Novel Approaches to Outstanding Problems in M/Superstring Theory, Supergravity and Supersymmetric Gauge Theories

This award funds the research activities of Professors Murat Gunaydin and Radu Roiban at Penn State University.

The research of Professors Gunaydin and Roiban focuses on investigations which are envisioned to help uncover the underlying principles of M/Superstring theory as well as their connection to traditional high-energy particle physics. As such, this project focuses on a number of topics at the interface of string theory, M theory, and supergravity, including studies of conformal field theory, AdS/CFT dualities, and new supergravity theories in six dimensions. The ultimate goal of this research is to uncover a non-perturbative formulation of M/Superstring theory that can explain the observable universe.

This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. Because symmetry principles play a fundamental role in all of modern physics, the methods developed and the results obtained through this research will have applications in other areas of theoretical physics as well as in mathematics. This project will also involve the education and training of graduate students and postdocs who participate in this research.