Research

Funding and networks

At Queen Mary, Research in String Theory is funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC - formerly the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC)), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the European Union as follows:

STFC Rolling Grant, String Theory, Gauge Theory and Gravity, WJ Spence, S Thomas, A Brandhuber, S Ramgoolam, DS Berman, R Russo, G Travaglini, 2008-2013.
EPSRC Advanced Fellowship, G Travaglini, 2005-2010, plus EPSRC Standard Grant, 2006-2009.

Recent Grants
PPARC Rolling Grant, String Theory, Gauge Theory and Gravity, WJ Spence, S Thomas, A Brandhuber, S Ramgoolam, R Russo, DS Berman, 2006-2008.
PPARC Special Programme Grant, Gauge Theory, String Theory and Twistor Space Techniques, WJ Spence and A Brandhuber 2005-2007.
EPSRC Advanced Fellowship, DS Berman, 2003-2008.
PPARC Advanced Fellowship, S Ramgoolam, 2003-2008.
European Union Framework 6 Marie Curie TMR, Superstrings, 2004-2008.

Queen Mary is part of the EU network Superstrings, which comprises more than a dozen universities across Europe.

Overview

The string group at Queen Mary conducts fundamental research in many important areas of modern theoretical physics. Our current research interests include perturbative and non-perturbative aspects of (non-)supersymmetric quantum field theories, the dynamics of branes in string theory and M-theory, and dualities in gauge and string theory. The research interests of our group also have some overlap with the School of Mathematical Sciences at Queen Mary.

An up-to-date publication list of recent papers from our group can be found here.

A short description of the main research interests of individual group members together with a link to their personal homepages, which contain more detailed information of their current research, can be found below.

Research Interests of Individual Group Members

David Berman

M-theory is the nonperturbative description of string theory. Within M-theory there exist two sorts of extended object, the membrane and the five-brane. These objects self-interact and interact with each other. The goal of the research of David Berman here is to study these interactions so as to throw light on the mysteries of M-theory. In particular in recent years he has been looking at how open membranes end on five-branes this being the M-theory analogue of how fundamental strings end on D-branes. The techniques used have included: calculating scattering amplitudes of brane intersections; looking for world volume solutions; using fuzzy funnel descriptions; calculating anomalies; and searching for relevant supergravity solutions.
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Andreas Brandhuber

Andreas Brandhuber's main research interests are centered around string theory, supersymmetric gauge theories and their interrelations. Exciting advances in these fields have recently come about due to the realisation that certain field theories are dual to certain string theories. This discovery has led to major progress in our understanding of the dynamics of gauge theories at the perturbative and non-perturbative level. In the last years his research has been devoted to exploring theoretical scenarios where the interplay between string and field theory has proved to be particularly fruitful and productive:

• The novel duality between N=4 super Yang-Mills and twistor string theory, and its applications.
• The study of the non-perturbative dynamics of supersymmetric gauge theories using exactly calculable anomalies, branes in string theory and dualities.
• M-theory compactifications on G_2 manifolds and their implications for model building.
• The AdS/CFT correspondence and its generalisations to non-conformal gauge theories.

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Sanjaye Ramgoolam

Dr. Ramgoolam works on various aspects of String/M-Theory. Gauge-string duality is a dominant theme. Specific examples studied include topological strings/2d-Yang-Mills, M-theory/Matrix-Theory, AdS/CFT. Other topics of interest are fuzzy spaces, time-dependent D-branes, black holes, cosmology, and particle physics. His work interfaces with mathematical topics such as quantum groups, non-commutative geometry, Hecke algebras, and Schur-Weyl duality.
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Rodolfo Russo

Rodolfo Russo's research interests are centered on String Theory, with particular attention to its relation with gauge theories and particle physics. The lines of his current research include: string perturbation theory, particularly its applications to phenomenological string models such as the Intersecting Brane Worlds, and formal developments on multi-loop amplitudes; gauge/string dualities, in particular the relation between strings on AdS5 x S5 and N=4 super Yang-Mills and its non-conformal extensions; supersymmetric gauge theories and their realization by means of D-branes.
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Bill Spence

Bill Spence researches in M-theory and string theory and related areas of mathematics. Particular areas of interest are the geometry of branes in M-theory, topological field theories, and manifolds of exceptional holonomy. During 2004-2007 he has worked on a new theory called twistor string theory, proving that the twistor-inspired approach to gauge theories can be applied at the quantum level. More recently he has been working on the new Wilson loop approach to gauge theories and gravity.
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Steve Thomas

In the past Steve Thomas has worked on Orbifold compactifiactions of Heterotic superstrings and also Heterotic M-theory compactifications and their phenomenological applications to particle physics. His interests have also included applications of Conformal Field Theories in condensed matter systems and so called 'conformal turbulence' in 2-dimensions. More recently his interests have widened to include fuzzy geometries, D-brane dynamics in curved backgrounds, unstable D-branes/Tachyon condensation and string/D-brane inspired Cosmologies.
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Gabriele Travaglini

Over the past years, Gabriele Travaglini's research has focused on the following themes:

• the study of nonperturbative effects (e.g. instantons) in supersymmetric gauge theories,
• the application of noncommutative geometry to particle physics,
• the AdS/CFT and the PP-wave/N=4 super Yang-Mills correspondence, and
• the study of perturbative gauge theory amplitudes using twistor-inspired methods, and their relation to twistor string theory.

The unifying theme of these topics is perhaps the existence of deep connections between gauge theory and string theory. String/field theory dualities are one of the most fascinating discoveries in modern theoretical physics, and represent a powerfool tool for deepening our understanding of the dynamics of both gauge theory, gravity, and superstrings.
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