Particles, Fields and Spacetime

Lead Research Organisation: Durham University
Department Name: Mathematical Sciences

Abstract

Particle Physics is about to enter a new and crucial phase. The Large Hadron Collider at CERN will enable us to examine experimentally many of the theoretical concepts that underly the standard model of particle physics and search for the deeper structures that are believed to unify the laws of physics. Quantum field theory is the mathematical language in which the standard model is expressed, and it treats particles as point-like objects. Only certain kinds of quantum field theories, known as gauge theories, are consistent in the four dimensional world we live in. These include, and are generalisations of, the theory of electrodynamics that describes light interacting with electric charge. To be able to interpret the results of experiments we need to be able to solve gauge theories, at least approximately. This is a hard problem, but one in which there has recently been very remarkable progress due to a convergence of ideas originally developed in quite disparate contexts for solving very different kinds of theories. A major thrust of the project will be to push this line of enquiry further so as to be able to more fully understand gauge theories and be able to compute their properties. Matter at large scales is dominated by gravity which is described by Einstein's theory of General Relativity. This governs the motion of planets, stars, galaxies, and the evolution of the Universe itself. Uniting General Relativity and the standard model of particle physics is the most important challenge facing theoretical physics. It is widely, though not universally, believed that string theory provides such a unification. String theory replaces the point-like particles of quantum field theory with extended objects whose different vibrational modes account for the different species of fundamental particles. It is this belief that leads to the expectation that supersymmetry, a property of all realistic string theories, plays a role in nature, and may well be discovered at the LHC. Showing how nature contrives to hide this property is another part of the project. String theory has also lead to many unexpected relations between different kinds of physical theories, most notably in the AdS/CFT correspondence which states equivalences between certain gravity theories and corresponding gauge theories, enabling us to solve difficult problems in one theory by studying simper ones in the other. We will use this to study problems in gravity that would otherwise be intractable and also model strongly coupled physical processes in diverse areas by gravity. We will also use another method for studying hadrons that is particularly appropriate to describing large numbers of them bound into nuclei or even neutron stars. This is based on effective field theories such as the Skyrme model which we will investigate numerically using computers. Being a theory of quantum gravity strings have many implications for cosmology, in particular they admit the possibility that what we see as the physical universe is only a low dimensional subspace called a brane, moving in a space of higher dimensions. We will continue the quest to find direct experimental and observational signatures that will test this scenario.

Organisations

Publications

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Gregory R (2012) Spinflation with angular potentials in Journal of High Energy Physics

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Gregory R (2014) Vortex hair on AdS black holes in Journal of High Energy Physics

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Gentle S (2012) Superconducting instabilities of R-charged black branes in Journal of High Energy Physics

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Adam A (2013) Bosonic fractionalisation transitions in Journal of High Energy Physics

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Ballon-Bayona A (2012) A chiral magnetic spiral in the holographic Sakai-Sugimoto model in Journal of High Energy Physics

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Cherkis S (2012) Moduli of monopole walls and amoebas in Journal of High Energy Physics

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Hubeny V (2012) Causal holographic information in Journal of High Energy Physics

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Faulkner T (2011) Integrating out geometry: holographic Wilsonian RG and the membrane paradigm in Journal of High Energy Physics

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Barclay L (2011) The rich structure of Gauss-Bonnet holographic superconductors in Journal of High Energy Physics

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Heslop P (2011) Wilson loops @ 3-loops in special kinematics in Journal of High Energy Physics

 
Description Supersymmetric Quantum Field Theory

The members of our group have played a pioneering role in the efforts to understand the observables in highly supersymmetric theories. We have a strong
focus on the extraordinarly rich N = 4 super Yang-Mills theories, for which observables such as scattering amplitudes, Wilson loops, and correlation functions of local operators can be analytically computed to high (and sometimes arbitrarily large) order in the coupling. This stems largely from the exceptional integrability properties of the four-dimensional N = 4 SYM theories, which normally arises only in two-dimensional QFTs. Our research focuses on N = 4 SYM as an important toy model for understanding QFT and quantum gravity more generally. The power of this approach is clearly demonstrated by many past results, for example many modern methods for computing scattering amplitudes in the Standard Model were first discovered and developed in N = 4 SYM. It is essential to continue developing such techniques in order to analyze future data from particle colliders like the LHC. We also investigate whether and to what extent these ideas can be extended beyond the planar limit and to more realistic models. We have already made substantial progress in this direction, for example through the development of ambitwistor string models which describe 4d gauge and gravity theories with any amount of supersymmetry. Furthermore, several techniques developed for the bootstrap analysis of the N = 4 theories have already been used for other theories.


