From the more difficult union of quantum field theory and general relativity, string theory was born as a tantalisingly elegant but also mysterious – and incomplete – framework.
Among its mysteries is holography, which tells us that certain string theories are actually equivalent to quantum field theories. This fascinating intersection of ideas has dominated much of the more theoretical thinking of recent times and has given rise to a number of surprising results, like the connection of entanglement and geometry, and the discovery of a wealth of new quantum field theories beyond those previously known.
Holography has also equipped physicists with powerful new computational tools which have led to results that would have been deemed fantasy in the not the too distant past.
The quantum fields and strings research area at PI is not only the largest but also one of the most diverse. All of its faculty members are conducting strong research programs which, when combined, span a very large cross section of this area’s research in the world.
Fully understanding the emergence of spacetime from a deeper quantum structure is now becoming a realistic goal. This new view may change the way we think about the early universe, and yield a deeper fundamental understanding of information theory.
FURTHER EXPLORATION
- Quantum Fields and Strings researchers at Perimeter
INTRODUCTORY:
- Looking for strings inside inflation, an article from Symmetry Magazine
- A fight for the soul of science, an article from Quanta Magazine
INTERMEDIATE:
- String Theory Lego for Black Holes (Perimeter Public Lecture) - Amanda Peet explains how string theory can provide the Lego pieces of the universe to understand phenomena like black holes.
ADVANCED:
- String Theory (Perimeter Scholars International) – Masters-level course by Davide Gaiotto
- Quantum Field Theory for Cosmology (Perimeter Scholars International) – Masters-level course by Achim Kempf
