The Integrable Chromodynamic Flux Tube

规范理论是我们理解自然界四种已知力中的三种力的核心：电磁力、弱力和强力。此外，我们统一量子理论和引力的最佳候选者——弦理论——本身就是通过规范理论通过所谓的规范/弦二象性来定义的。（这些值得注意的对应说明了某些规范理论和弦理论在具有一个额外空间维度的弯曲时空中的精确等价。）尽管规范理论在物理学中发挥着绝对的核心作用，但我们目前的理论工具还远远不能驯服它们。对约束、手性对称破缺和质量间隙的存在等物理现象的数学上合理的解析描述是根本不可用的，规范/弦二象性产生的精确场论机制仍然难以捉摸。为了解决这些令人着迷的问题，我们需要控制强耦合状态下的规范理论，而标准的微扰技术在这方面是不够的。迫切需要新的概念方法和工具。到目前为止，我的主要研究一直集中在开发这样的工具，特别是，旨在为四维规范理论提供第一个非摄动解。我未来五年的研究计划将集中于研究非阿贝尔规范理论中有限耦合下的相关函数、威尔逊环和散射振幅等动态量。我们将使用N=4超杨-米尔斯理论——量子色动力学的超对称表兄弟——作为我们探索的主要主题。我们还希望从这一分析中吸取教训，这将适用于一般的规范理论。全息术和可积性是我们将大量使用的两个现代工具。有了它们，我们将驯服这一非凡理论的色动力学通量管，并将其用于上述动力学观测值的计算。***就应用而言，很难估计一个理论研究项目对量子场论和弦理论的广泛影响。当然，如果历史对我们有利的话，我们可以肯定，今天基础物理学的发展，尽管听起来很理论化，但将成为明天技术的核心

Gauge theories lie at the heart of our understanding of three of the four known forces in nature: the electromagnetic, weak and strong forces. Moreover, our best candidate for uniting quantum theory and gravity - string theory - is itself best defined through a gauge theory by means of the so-called gauge/string dualities. (These are remarkable correspondences stating the precise equivalence between certain gauge theories and string theories in curved space-times with one extra spatial dimension.) Despite their absolutely central role in physics, gauge theories are very far from being tamed with our current theoretical tools. A mathematically sound analytic description of physical phenomena such as confinement, chiral symmetric breaking and the existence of a mass gap is simply not available and the precise field theory mechanism by which gauge/string dualities come about is still elusive. To address these fascinating questions, one needs control over gauge theories in the strongly coupled regime, where standard perturbative techniques fall short. New conceptual approaches and tools are urgently needed.***My main research thus far has been precisely focused on developing such tools and, in particular, has aimed at providing the first non-perturbative solution to a four dimensional gauge theory. My research program for the next five years will be focused on studying dynamical quantities known as Correlation Functions, Wilson loops and Scattering Amplitudes at finite coupling in non-abelian gauge theories. We shall use N=4 super Yang-Mills theory - a supersymmetric cousin of quantum chromodynamics - as the main subject of our explorations. We also hope to draw lessons from this analysis that will apply to gauge theories in general. Holography and Integrability are two modern tools which we shall use intensively. With them we shall tame the chromodynamic flux tube of this remarkable theory and put it to use in the computation of the dynamical observables mentioned above. ***As far as applications go, it is very hard to estimate the broader impact a theoretical research program in quantum field theory and string theory. Of course, if history serves us well, we can be certain that today's developments in fundamental physics, theoretical as they might sound, will lie at the very heart of tomorrow's technology.**