Research group on Twistor in USA.

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the pursuit of Twistor Theory in the context of graduate studies in the USA. Participants explore potential universities and professors specializing in Twistor Theory and related fields, as well as the relevance and application of Twistor Theory in contemporary research.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses a desire to study Twistor Theory in the USA, noting that most specialists are in the UK, including Roger Penrose.
  • Another participant suggests considering related areas of study rather than focusing solely on Twistor Theory, recommending Penn State for its strong quantum gravity faculty.
  • There is a discussion about the nature of Twistor Theory, with some participants questioning its definition and relevance, particularly in relation to Witten's use of twistors as tools rather than a standalone theory.
  • One participant emphasizes the original aim of the Twistor program to unify gravity with quantum mechanics, contrasting it with the use of twistors in calculations by other fields.
  • Participants mention the importance of looking at authors who have cited Witten's work to identify researchers actively working with twistors.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the focus of study, with some advocating for a broader approach beyond Twistor Theory, while others emphasize the significance of the original Twistor program. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best path forward for studying Twistor Theory in the USA.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the definitions of Twistor Theory and its applications, as well as the specific qualifications of various universities and faculty members mentioned.

Empty Set
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Hello ladies and gentelmen.


I am currently studying mathematics in middle-east, I want to study Twistor Theory in master. the problem is most of twistor specialists in UK(including Roger Penrose) and my scholarship allow me to choose only university in USA . I did quick search here are professors or schools that I found interested in twistor:

UK:
Oxford University (the only university that has group on twistor http://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/groups/mathematical-physics/research-areas/twistor-theory)

2-Dr Maciej Dunajski
University of Cambridge
Theoretical High Energy Particle Physics Group(Centre for Mathematical Sciences)


3-Stephen Huggett, Reader in Mathematical Physics, University of Plymouth


-Christian Saemann Department of Mathematics, Heriot-Watt University

4-Bill Spence, current: Head of School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary, University of London

5-Gabriele Travaglini School of Physics and Astronomy Queen Mary, University of London

5-Mr Moritz F. Högner, Moritz is a member of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics High Energy Physics research group. His current research interests are self-duality, twistor theory and integrability.

USA:
Edward Witten(who combined twistor and string theory) : But seems near to impossible to be your advisor ("www.princeton.edu/physics/graduate-program/theses/theses-from-2005/P.Svrcekthesis.pdf" )

So, Which school do you suggest to study twistor in usa?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org


Twistor theory seems like an awfully narrow target. Perhaps, you should be open to studying related areas, and then doing twistor theory later, if you want. You could maybe look into Penn State. Penrose visits there sometimes and there are some very good quantum gravity people there.
 


homeomorphic said:
Twistor theory seems like an awfully narrow target. Perhaps, you should be open to studying related areas, and then doing twistor theory later, if you want.

That seems reasonable advice.

You could maybe look into Penn State. Penrose visits there sometimes and there are some very good quantum gravity people there.

Indeed :bugeye:,I didn't expect they have that excellent staff (Ashtekar for example), Thank you so much.

Do you know any other hidden university who has really good staff in general relativity and differential geometry?
 


What do you mean by "twistor theory"? Like, what are some relevant papers?

I'm not sure about the first people you mention, but twistors in the way Witten used them aren't a theory, they are a now commonly used tool, like spinors or vectors. In that sense, anyone working on scattering amplitudes, and many people working on Yang-Mills or AdS/CFT use them.

Besides well known groups at say Princeton, UCLA, Brown, your best bet is to look at people who cited Witten's paper: http://arxiv.org/cits/hep-th/0312171 .

Look at the more frequent authors and those are people working with twistors.
 


negru said:
What do you mean by "twistor theory"? Like, what are some relevant papers?

I'm not sure about the first people you mention, but twistors in the way Witten used them aren't a theory, they are a now commonly used tool, like spinors or vectors. In that sense, anyone working on scattering amplitudes, and many people working on Yang-Mills or AdS/CFT use them.
The topic got off a track a little bit.
I mean the original twistor program, which is aim to unify Gravity with quantum, not using it as tool to calculate, the problem is as far as I know who works in Twistor program only in UK espically Twistor Group in Oxford(most of twistor discoveries done by them).

Besides well known groups at say Princeton, UCLA, Brown, your best bet is to look at people who cited Witten's paper: http://arxiv.org/cits/hep-th/0312171 .

Look at the more frequent authors and those are people working with twistors.

helpful advice , thank you.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
6K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K
  • · Replies 71 ·
3
Replies
71
Views
3K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
1K
Replies
3
Views
3K