This is a list of string theory topics.

String theory

Nambu–Goto action The Nambu–Goto action is the simplest invariant action in bosonic string theory, and is also used in other theories that investigate string-like objects (for example, cosmic strings). It is the starting point of the analysis of zero-thickness ...

Polyakov action In physics, the Polyakov action is an action of the two-dimensional conformal field theory describing the worldsheet of a string in string theory. It was introduced by Stanley Deser and Bruno Zumino and independently by L. Brink, P. Di Vecc ...

Bosonic string theory Bosonic string theory is the original version of string theory, developed in the late 1960s and named after Satyendra Nath Bose. It is so called because it contains only bosons in the spectrum. In the 1980s, supersymmetry was discovered in the c ...

Superstring theory Superstring theory is an attempt to explain all of the particles and fundamental forces of nature in one theory by modeling them as vibrations of tiny supersymmetric strings. 'Superstring theory' is a shorthand for supersymmetric string th ...

Type I string In theoretical physics, type I string theory is one of five consistent supersymmetric string theories in ten dimensions. It is the only one whose strings are unoriented (both orientations of a string are equivalent) and the only one which contains ...

Type II string In theoretical physics, type II string theory is a unified term that includes both type IIA strings and type IIB strings theories. Type II string theory accounts for two of the five consistent superstring theories in ten dimensions. Both theories ...

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Type IIA string theory In theoretical physics, type II string theory is a unified term that includes both type IIA strings and type IIB strings theories. Type II string theory accounts for two of the five consistent superstring theories in ten dimensions. Both theories ...

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Type IIB string theory In theoretical physics, type II string theory is a unified term that includes both type IIA strings and type IIB strings theories. Type II string theory accounts for two of the five consistent superstring theories in ten dimensions. Both theories ...

Heterotic string In string theory, a heterotic string is a closed string (or loop) which is a hybrid ('heterotic') of a superstring and a bosonic string. There are two kinds of heterotic string, the heterotic SO(32) and the heterotic E8 × E8, abbreviat ...

N=2 superstring In string theory, N = 2 superstring is a theory in which the worldsheet admits N = 2 supersymmetry rather than N = 1 supersymmetry as in the usual superstring. The target space (a term used for a generalization of space-time) is four-dimensi ...

M-theory M-theory is a theory in physics that unifies all consistent versions of superstring theory. Edward Witten first conjectured the existence of such a theory at a string theory conference at the University of Southern California in 1995. Witte ...

Matrix theory In mathematics, a matrix (plural matrices) is a rectangular array or table of numbers, symbols, or expressions, arranged in rows and columns, which is used to represent a mathematical object or a property of such an object. For example, \beg ...

Introduction to M-theory In non-technical terms, M-theory presents an idea about the basic substance of the universe. As of 2022, science has produced no experimental evidence to support the conclusion that M-theory is a description of the real world. Although a complet ...

F-theory In theoretical physics, F-theory is a branch of string theory developed by Iranian physicist Cumrun Vafa. The new vacua described by F-theory were discovered by Vafa and allowed string theorists to construct new realistic vacua — in the for ...

String field theory String or strings may refer to: * String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian ani ...

Matrix string theory In physics, matrix string theory is a set of equations that describe superstring theory in a non-perturbative framework. Type IIA string theory can be shown to be equivalent to a maximally supersymmetric two-dimensional gauge theory, the gauge ...

Nonlinear sigma model In quantum field theory, a nonlinear ''σ'' model describes a scalar field which takes on values in a nonlinear manifold called the target manifold ''T''. The non-linear ''σ''-model was introduced by , who named it after a field correspondi ...

Tachyon condensation A tachyon () or tachyonic particle is a hypothetical particle that always travels faster than light. Physicists believe that faster-than-light particles cannot exist because they are not consistent with the known laws of physics. If such part ...

RNS formalism Ramond–Neveu–Schwarz (RNS) formalism (named after Pierre Ramond, John H. Schwarz, and André Neveu) was an early attempt to introduce fermions through the means of supersymmetry into string theory. In this theory, worldsheet embedded in spac ...

String theory landscape The string theory landscape or landscape of vacua refers to the collection of possible false vacua in string theory,The number of metastable vacua is not known exactly, but commonly quoted estimates are of the order 10500. See M. Douglas, "The ...