Our research sits at the intersection of three exceptionally active topics of current research - Amplitudes, Integrability, Bootstrap. These three by now intimately related topics have brought together people from a wide range of other fields, ranging from number theory to computer science to LHC phenomenology.Holography

The discovery of the holographic relation between conformal field theories and string theory on asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes has revolutionised the study of both field theory and quantum gravity. The gravitational description provides a powerful approach to calculations in strongly-coupled field theory, and at the same time the field theory provides a fundamental definition of string theory in which we can seek to understand the description of quantum spacetime. Our group has made substantial contributions to both directions, including the extension of holography to new domains where the underlying symmetries are non-relativistic. Our research has two main focus areas: firstly applied holography, using holography as a tool to study the physics of strongly-coupled field theories, with a view to applications in both QCD and in condensed matter systems. Secondly, entanglement and holography, where the group has had a world-leading position in the development of the relation between minimal surfaces in the bulk and entanglement in the field theory. This relation provides a very important new insight into the structure of the holographic duality.
Cosmology

The major achievement of the cosmology programme has been a series of papers by Ruth Gregory demonstrating that the Higgs vacuum decays in the presence of tiny black holes The implication of this work is that primordial black holes, i.e. black holes left over from the early universe, would be in conflict with the Standard Model of particle physics. This work extends previous analyses of the tunnelling process to allow for nucleation seeds or impurities, by including a black hole in the tunnelling process. The action of the instanton is significantly reduced for small black hole masses. Applying this to the Standard Model Higgs, we conclude that black holes trigger very rapid decay of the Higgs vacuum. Another implication considered in this work was the possibility that black holes produced at the LHC would trigger vacuum decay in models with large extra dimensions.


Whilst investigating the Higgs potential at high energies, we obtained some radical results on the renormalisation of Higgs-gravity couplings. These couplings play a crucial role in the cosmology of the Higgs boson and in Higgs inflation. In this rapidly moving area, there are contrasting physical descriptions depending on the choice of frame (Einstein or Jordan). Choosing a quantisation scheme which is covariant under changes of frame gives new results for beta functions of the effective field theory and new physical predictions. The techniques needed to do these calculations have only been developed recently, and they open up a whole new avenue of research.
Non-perturbative Field Theory

Non-perturbative aspects of field theory is an important theme in our work. The study of classical soliton solutions is an important area of activity, in which the group has a long-standing presence. We are also active in the study of non-perturbative aspects of string and M-theory, and the study of field theories with boundaries. A recent area of development is resurgence, an approach to reconstructing non-perturbative information from the asymptotics of the perturbation expansion. Current work is described under different areas below.
Exploitation Route All research directions are the subject of current world wide activity
Sectors Education

URL https://www.dur.ac.uk/mathematical.sciences/cpt/research/
 
Description Collaborative Small Grant
Amount £600 (GBP)
Organisation London Mathematical Society 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description ERC Consolidator Grant
Amount € 1,400,758 (EUR)
Funding ID SPiN: 615443 
Organisation European Research Council (ERC) 
Sector Public
Country Belgium
Start 05/2014 
End 04/2019
 
Description Foundational Questions Institute: Large Grants
Amount $43,000 (USD)
Organisation Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi) 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United States
Start 03/2014 
End 03/2016
 
Description GATIS: Gauge Theory as an Integrable System
Amount £502,468 (GBP)
Funding ID 317089 
Organisation European Commission 
Sector Public
Country European Union (EU)
Start  
 
Description Grant - Defects in Integrable Classical and Quantum Field Theory
Amount £266,648 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/F026498/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Grant - Elliptic Genera and Mathieu 24 Moonshine
Amount £44,994 (GBP)
Organisation The Leverhulme Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Grant - Hopf solitons
Amount £234,115 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/G038775/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Grant - Integrability, Symmetry and Quantum Space-Time
Amount £38,360 (GBP)
Funding ID 247523 
Organisation European Commission 
Sector Public
Country European Union (EU)
Start  
 
