M-theory, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
The research programme of the Theoretical Physics Group at Imperial College London is focused on the interrelated fundamental problems of quantum gravity, quantum field theory and cosmology. Our approaches to the problems of quantum gravity derive principally from superstring theory and supergravity and from the hypothesised parent theory of both these approaches known as M-theory. One important target of our work will be the relations between string theory and non-perturbative Yang-Mills gauge theory which can be derived using duality relations and exactly integrable quantum field theory models. In particular, we hope to obtain exact information about the quantum string theory spectrum and the relations between string theory and important Yang-Mills gauge theory phenomena such as confinement. The relations between string theory and Yang-Mills gauge theories have developed to the point where concrete physical predictions can be made about strong interaction physics in systems such as quark-gluon plasmas, which may be explored at the LHC collider at CERN. A second major target of our research will be to analyse the many vacuum states of string theory by extending our work on explicit solutions to the associated supergravity field equations. Infinite classes of such solutions with unbroken supersymmetry have been found, and we intend to extend this understanding to the spectral properties of the theory near these vacua. Another feature of string and supergravity theories which we shall investigate is the large class of duality symmetries they display, and how these lead to new kinds of global solutions where spacetime geometry and quantum fields are interrelated, known collectively as generalised geometry. We also have extensive expertise in the application of numerical techniques to the study of string and supergravity solutions, and we will further develop these and also apply them to the properties of black holes. In the area of cosmology and related aspects of quantum field theory, key clues to the structure of the big bang origin of the universe are to be found in the non-Gaussian corrections to the cosmic microwave background. This is an important indication about the origin of density perturbations in the early universe and of the formation of galactic structures. We have established participation both in observational programmes such as Planck, Spider and BPol, and also in the analysis of this data. On the other hand, fully developed models are needed of the evolution of quantum fields in the early universe and their effect on the evolution of early universe structure. So, in parallel with the analysis of observational microwave background data, we will pursue computational modelling of early-universe field dynamics and structure formation. There is a deep synergy between the broad strands of our research, with work on the non-perturbative aspects of Yang-Mills gauge theories informing both supergravity and superstring theory on the one hand and the study of high-temperature fields in the early universe and the computational modelling of early-universe density fluctuations on the other. Much of our work revolves around the problems of gravity and Yang-Mills gauge theories, both at a fundamental level and also in cosmology.
Organisations
Publications
Benvenuti Sergio
(2009)
Giant magnons and spiky strings on the conifold
in JOURNAL OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS
Magueijo Joao
(2009)
Cargo-cult training
in PHYSICS WORLD
Hanany A
(2009)
Brane tilings and M2 branes
in Journal of High Energy Physics
Lieu, Richard And Kibble, T.W.B.
(2009)
A natural origin of primordial density perturbations
Himmetoglu B
(2009)
Instability of Anisotropic Cosmological Solutions Supported by Vector Fields
in Physical Review Letters
Hoare B
(2009)
Pohlmeyer-reduced form of string theory in AdS 5 × S 5 : semiclassical expansion
in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
Borsten L
(2009)
Black holes, qubits and octonions
in Physics Reports
Himmetoglu B
(2009)
Instability of the Ackerman-Carroll-Wise model, and problems with massive vectors during inflation
in Physical Review D
Hindmarsh M
(2009)
Abelian Higgs cosmic strings: Small-scale structure and loops
in Physical Review D
Stelle K
(2009)
Is N = 8 supergravity a finite field theory?
in Fortschritte der Physik
Description | The research area is blue skies theoretical research into the fundamental structure of matter and spacetime. Significant results were obtained in two broad projects. The first was string/M-theory and applications to quantum field theory. String theory is a promising approach to unifying all the forces of nature. It has a rich mathematical structure and applications to condensed matter and geometry were also explored. The second main project was cosmology and quantum field theory. In this project the principal objective was to seek ways of testing innovative particle physics and quantum gravity theories against astrophysical data, such as the cosmic microwave background. |
Exploitation Route | The results continue to have a significant impact on the academic community and there are potential long term technological applications. |
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. Two specific aspects of the impact of the research are firstly, progress on the integration of science into the wider culture, made possible by our public communication and secondly, the training of young researchers. The positive impact on the economy is the production of highly trained individuals with the skills necessary to contribute at the highest level to modern businesses and industries. One RA moved into the financial sector after working on the project. |
First Year Of Impact | 2008 |
Sector | Education,Energy,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic |
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 | 09/2011 |
End | 09/2014 |
Description | 14-10 Club Royal Institution |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 100 people attended outreach |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Arts Club Talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk on The Higgs boson: what is it and why it matters? Outreach |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | BBC Today Programme (Radio), physics, hippies and creativity |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Talking on physics, hippies and creativity Outreach |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | CNBC news talking about the Higgs boson |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Talking about the Higgs boson Outreach |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Channel 4 News, talking about M-theory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | interviewed on M theory outreach |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Contributor in ``BBC Horizon - Is Everything We Know About The Universe Wrong?'', aired March 2010. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Contributor in ``BBC Horizon - Is Everything We Know About The Universe Wrong?'', aired March 2010. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Contributor to "Through the wormhole with Morgan Freeman'', aired July 2011. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Contributor to "Through the wormhole with Morgan Freeman'', aired July 2011. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | I was the host in ``Joao Magueijo's Big Bang'', a Discovery, Science Channel documentary, first aired Feb. 2008.\\ |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | I was the host in ``Joao Magueijo's Big Bang'', a Discovery, Science Channel documentary, first aired Feb. 2008.\\ |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008 |
Description | ITV News, talking about the Higgs boson |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Talking about the Higgs boson outreach |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Keynote speaker at LUSO 2012, UCL, June 2012. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Keynote speaker at LUSO 2012, UCL, June 2012. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Main interviewee in Quirks \& Quarks (CBC radio one) March 2010: The mystery of Ettore Majorana. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Main interviewee in Quirks \& Quarks (CBC radio one) March 2010: The mystery of Ettore Majorana. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Presentation at the public Conference in Memoriam of Abdus Salam |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation on the relation between Professor Abdus Salam and prominent Israeli scientists, despite international estrangement between Israel and Islamic countries. Further contacts with the Ahmadi Islamic community in London and with Israeli academics. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008 |
Description | Public lecture at Bogazici University, Istanbul |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public lecture at Bogazici University, Etiler, Istanbul, Turkey Further contact with Turkish colleagues and some involvement with scientific policy questions in Turkey. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Public lecture at CBPF, Rio de Janeiro |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public lecture at CBPF, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Further contact with Brazilian scientists. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Public lecture in Varanasi, India |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public lecture at BHU University, Varanasi, India. Further contact with Indian colleagues at BHU and other universities in India. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | SKY News, talking about the Higgs boson |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Talking about the Higgs boson Outreach |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | School visits (Finland) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Talks at secondary schools in Helsinki area in Finland - |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2011,2014 |
Description | School visits: All Saints Putney |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 30 students involved na |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2009,2010,2011 |
Description | Secondary school visits (South East England) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Several visits to secondary schools in Canterbury, London, Bishop's Stortford, Wokingham, Reading and High Wycombe, including talks on cosmology and particle physics to students, and a Science Fair stand. - |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015 |
Description | Series of radio (4), TV (2), and press (8) interviews for the launch of the Portuguese translation of ``A Brilliant Darkness'', Sept. 2011. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Series of radio (4), TV (2), and press (8) interviews for the launch of the Portuguese translation of ``A Brilliant Darkness'', Sept. 2011. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | talkaoke |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | http://thepeoplespeak.org.uk |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://thepeoplespeak.org.uk |