The Geometry of Supergravity Solutions and Applications
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
The two really big theories in theoretical physics are quantum theory and our theory of gravity, Einstein's theory of General Relativity.Quantum theory describes the physics of the really small: atoms, electrons, protons and all of the particles observed when these particles are smashed into each other at very high energies in particle accelerators. The quantum world is very weird as it says that sometimes particles actually behave like waves and vice-versa. But the weirdness is really there: the quantum theory of particle physics has been tested to incredible precision. We know that there are three quantum forces: the electromagnetic, the weak and the strong nuclear force. This magnificent edifice is sometimes called the Standard Model of particle physics.Gravity, on the other hand hand, is quite different. General Relativity says that the phenomenon of, say, an apple falling onto Isaac Newton's head, is a manifestation of the curvature of space-time. To get a flavour of this, imagine a big latex rubber sheet with a shot-put sitting in the middle stretching it down. If we now put a marble on the sheet, it will roll toward the shot-put as if it is being pulled by some force.General Relativity is also very accurate, having been tested in many different ways. One of the most interesting aspects of the theory is that it predicts the existence of black holes. In a black hole gravity is so strong, that is, the curvature of spacetime is so great, that even light cannot escape. We now think that all galaxies have a huge black sitting at their centre. General Relativity is also the basis for our theory of the origin of the universe, that everything began about 10 billion years ago in a very tiny compressed state and then exploded - the Big Bang .So, two beautiful theories, the Standard Model and General Relativity, and both very accurate. But...they are mathematically incompatible! How can this possibly be? The point is that the two theories are associated with very different scales: on small scales, for current particle physics, gravity is so weak that we can just forget about it. Similarly, General Relativity is applicable on very large scales when all other particle forces are negligible. This is why we can have the two incompatible theories happily co-existing.However, we know that there are some situations when we need both theories: for example inside black holes and at the Big Bang. A theory that unifies the two is called a theory of quantum gravity. We work on a candidate quantum gravity called string theory. The main idea of string theory is that everything is really made up of very, very tiny little loops or segments of string. The oscillations of these strings, like the different notes on a guitar, would each become, via the quantum weirdness, a different elementary particle. If it oscillates one way it's an electron, if it oscillates another way it's a proton and so on. Understanding the mathematics of exactly how this might happen is something that we are working on.Symmetry has been a major guiding principle in constructing the Standard Model and General Relativity. Now, every particle that we know of is either a boson or a fermion. The bosons, a photon for example, are associated with forces, while the fermions, an electron for example, are associated with matter. A very interesting symmetry, called supersymmetry, is essentially the unique way to connect bosons with fermions, or equivalently forces with matter. It is a central component of string and, based on a lot of hints, we think obtaining a deeper mathematical understanding of supersymmetry in string theory will lead to a deeper understanding of string theory itself. This is what we are proposing to work on and we hope that it will provide a significant step on the journey to determine whether or not Nature is described by string theory.
Organisations
Publications
Gauntlett J
(2006)
AdS spacetimes from wrapped M5 branes
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Graña M
(2007)
SU(3) × SU(3) compactification and mirror duals of magnetic fluxes
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Gauntlett J
(2007)
Consistent Kaluza-Klein reductions for general supersymmetric A d S solutions
in Physical Review D
Suryanarayana N
(2007)
Charges from attractors
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Gauntlett J
(2007)
Properties of some conformal field theories with M-theory duals
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Gauntlett J
(2007)
Supersymmetric AdS 3 , AdS 2 and bubble solutions
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Gauntlett J
(2008)
D = 5 SU(2) × U(1) gauged supergravity from D = 11 supergravity
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Gauntlett J
(2008)
Constraining maximally supersymmetric membrane actions
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Gauntlett, JP
(2008)
Geometries with Killing Spinors and Supersymmetric AdS Solutions
in COMMUNICATIONS IN MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS
Grant L
(2008)
Comments on 1/16 BPS quantum states and classical configurations
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Gauntlett, JP
(2008)
Kaluza-Klein consistency and supersymmetric AdS solutions
in FORTSCHRITTE DER PHYSIK-PROGRESS OF PHYSICS
Gauntlett J
(2008)
Kaluza-Klein consistency and supersymmetric AdS solutions
in Fortschritte der Physik
Donos A
(2008)
AdS solutions through transgression
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Pacheco P
(2008)
M-theory, exceptional generalised geometry and superpotentials
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Kim S
(2008)
Dyonic instantons in 5-dim Yang-Mills Chern-Simons theories
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Gauntlett J
(2008)
Geometries with Killing Spinors and Supersymmetric AdS Solutions
in Communications in Mathematical Physics
Donos, A
(2009)
Solutions of type IIB and D=11 supergravity with Schrodinger (z) symmetry
in JOURNAL OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS
Donos A
(2009)
AdS 3 × w ( S 3 × S 3 × S 1 ) solutions of type IIB string theory
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Donos A
(2009)
Schrödinger invariant solutions of type IIB with enhanced supersymmetry
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Donos A
(2009)
Supersymmetric solutions for non-relativistic holography
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Kim S
(2009)
The complete superconformal index for N = 6 Chern-Simons theory
in Nuclear Physics B
Donos, A
(2009)
Schrodinger invariant solutions of type IIB with enhanced supersymmetry
in JOURNAL OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS
Kim S
(2009)
Aspects of monopole operators in = 6 Chern-Simons theory
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Graña M
(2009)
E 7(7) formulation of N = 2 backgrounds
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Graña M
(2009)
T-duality, generalized geometry and non-geometric backgrounds
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Description | The research was focussed on understanding mathematical structures arising in string theory. Significant progress was made on understanding the geometry underpinning supergravity solutions, which play a key role in the subject. This new geometric understanding lead to new insights into the anti-de-Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence, with implications to quantum field theory, as well as to the properties of black holes. |
Exploitation Route | The results continue to have a significant impact on the academic community. |
Sectors | Education,Energy |
Description | The research was focused on probing theoretical questions related to fundamental physics. Scientific breakthroughs in such endeavours invariably led to technological advances, but the precise nature of these and the timescales are unpredictable and can be long. There was specific impact via education of young researchers and also the public via popular talks. |
First Year Of Impact | 2006 |
Sector | Education,Energy |
Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
Description | Consolidated Grant |
Amount | £1,514,430 (GBP) |
Funding ID | STFC/J000353/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2011 |
End | 09/2014 |
Description | Imperial Faculty of Natural Science 2011 |
Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
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