Which European Universities Offer Strong Programs in String Theory?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around identifying European universities with strong programs in String Theory, particularly for prospective PhD candidates. Participants explore various institutions, faculty members, and the competitive landscape of string theory research in Europe versus the US.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses interest in pursuing a PhD in String Theory in Europe, mentioning their current research in Holographic Renormalization and interest in various aspects of String Theory.
  • Another participant suggests that Europe may not be the best place for String Theory due to the competitive nature of the field, recommending Utrecht for its association with 't Hooft, although they note that 't Hooft may not focus on string theory specifically.
  • A different participant counters that 't Hooft is not currently working in string theory and points out that de Wit at Utrecht is a relevant string theorist.
  • There is mention of other universities in England, such as Southampton and King's College London, with varying degrees of relevance to the participant's interests in string theory.
  • One participant emphasizes their inability to consider US universities due to logistical and financial constraints, reinforcing their focus on European options.
  • Another participant highlights that Cambridge has more to offer than just Hawking, referencing Michael Green's contributions to the field as an example.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the relevance and strength of various European institutions for String Theory. There is no consensus on the best options, and multiple competing perspectives on faculty and research focus are presented.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the current research focus of certain faculty members and the overall landscape of string theory research in Europe compared to the US. There are also references to specific faculty members whose relevance to string theory may vary.

Who May Find This Useful

Prospective PhD candidates interested in pursuing research in String Theory, particularly within European institutions, may find this discussion relevant.

llorgos
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Hi all!

I am ready for applying for my PhD which I want to be on String Theory and in Europe. I am finishing my master's degree in Theoretical Physics and currently I am researching Holographic Renormalization for asymptotically non-AdS space-times.

I am interested in all aspects of String Theory, Gauge/Gravity dualities/ black hole information(e.g. firewalls) etc.

Can you suggest universities please? I would appreciate it even more if you justified why and not only mentioning the classics Cambridge and Oxford.

Thank you very much!
 
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Well, first of all if you want to work on string theory perhaps Europe could not be the best place to do so. According to my current supervisor (Master, I finish in like one month) being string theory really competitive field and with so many people working on it, to emerge you have to be in an important group, and important groups are mainly in the US.
This told, the best choice coul be Utrecht, in Holland... and the reason is self-explanatory: there is t'Hooft there. Clearly you should manage to work with him, but if you do that is for sure a good group. Else, Cambridge may NOT be the perfect choice, remember they are much influenced by Hawking (who is there) and he is not so fond in string theory (at least the aspects like AdS/CFT governing Black Holes and so on). In England there are some groups working on AdS/CFT, at Southampton (but I don't know how it is there) and at King's College London I am sure there is professor Sakellariadou: I know her and I think she is good, but she works on strange topics in strings, like cosmological strings and so on, not the classical topics. Anyway have a look at her academic website and see if you could be interested http://www.kcl.ac.uk/nms/depts/physics/people/academicstaff/sakellariadou.aspx.
As for others, I do not know in detail. There are many groups in Germany (like Dvali in Munich) but I can't be more precise as I don't know the situation there, as well as in the Northern Europe.

Anyway all considered, the best choice should be if you can t'Hooft.
 
But 't Hooft is not working in strings.. I am not sure why you say that he does. In Utrecht for example there is de Wit who is an actual string theorist but 't Hooft certainly is not (I think he currently works on some strange reformulation of QM).

Also, as I pointed out, I am interested in many general aspects around strings. That is, gauge/string dualities, compactifications, black hole information e.t.c. Even the stuff E. Verlinde does I found them extremely interesting.

Anyway, thanks for you help, I ll keep it in mind.
 
llorgos said:
But 't Hooft is not working in strings.. I am not sure why you say that he does. In Utrecht for example there is de Wit who is an actual string theorist but 't Hooft certainly is not (I think he currently works on some strange reformulation of QM).

Well, don't know what he is doing now, but a good part of the mathematical structure of strings is due to him I think... he is also one of the prometers of the Holographic Principle together with Leonard Susskind... anyway the only way I think is to ask someone working in the filed... I am theoretician but not exactly in string theory so I don't know probably most of the names. Anyway as I told, consider the US... the biggest names are there
 
Thanks for your help.

I cannot consider the US since I have no time to take the GRE's currently. Also, it is very expensive to apply to those universities. That is why I am asking for Europe. Of course I know the groups I want to work with, and the univerisities, I just want to see what other people also think.
 

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