Description Grant - Phase Structure of Strongly Coupled Field Theories and Gravity
Amount £121,770 (GBP)
Funding ID PP/E006930/1 
Organisation Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Grant - Properties of Higher Dimensional Black...
Amount £1,400 (GBP)
Organisation Nuffield Foundation 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Grant - Solitons and Other Extended Structures
Amount £12,000 (GBP)
Organisation The Royal Society 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Grant - Solutions of Higher Dimensional Gravity
Amount £1,400 (GBP)
Organisation Nuffield Foundation 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Grant - String Theory Approach to Strongly Coupled Gauge Theories
Amount £344,990 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/G007063/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
End 01/2014
 
Description Grant: Geometry, Holography and Skyrmions
Amount £173,723 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/K003453/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description LMS Scheme 3 Grant
Amount £1,500 (GBP)
Funding ID 31331 
Organisation London Mathematical Society 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2013 
End 09/2014
 
Description LMS Scheme 3 Grant
Amount £1,500 (GBP)
Funding ID 31229 
Organisation London Mathematical Society 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2012 
End 09/2013
 
Description Leverhulme Research Project
Amount £192,413 (GBP)
Funding ID RPG-2016-233 
Organisation The Leverhulme Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2017 
End 03/2020
 
Description North British Mathematical Physics Seminar Series
Amount £1,500 (GBP)
Organisation London Mathematical Society 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Research grant - Transfer of Physics Methodology to the Modelling...
Amount £113,595 (GBP)
Funding ID ST/H003649/1 
Organisation Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Royal Commission Fellowship
Amount £88,500 (GBP)
Organisation Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Studentship
Amount £55,032 (GBP)
Organisation Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Travel grant
Amount £900 (GBP)
Organisation The Royal Society 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Wolfson Merit Award
Amount £75,000 (GBP)
Organisation The Royal Society 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2011 
End 08/2016
 
Description Workshop - Symmetry and Geometry of Banes in String/M Theory
Amount £6,000 (GBP)
Organisation London Mathematical Society 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Workshop: International Colloquium on Group-Theoretical Methods in Physics
Amount £622 (GBP)
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description 2 loop Wilson loops 
Organisation ETH Zurich
Country Switzerland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Major contribution to all papers
Impact Collaboration with Zurich no longer ongoing, but research into the area brought up by this collaboration is still in progress at Durham. 5 papers published so far.
Start Year 2008
 
Description AdS/QCD aspects 
Organisation University of Barcelona
Department Faculty of Physics
Country Spain 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Two staff members under the grant were involved in this collaboration, both being lead author on several publications
Collaborator Contribution Contributions towards travel
Impact Several publications in international refereed journals, various invited talks at international conferences.
Start Year 2008
 
Description AdS/QCD aspects 
Organisation Utrecht University
Department Department of Physics and Astronomy
Country Netherlands 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Two staff members under the grant were involved in this collaboration, both being lead author on several publications
Collaborator Contribution Contributions towards travel
Impact Several publications in international refereed journals, various invited talks at international conferences.
Start Year 2008
 
Description Aspen Workshop Team 
Organisation Heidelberg University
Country Germany 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution I led a working group in Aspen
Collaborator Contribution To lead working group
Impact Publications 1. Lifshitz solutions in supergravity and string theory Ruth Gregory (Durham U.), Susha L. Parameswaran (Uppsala U.), Gianmassimo Tasinato (Heidelberg U.), Ivonne Zavala (Bonn U.). Published in JHEP 1012 (2010) 047 2.Lifshitz black holes in IIA supergravity Luke Barclay (Durham U., IPPP), Ruth Gregory (Durham U., IPPP & Perimeter Inst. Theor. Phys.), Susha Parameswaran (Hannover U.), Gianmassimo Tasinato (Portsmouth U., ICG), Ivonne Zavala (Groningen U.). Published in JHEP 1205 (2012) 122
Start Year 2010
 
Description Aspen Workshop Team 
Organisation University of Bonn
Country Germany 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution I led a working group in Aspen
Collaborator Contribution To lead working group
Impact Publications 1. Lifshitz solutions in supergravity and string theory Ruth Gregory (Durham U.), Susha L. Parameswaran (Uppsala U.), Gianmassimo Tasinato (Heidelberg U.), Ivonne Zavala (Bonn U.). Published in JHEP 1012 (2010) 047 2.Lifshitz black holes in IIA supergravity Luke Barclay (Durham U., IPPP), Ruth Gregory (Durham U., IPPP & Perimeter Inst. Theor. Phys.), Susha Parameswaran (Hannover U.), Gianmassimo Tasinato (Portsmouth U., ICG), Ivonne Zavala (Groningen U.). Published in JHEP 1205 (2012) 122
Start Year 2010
 
