Is String Theory Mathematically Rich and Diverse?

AI Thread Summary
String theory (ST) is currently thriving and is viewed as a leading solution to the inconsistencies between general relativity and quantum mechanics. Key experts in the field include Barton Zwiebach from MIT, Edward Witten, and Sergei Gukov, among others. The discussion highlights the distinction between theoretical physics and mathematical physics, with many professionals in quantum gravity being mathematicians rather than experimentalists. There is a debate regarding the mathematical foundations of string theory, including topics like algebraic geometry and mirror symmetry. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the interconnectedness of mathematics and physics within the context of string theory.
pivoxa15
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How is this field looking?

What topics does it have?

Who are the experts in this field?
 
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pivoxa15 said:
Who are the experts in this field?

Barton Zwiebach at MIT

I am just learning the basics, but from what I can tell ST is thriving and it remains the best solution to the GR-QM inconsistencies.

Check out Zwiebach's A First Course in String Theory if you want the details.
 
ehrenfest said:
Barton Zwiebach at MIT

I am just learning the basics, but from what I can tell ST is thriving and it remains the best solution to the GR-QM inconsistencies.

Check out Zwiebach's A First Course in String Theory if you want the details.

I assume the mathematics of string theory is different to string theory?

For one thing they are done be different communities of people so there's got to be some difference?
 
ehrenfest said:
Barton Zwiebach at MIT

I am just learning the basics, but from what I can tell ST is thriving and it remains the best solution to the GR-QM inconsistencies.

Check out Zwiebach's A First Course in String Theory if you want the details.

I assume the mathematics of string theory is different to string theory?

For one thing they are done by different communities of people so there's got to be some difference?
 
pivoxa15 said:
For one thing they are done by different communities of people so there's got to be some difference?

I've never heard this, but then I don't know what you mean by the mathematics of string theory. I'd be very suprised if a string theorist did not use the "mathematics of string theory" though.
 
Algebraic geometry, mirror symmetry, Calabi-Yau manifolds, generalized geometry, BRST, super-"mathematics" - i.e. mathematics with the anticommutative property

Experts, tons of them. In the math field: Sergei Gukov, Edward Witten (cmon you got to count him), Ron Donagi, David Morrison, etc, etc.
 
cristo said:
I don't know what you mean by the mathematics of string theory.

Pursuing string theory only as a maths theory.

If that dosen't make sense then it would be doing maths that was motivated by string theory.
 
JasonJo said:
Algebraic geometry, mirror symmetry, Calabi-Yau manifolds, generalized geometry, BRST, super-"mathematics" - i.e. mathematics with the anticommutative property

Experts, tons of them. In the math field: Sergei Gukov, Edward Witten (cmon you got to count him), Ron Donagi, David Morrison, etc, etc.

Would Ed Witten be in the physics field?
 
pivoxa15 said:
Would Ed Witten be in the physics field?
But most people working in quantum gravity are mathematicians. It, again, comes down to where you draw this line between theoretical physics and maths-- I don't think one needs to draw the line.
 
  • #10
I think there is a difference between mathematical physics and theoretical physics. Witten is for sure not theoretical physicist, if anything, he is a mathematical physicist.
 
  • #11
timur said:
I think there is a difference between mathematical physics and theoretical physics. Witten is for sure not theoretical physicist, if anything, he is a mathematical physicist.

Ed Witten does physics. Ed Witten does theory. Thus, he's a theorist.
All physicists use math.
 
  • #12
pivoxa15 said:
Pursuing string theory only as a maths theory.

I could be wrong here, but I don't think there are any string theory experimentalists. They're all pretty much theoreticians.
 
  • #13
pivoxa15 said:
Would Ed Witten be in the physics field?

He is a very special case; can you name any physicist that wrote a paper on Geometric Langlands conjecture?
 
  • #14
JasonJo said:
He is a very special case; can you name any physicist that wrote a paper on Geometric Langlands conjecture?

Actually, he is a Fields medalist but no Nobel prize:) so we should put him in the maths camp. Imagine if string theory was connected to nature in a deep way then he would also line up for the nobel prize?

Although what kind of journals does he publish in? Are they more maths or physics journals?
 
  • #15
In this site http://superstringtheory.com/math/math2.html there is no mention of integrable models but string theory is an integrable model?
 
  • #16
How much representation theory is in string theory?
 

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