History of string theory The history of string theory spans several decades of intense research including two superstring revolutions. Through the combined efforts of many researchers, string theory has developed into a broad and varied subject with connections to quantum ...

First superstring revolution The history of string theory spans several decades of intense research including two superstring revolutions. Through the combined efforts of many researchers, string theory has developed into a broad and varied subject with connections to quantu ...

Second superstring revolution The history of string theory spans several decades of intense research including two superstring revolutions. Through the combined efforts of many researchers, string theory has developed into a broad and varied subject with connections to quantu ...

String duality String or strings may refer to: * String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian ani ...

T-duality In theoretical physics, T-duality (short for target-space duality) is an equivalence of two physical theories, which may be either quantum field theories or string theories. In the simplest example of this relationship, one of the theories desc ...

S-duality In theoretical physics, S-duality (short for strong–weak duality, or Sen duality) is an equivalence of two physical theories, which may be either quantum field theories or string theories. S-duality is useful for doing calculations in theore ...

U-duality In physics, U-duality (short for unified duality)S. Mizoguchi,On discrete U-duality in M-theory, 2000. is a symmetry of string theory or M-theory M-theory is a theory in physics that unifies all consistent versions of superstring theory. ...

Montonen–Olive duality Montonen–Olive duality or electric–magnetic duality is the oldest known example of strong–weak duality or S-duality according to current terminology. It generalizes the electro-magnetic symmetry of Maxwell's equations by stating that ma ...

Mysterious duality M-theory is a theory in physics that unifies all consistent versions of superstring theory. Edward Witten first conjectured the existence of such a theory at a string theory conference at the University of Southern California in 1995. Witten' ...

Particles and fields

Graviton In theories of quantum gravity, the graviton is the hypothetical quantum of gravity, an elementary particle that mediates the force of gravitational interaction. There is no complete quantum field theory of gravitons due to an outstanding mathe ...

Dilaton In particle physics, the hypothetical dilaton particle is a particle of a scalar field \varphi that appears in theories with Dimension (mathematics and physics)#Additional dimensions, extra dimensions when the volume of the compactified dimensions ...

Tachyon A tachyon () or tachyonic particle is a hypothetical particle that always travels faster than light. Physicists believe that faster-than-light particles cannot exist because they are not consistent with the known laws of physics. If such partic ...

Ramond–Ramond field In theoretical physics, Ramond–Ramond fields are differential form fields in the 10-dimensional spacetime of type II supergravity theories, which are the classical limits of type II string theory. The ranks of the fields depend on which type II th ...

Kalb–Ramond field In theoretical physics in general and string theory in particular, the Kalb–Ramond field (named after Michael Kalb and Pierre Ramond), also known as the Kalb–Ramond ''B''-field or Kalb–Ramond NS–NS ''B''-field, is a quantum field that tra ...

Magnetic monopole In particle physics, a magnetic monopole is a hypothetical elementary particle that is an isolated magnet with only one magnetic pole (a north pole without a south pole or vice versa). A magnetic monopole would have a net north or south "magneti ...

Branes In string theory and related theories such as supergravity theories, a brane is a physical object that generalizes the notion of a point particle to higher dimensions. Branes are dynamical objects which can propagate through spacetime accordi ...

D-brane In string theory, D-branes, short for ''Dirichlet membrane'', are a class of extended objects upon which open strings can end with Dirichlet boundary conditions, after which they are named. D-branes were discovered by Jin Dai, Leigh, and Polchi ...

* S-brane *

Black brane In general relativity, a black brane is a solution of the equations that generalizes a black hole solution but it is also extended—and translationally symmetric—in ''p'' additional spatial dimensions. That type of solution would be called a bl ...

Black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can defo ...

s *

Black string In general relativity, a black brane is a solution of the equations that generalizes a black hole solution but it is also extended—and translationally symmetric—in ''p'' additional spatial dimensions. That type of solution would be called a bl ...

Brane cosmology Brane cosmology refers to several theories in particle physics and cosmology related to string theory, superstring theory and M-theory. Brane and bulk The central idea is that the visible, three-dimensional universe is restricted to a brane in ...