Description Aspen Workshop Team 
Organisation Uppsala University
Country Sweden 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution I led a working group in Aspen
Collaborator Contribution To lead working group
Impact Publications 1. Lifshitz solutions in supergravity and string theory Ruth Gregory (Durham U.), Susha L. Parameswaran (Uppsala U.), Gianmassimo Tasinato (Heidelberg U.), Ivonne Zavala (Bonn U.). Published in JHEP 1012 (2010) 047 2.Lifshitz black holes in IIA supergravity Luke Barclay (Durham U., IPPP), Ruth Gregory (Durham U., IPPP & Perimeter Inst. Theor. Phys.), Susha Parameswaran (Hannover U.), Gianmassimo Tasinato (Portsmouth U., ICG), Ivonne Zavala (Groningen U.). Published in JHEP 1205 (2012) 122
Start Year 2010
 
Description Aspen working group 
Organisation Heidelberg University
Country Germany 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Durham staff member led a working group between these institutions.
Impact One academic paper published so far.
Start Year 2010
 
Description Aspen working group 
Organisation University of Bonn
Country Germany 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Durham staff member led a working group between these institutions.
Impact One academic paper published so far.
Start Year 2010
 
Description Aspen working group 
Organisation Uppsala University
Country Sweden 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Durham staff member led a working group between these institutions.
Impact One academic paper published so far.
Start Year 2010
 
Description Broken Baby Skyrmions 
Organisation University of Leeds
Department School of Mathematics Leeds
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Academic research
Collaborator Contribution Academic research
Impact Broken Baby Skyrmions Proceedings of the Royal Society A 468, 1085-1104 (2012).
Start Year 2011
 
Description Brownian motion in AdS/CFT 
Organisation University of Amsterdam
Country Netherlands 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Two members of the department participated with collaborators from the University of Amsterdam on research leading to one academic publication
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2009
 
Description CPN harmonic maps and the corresponding surfaces 
Organisation University of Montreal
Department Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Country Canada 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Analytical work on harmonic maps
Impact V. Hussin, I. Yurducen and W.J. Zakrzewski: Canonical surfaces associated with projectors in grassmannian sigma models, published in J. Math. Phys.51 103509 (2010); arXiv: 1002.2690(math-ph math.MP)
Start Year 2009
 
Description Collaboration with TATA Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 
Organisation Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Country India 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Academic research leading to the publication of two papers.
Impact Two academic papers published
Start Year 2008
 
Description Collaboration with University of California, Santa Barbara 
Organisation University of California, Santa Barbara
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration with University of California, Santa Barbara and two members of the department on academic research leading to the publication of 3 papers
Impact Publication of three academic papers
Start Year 2010
 
Description Collaboration with University of Pennsylvania 
Organisation University of Pennsylvania
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Academic research leading to the publication of one paper
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2008
 
Description Concept of quasi-integrability 
Organisation Universidade de São Paulo
Department Physics Institute of São Carlos
Country Brazil 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Analytical work and some numerics.
Collaborator Contribution Supported by a grant from the Royal Society and FAPESP (of Sao Paolo, Brazil).
Impact Outputs: 1. L.A. Ferreira and W.J. Zakrzewski: Some comments on quasi-integrability, to be published in Reports in Mathematical Physics (2010) 2. L.A. Ferreira and W.J. Zakrzewski: The concept of quasi-integrability: a concrete example, arXiv:1011.2176 (hep-th) (2010), submitted to JHEP. 3. P. Klimas, L.A. Ferreira and W.J. Zakrzewski: Some (3+1) dimensional vortex solutions of the $CP^N$ model, arXiv:1103.0559 (hep-th) (2011) And more in preparation
Start Year 2009
 
Description Conformal field theories in anti-de Sitter space. 
Organisation University of California, Santa Barbara
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration between the Weizmann Institute, UC at Santa Barbara, and one member of the department
Collaborator Contribution Assistance with travel costs
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2010
 
Description Conformal field theories in anti-de Sitter space. 
Organisation Weizmann Institute of Science
Country Israel 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration between the Weizmann Institute, UC at Santa Barbara, and one member of the department
Collaborator Contribution Assistance with travel costs
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2010
 
