F-Theory and its Applications

该奖项资助加州大学圣巴巴拉分校大卫·莫里森教授的研究活动。物理学中的一些理论问题被称为“微扰”。对于这样的理论问题，存在着可靠的数学方法来解决它们。相比之下，对于其他问题，这些方法不起作用，必须寻找不同的方法。莫里森教授的研究涉及将量子力学（亚原子世界的物理学）与引力统一起来的理论的非摄动方面，特别集中在一个非正式的“f理论”上。作为他研究的一部分，莫里森教授将使用从纯数学中借鉴的技术来研究这些理论，这可能会导致物理学和数学的进步。因此，该领域的研究通过促进科学在两个最基本的方向上的进步来促进国家利益：对新的物理理论的理解，以及发现用于研究这些理论的新的数学工具。预计该项目还将产生更广泛的重大影响。莫里森教授将让研究生和博士后参与他的研究，从而为开始在该领域研究的年轻科学家提供重要的培训。他还打算通过向广大公众广泛提供科学文献的努力，促进公众对科学的理解。从技术上讲，莫里森教授将研究f理论（压缩到四个时空维度）的许多方面。他将确定这些理论中离散规范对称的可能性，研究背景通量和膜在这些理论中的作用，并研究由f理论在探针d3膜上引起的理论，以确定可以从这些探针中恢复多少f理论。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 David Morrison at the University of California, Santa Barbara.Some theoretical problems in physics are known as "perturbative". For such theoretical problems there exist robust mathematical methods by which they may be addressed. For other problems, by contrast, these methods do not work and different methods must be found. Professor Morrison's research involves non-perturbative aspects of theories which unify quantum mechanics (the physics of the subatomic world) with gravity, concentrating in particular on a theory known informally as "F-theory." As part of his research, Professor Morrison will use techniques borrowed from pure mathematics to study these theories, potentially leading to progress in both physics and mathematics. As a result, research in this area advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in two of its most fundamental directions: the understanding of new physical theories, and the discovery of new mathematical tools with which to investigate them. This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. Professor Morrison will involve graduate students and postdocs in his research, and thereby provide critical training for junior scientists beginning research in this field. He also intends to promote the public understanding of science through efforts to make the scientific literature broadly available to the public at large.More technically, Professor Morrison will investigate a number of aspects of F-theory (compactified to four spacetime dimensions). He will determine the possibilities for discrete gauge symmetries in such theories, investigate the role of background fluxes and branes in these theories, and investigate the theories induced by F-theory on probe D3-branes with an eye towards determining how much of F-theory can be recovered from such probes.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.