究前沿的想法。从技术上讲，Heidenreich教授将深入研究各种沼泽标准，如弱重力猜想，沼泽距离猜想等，以各种形式出现在文献中。海德赖希的研究旨在尽可能地提高这些标准，对它们进行艰苦的理论测试，如果可能的话，将它们与量子引力的基本原理联系起来。这项研究计划的最终目标是建立一个科学共识，确定哪些特征对所有量子引力都是普遍的，哪些特征对所有量子引力都不是普遍的，从而有可能在未来对量子引力进行可测试的预测。Heidenreich研究的一个相关的技术重点是对规范理论和弦理论中的强耦合和s对偶性的研究，特别是在四个或更少增压的理论中。这种规范理论对偶性可以使我们对弦理论中的d膜和通量的物理学有更多的了解，反之亦然，从而提高我们对弦理论中可构造的量子引力的理解。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 Benjamin Heidenreich at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.A long-standing goal of theoretical physics is to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity (Einstein's theory of gravity), two extremely successful paradigms used to describe physics at vastly different scales. String theory provides many mathematically consistent examples of such quantum theories of gravity, but it is unclear which, if any, correctly describes our universe. Thus it is difficult to make experimentally testable predictions. Professor Heidenreich's research concerns the so-called "swampland" program, which attempts to identify features that are common to all mathematically consistent quantum gravities, potentially leading to predictions that can be tested in future experiments. Research in this area serves the national interest by promoting scientific progress on the vitally important question of the nature of quantum gravity which lies at the heart of much of theoretical physics. Longer-term benefits potentially include synergies with experimental physics. This project will also have significant broader impacts, both on the scientific training of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst involved in this research and through Professor Heidenreich's outreach activities with high-school students in the Amherst area. In addition, Professor Heidenreich will communicate ideas on the forefront of quantum-gravity research to a broader scientific audience through a planned review article.More technically, Professor Heidenreich will study various swampland criteria in depth, such as the Weak Gravity Conjecture, the Swampland Distance Conjecture, and others, in the various forms that they have appeared in the literature. Heidenreich's research aims to sharpen these criteria as much as possible, subject them to strenuous theoretical tests, and if possible relate them to basic principles underlying quantum gravity. The ultimate aim of this research program is to build a scientific consensus on which features are and are not universal to all quantum gravities, potentially enabling testable predictions of quantum gravity to be made in the future. A related, technical focus of Heidenreich's research is the study of strong coupling and S-duality in gauge theories and string theory, especially in theories with four or fewer supercharges. Gauge theory dualities of this kind can lead to additional insights into the physics of D-branes and fluxes in string theory, and vice versa, improving our understanding of the landscape of quantum gravities constructible in string theory.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.