Description Conformal non-relativistic hydrodynamics from gravity. 
Organisation University of Washington
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration between Washington University, Seattle, and two members of the department
Collaborator Contribution Help with travel costs
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2009
 
Description Consultancy Collaboration 
Organisation Bioinnovel
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Joint consultancy work on the modelling of cell cultures (for company Bioinovel) and the design of a foam for horse saddle (for company FnE Saddle). We merge our expertise on computational Modelling and soft matter physics to address problems relevant to our industrial partners. Maths staff's main contribution has been to liaise with the director of Bioinovel, derive a model of a cell culture using an ordinary differential equation with a delay. Also to write a program in C++ that the company can use and present work in the Bioinovel premises. Maths' contribution the Saddle project is to model the dynamics of a foam material.
Impact The work for Bioinovel raised £5k and is likely to lead to a publication. It will also be a key component of the main product developing by the company. The work for FnE Saddle is still ongoing and should lead to at least one research paper. Ultimately it should also help the company to improve the design of its saddles.
Start Year 2009
 
Description Correlation function/ Wilson loop duality 
Organisation Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
Department Institute of Theoretical Physics 1
Country France 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaborative research into Correlation function/Wilson loop duality.
Impact 2 papers published so far
Start Year 2010
 
Description Correlation function/ Wilson loop duality 
Organisation European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
Country Switzerland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaborative research into Correlation function/Wilson loop duality.
Impact 2 papers published so far
Start Year 2010
 
Description Cosmic Superstrings 
Organisation Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Country Canada 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Durham staff member led a collaboration with these two institutes on academic research into cosmic superstrings.
Impact Three academic papers were published as a result of this collaboration.
Start Year 2008
 
Description Cosmic Superstrings 
Organisation University of Bonn
Country Germany 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Durham staff member led a collaboration with these two institutes on academic research into cosmic superstrings.
Impact Three academic papers were published as a result of this collaboration.
Start Year 2008
 
Description Doubly-periodic monopoles and the Nahm transform 
Organisation Trinity College Dublin
Country Ireland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Joint research project on "Doubly-periodic monopoles and the Nahm transform"
Impact Paper in preparation
Start Year 2010
 
Description Holographic models of de Sitter QFTs. 
Organisation University of British Columbia
Country Canada 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration between University of British Columbia, UC at Santa Barbara, and one member of the department.
Collaborator Contribution Help with travel costs
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2010
 
Description Holographic models of de Sitter QFTs. 
Organisation University of California, Santa Barbara
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration between University of British Columbia, UC at Santa Barbara, and one member of the department.
Collaborator Contribution Help with travel costs
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2010
 
Description Holographic superconductivity 
Organisation University of Tokyo
Department Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe
Country Japan 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaborative research into holographic superconductivity
Impact Three academic papers have resulted from the collaboration.
Start Year 2009
 
Description ISAQS 
Organisation Max Planck Society
Department Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
Country Germany 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution ISAQS is an EC-funded program of exchanges under the PIRSES scheme, coordinated by a Durham professor covered under this grant.
Impact .
Start Year 2010
 
Description Integrability in AdS/CFT 
Organisation University of Miami
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution All collaborators worked on the research problem.
Collaborator Contribution Contribution of costs for initial visit to Miami in 2009. Work on the research problem.
Impact Collaboration currently dormant but may restart. One paper: "On the absence of reflection in AdS_4/CFT_3", published in JHEP 1001 (2010) 129.
Start Year 2008
 
Description Integrability in AdS/CFT 
Organisation University of Seoul
Country Korea, Republic of 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution All collaborators worked on the research problem.
Collaborator Contribution Contribution of costs for initial visit to Miami in 2009. Work on the research problem.
Impact Collaboration currently dormant but may restart. One paper: "On the absence of reflection in AdS_4/CFT_3", published in JHEP 1001 (2010) 129.
Start Year 2008
 
Description Integrating out geometry: Holographic Wilsonian RG and the membrane paradigm. 
Organisation Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department Laboratory for Nuclear Science
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration with UC Santa Barbara, MIT and one member of the department.
Collaborator Contribution Help with travel costs
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2010
 
Description Integrating out geometry: Holographic Wilsonian RG and the membrane paradigm. 
Organisation University of California, Santa Barbara
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration with UC Santa Barbara, MIT and one member of the department.
Collaborator Contribution Help with travel costs
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2010
 
Description Light nuclei of even mass number in the Skyrme model 
Organisation University of Cambridge
Department Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Academic research
Collaborator Contribution Academic research
Impact Light nuclei of even mass number in the Skyrme model, Physical Review C 80, 034323 (2009).
Start Year 2008
 
Description Mathieu 24 Moonshine 
Organisation Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg
Department Department of Mathematics
Country Germany 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Expertise in lattice techniques and conformal field theory
Collaborator Contribution Expertise in conformal field theory, algebraic geometry and group theory
Impact M. Gaberdiel, A. Taormina, R. Volpato and K. Wendland, JHEP02(2014)022
Start Year 2013
 
Description Mathieu 24 Moonshine 
Organisation ETH Zurich
Department Department of Physics
Country Switzerland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Expertise in lattice techniques and conformal field theory
Collaborator Contribution Expertise in conformal field theory, algebraic geometry and group theory
Impact M. Gaberdiel, A. Taormina, R. Volpato and K. Wendland, JHEP02(2014)022
Start Year 2013
 
Description Mathieu Moonshine 
Organisation University of Augsburg
Department Department of Mathematics
Country Germany 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The group theoretical aspects of the research.
Collaborator Contribution Attracted funds from the London Mathematical Society (Small Collaborative Grant). Fundamental research at the interface between finite group theory and algebraic geometry; explicit representation of the symplectic automorphisms of Kummer K3 surfaces in terms of permutations of 24 elements belonging to the group M24.
Impact One paper so far, arXiv:1008.0954, submitted to Geometry and Physics. Invitation to 3 conferences on the basis of the paper content, invitation to visit Yukawa Institute in Kyoto in September 2011.
Start Year 2010
 
Description McGill AdS/CMT 
Organisation McGill University
Department Department of Physics
Country Canada 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Visiting McGill and collaborative discussions with researchers there.
Collaborator Contribution They have supported several visits by this staff member, and it has helped to develop new research directions
Impact 1 paper: S.F. Ross & O. Saremi, Holographic stress tensor for non-relativistic theories, JHEP 0909 (2009) 009
Start Year 2008
 
Description Modelling of Biological Systems 
Organisation Durham University
Department School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Staff member's main contribution was to organise regular group meetings with the biologists and then to perform the modelling of microtubule dynamics.
Impact 2 research papers in preparation. In process of applying for a BBSRC grant.
Start Year 2008
 
Description Multiboundary 
Organisation McGill University
Department Department of Physics
Country Canada 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Research collaboration
Collaborator Contribution Research collaboration, support for collaborative visits.
Impact Publication to appear
Start Year 2013
 
Description Multiboundary 
Organisation Stanford University
Department Department of Physics
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Research collaboration
Collaborator Contribution Research collaboration, support for collaborative visits.
Impact Publication to appear
Start Year 2013
 
Description Multiboundary 
Organisation University of California, Santa Barbara
Department Department of Physics
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Research collaboration
Collaborator Contribution Research collaboration, support for collaborative visits.
Impact Publication to appear
Start Year 2013
 
Description N=8 Supergravity 
Organisation European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
Country Switzerland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Durham researcher contributed major part of the project.
Impact One paper published.
Start Year 2009
 
Description N=8 Supergravity 
Organisation King's College London
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Durham researcher contributed major part of the project.
Impact One paper published.
Start Year 2009
 
Description On Universality of Ergoregion Mergers 
Organisation Princeton University
Department Institute for Advanced Study
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration with Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, University of California, Santa Barbara, and two staff members from Durham on academic research leading to the publication of one paper
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2009
 
Description On Universality of Ergoregion Mergers 
Organisation University of California, Santa Barbara
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration with Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, University of California, Santa Barbara, and two staff members from Durham on academic research leading to the publication of one paper
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2009
 
Description Perimeter Institute 
Organisation Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Country Canada 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Spend 3 months a year at PI.
Collaborator Contribution Collaborate with PI staff
Impact Publications: 1. Rotating black hole hair: Published in JHEP 1306 (2013) 023 2. Vortex hair on AdS black holes: e-Print: arXiv:1405.6507 [hep-th] | To appear in JHEP
Start Year 2012
 
Description SISSA 
Organisation International School for Advanced Studies
Department Physics faculty
Country Italy 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution 3 papers
Collaborator Contribution intellectual
Impact 3 papers
Start Year 2012
 
Description String cosmology 
Organisation University of Tokyo
Department Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe
Country Japan 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaborative research on String cosmology
Impact Publication of one academic paper
Start Year 2007
 
Description The fluid-gravity correspondence: The membrane at the end of the universe. 
Organisation Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Country India 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Collaboration with University of British Columbia, TATA Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, and two staff members from Durham on academic research leading to one publication.
Impact Publication of one academic paper.
Start Year 2009
 
Description The fluid-gravity correspondence: The membrane at the end of the universe. 
Organisation University of British Columbia
Country Canada 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaboration with University of British Columbia, TATA Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, and two staff members from Durham on academic research leading to one publication.
Impact Publication of one academic paper.
Start Year 2009
 
Description Typical states 
Organisation University of Edinburgh
Department School of Mathematics
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Research collaboration
Collaborator Contribution Research collaboration
Impact Publication: JHEP 1309 (2013) 066
Start Year 2011
 
Description Typical states 
Organisation University of Pennsylvania
Department Department of Physics & Astronomy
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Research collaboration
Collaborator Contribution Research collaboration
Impact Publication: JHEP 1309 (2013) 066
Start Year 2011
 
Description Typical states 
Organisation Weizmann Institute of Science
Country Israel 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Research collaboration
Collaborator Contribution Research collaboration
Impact Publication: JHEP 1309 (2013) 066
Start Year 2011
 
Description Univ Of Barcelona 
Organisation University of Barcelona
Department Faculty of Physics
Country Spain 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution 1 paper + more in progress
Collaborator Contribution intellectual input
Impact 1 paper + more in progress
Start Year 2012
 
Description Vortons and Skyrmions work 
Organisation University of Manchester
Department School of Physics and Astronomy Manchester
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Academic research
Collaborator Contribution Academic research
Impact Stability and the equation of state for kinky vortons, Physical Review D 80, 085024 (2009). Light nuclei of even mass number in the Skyrme model, Physical Review C 80, 034323 (2009). Formation and evolution of kinky vortons, Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 9, 39 (2009). Vorton construction and dynamics, Nuclear Physics B 814, 180-194 (2009).
Start Year 2008
 
Description kerr/CFT correspondance 
Organisation University of Beijing
Country China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Equal contributions to the research made by each partner
Collaborator Contribution Equal contribution to the work
Impact Publication: Real-time correlators in Kerr/CFT correspondence. Bin Chen, Chong-Sun Chu. DCPT-10-01. Jan 2010. 21 pp. Published in JHEP 1005 (2010) 004 e-Print: arXiv:1001.3208 [hep-th]
Start Year 2009
 
Description multiple M2 branes 
Organisation National University of Defense Technology
Country China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Equal contributions to research made by each partner
Collaborator Contribution Equal contribution to work
Impact Publications: Truncated Nambu-Poisson Bracket and Entropy Formula for Multiple Membranes. Chong-Sun Chu (Durham U. & Durham U., Dept. of Math.), Pei-Ming Ho (Taiwan, Natl. Taiwan U.), Yutaka Matsuo, Shotaro Shiba (Tokyo U.).
Start Year 2008
 
Description multiple M2 branes 
Organisation University of Tokyo
Country Japan 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Equal contributions to research made by each partner
Collaborator Contribution Equal contribution to work
Impact Publications: Truncated Nambu-Poisson Bracket and Entropy Formula for Multiple Membranes. Chong-Sun Chu (Durham U. & Durham U., Dept. of Math.), Pei-Ming Ho (Taiwan, Natl. Taiwan U.), Yutaka Matsuo, Shotaro Shiba (Tokyo U.).
Start Year 2008
 
Description "Expediction Zukunft" exhibition 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Kasper Peeters and Marija Zamaklar provided image material (about string theory) for the German science exhibition "Expedition Zukunft". This is an initiative by the Max-Planck-Society, consisting of a special train filled with exhibitions about basic and applied research.

The train visited 62 cities in Germany in 2009 and has been 'exported' to China in 2010. Some more info at http://de.expedition-zukunft.org/
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2009,2010
 
Description African Institute of Mathematical Sciences lectures 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Professor Patrick Dorey gave three-week 30-lecture courses on Solitons at the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), South Africa He will do likewise in Feb/March 2011. He is also a member of the associate faculty of AIMS, and a member of the Steering Committee for AIMS-Ghana, a project to set up a new AIMS centre in Ghana
as part of the AIMS-Next Einstein Initiative (AIMS-NEI)

AIMS-NEI recently received funding of $20 million CDN from the Canadian government, and $3 million US from Google, $2 million of which being one of only 5 awards made by google's project 10100.

Invited back in 2010 and 2011. Appointed to the Associated Faculty of AIMS (from September 2009), and also made a member of the Steering Committee for AIMS-Ghana.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2009,2010,2011
 
Description Beautiful Equations: BBC4 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Professor Gregory participated in BBC4's Beautiful Equations
(14/12/10)

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Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2010
 
Description Durham Physics Christmas Lecture 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The Departmental Christmas lecture. Pupils from several nearby schools sent parties - the students seemed enthused and engaged.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Exploring Physics conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Professor Gregory gave a talk at the Exploring Physics Conference for sixth-formers (2/4/08)

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Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2008
 
Description Gowland Lecture 2008 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Professor Gregory gave the Gowland lecture at the Science and Religion Forum (2-6/9/08)

The lecture was published as The Gowland Lecture 2008: "Why Matter? A scientific Perspective" in: Matter and Meaning: Is Matter Sacred
or Profane?", ed Michael Fuller (Cambs Scholars Publishing p.9-20, 2010)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2008
 
Description Hack Circus 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Lively media related event in London, range of science and arts presentation revolving around TIME.

The youtube site seems to have generated quite a few hits - general interest
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2013
URL http://tinyletter.com/HackCircus/
 
Description Hebden Bridge Astronomical Society 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact A regional astronomical society invited me to talk.

As always, local public interest.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
 
Description Huddersfield Astronomical Society 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact A regional astronomical society invited me to talk.

As always, local public interest.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
 
Description Hull Astronomical Society 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact A regional astronomical society invited me to talk.

As always, local public interest.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
 
Description IOP Newcastle "The Decay of the Universe" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact IOP talk.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description In Our Time: Radio 4 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Professor Gregory has participated in Radio 4's In our Time (30/4/09).

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Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2009
 
Description Inaugural Emmy Noether Society Lecture 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact About 80 undergraduate maths students attended talk.

The lecture series was set up to highlight the achievements of women in mathematical sciences, and I discussed with the female students afterwards. This sort of event is important as part of encouraging women to remain at higher levels in science. I felt it had some impact on the participants.

The guys enjoyed it too!
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
 
Description Interview for Plus magazine 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact http://plus.maths.org/content/strings-particles-and-early-universe

magazine article
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
 
Description Korean Science Times interview 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Veronika Hubeny gave an interview for the Korean journal Science Times,
Sep.2008.

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Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2008
 
Description Leeds Cafe Scientifique 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The cafe scientifique format is a short talk followed by lively discussion.

Plenty of discussion.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
 
Description Loughborough University Christmas Lecture 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact About 150 students attended the Christmas lecture - huge number of questions and interest.

Encouraging students to take science further.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
 
Description Outreach publications 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Professor Ruth Gregory has published the outreach publications "Cosmic Alternatives?" Review of Facts and Speculations in Cosmology, by Jayant Narlikar and Geoffrey Burbridge, Physics World 22 40-41 (2009), and Book Review: "Introduction to General Relativity," by Lewis Ryder Class. Quant. Grav. 27, 139002 (1p) (2010)

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Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2009,2010
 
Description Pedro Pascuale Center for Science in Benasque interview 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Veronika Hubeny and Mukund Rangamani gave an interview for the Pedro Pascuale Center
for Science in Benasque (Aragon), Spain as part of their effort to publicize the center to
the general public.

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Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2008
 
Description Public Lecture: Leeds Astromeet 
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 Invited keynote speaker at the 2011 Leeds Astromeet - a regional meeting of amateur astronomers (with entry fee). About 200 participants.Talk title: "Our Universe: The Pizza Nobody Ordered".
Details: Nov 12 2011
http://www.leedsastronomy.org.uk/Astromeet-2011.html

The talk led to 3 (so far) follow up invitations to speak at local amateur astronomy societies, in Leeds, South Shields and Hebden Bridge.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2011
 
Description South Shields Astronomical Society 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact About 30 people attended the talk, very lively discussion and questions.

As always, local public interest.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
 
Description York Careers Day Talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Students seemed engaged with talk and asked many questions.

Students showed an interest in an academic career, as well as interest in proceeding to a phd.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2013