Quiver diagram In theoretical physics, a quiver diagram is a graph representing the matter content of a gauge theory that describes D-branes on orbifolds. Quiver diagrams may also be used to described \mathcal = 2 supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimen ...

Hanany–Witten transition In theoretical physics the Hanany–Witten transition, also called the Hanany–Witten effect, refers to any process in a superstring theory in which two p-branes cross resulting in the creation or destruction of a third p-brane. A special case o ...

Supersymmetry In a supersymmetric theory the equations for force and the equations for matter are identical. In theoretical and mathematical physics, any theory with this property has the principle of supersymmetry (SUSY). Dozens of supersymmetric theories e ...

Supergravity In theoretical physics, supergravity (supergravity theory; SUGRA for short) is a modern field theory that combines the principles of supersymmetry and general relativity; this is in contrast to non-gravitational supersymmetric theories such as ...

Superspace Superspace is the coordinate space of a theory exhibiting supersymmetry. In such a formulation, along with ordinary space dimensions ''x'', ''y'', ''z'', ..., there are also "anticommuting" dimensions whose coordinates are labeled in Grassmann numb ...

Lie superalgebra In mathematics, a Lie superalgebra is a generalisation of a Lie algebra to include a Z2 grading. Lie superalgebras are important in theoretical physics where they are used to describe the mathematics of supersymmetry. In most of these theories, th ...

Lie supergroup The concept of supergroup is a generalization of that of group. In other words, every supergroup carries a natural group structure, but there may be more than one way to structure a given group as a supergroup. A supergroup is like a Lie group in ...

Conformal field theory A conformal field theory (CFT) is a quantum field theory that is invariant under conformal transformations. In two dimensions, there is an infinite-dimensional algebra of local conformal transformations, and conformal field theories can sometime ...

Two-dimensional conformal field theory A two-dimensional conformal field theory is a quantum field theory on a Euclidean two-dimensional space, that is invariant under local conformal transformations. In contrast to other types of conformal field theories, two-dimensional conformal ...

Virasoro algebra In mathematics, the Virasoro algebra (named after the physicist Miguel Ángel Virasoro) is a complex Lie algebra and the unique central extension of the Witt algebra. It is widely used in two-dimensional conformal field theory and in string t ...

Mirror symmetry In mathematics, reflection symmetry, line symmetry, mirror symmetry, or mirror-image symmetry is symmetry with respect to a reflection. That is, a figure which does not change upon undergoing a reflection has reflectional symmetry. In 2D t ...

Conformal anomaly A conformal anomaly, scale anomaly, trace anomaly or Weyl anomaly is an anomaly, i.e. a quantum phenomenon that breaks the conformal symmetry of the classical theory. A classically conformal theory is a theory which, when placed on a surface w ...

Conformal algebra In mathematical physics, the conformal symmetry of spacetime is expressed by an extension of the Poincaré group. The extension includes special conformal transformations and dilations. In three spatial plus one time dimensions, conformal symme ...

Superconformal algebra In theoretical physics, the superconformal algebra is a graded Lie algebra or superalgebra that combines the conformal algebra and supersymmetry. In two dimensions, the superconformal algebra is infinite-dimensional. In higher dimensions, supercon ...

Vertex operator algebra In mathematics, a vertex operator algebra (VOA) is an algebraic structure that plays an important role in two-dimensional conformal field theory and string theory. In addition to physical applications, vertex operator algebras have proven useful ...

Loop algebra In mathematics, loop algebras are certain types of Lie algebras, of particular interest in theoretical physics. Definition For a Lie algebra \mathfrak over a field K, if K ,t^/math> is the space of Laurent polynomials, then L\mathfrak := \math ...

Kac–Moody algebra In mathematics, a Kac–Moody algebra (named for Victor Kac and Robert Moody, who independently and simultaneously discovered them in 1968) is a Lie algebra, usually infinite-dimensional, that can be defined by generators and relations through a ...

Wess–Zumino–Witten model In theoretical physics and mathematics, a Wess–Zumino–Witten (WZW) model, also called a Wess–Zumino–Novikov–Witten model, is a type of two-dimensional conformal field theory named after Julius Wess, Bruno Zumino, Sergei Novikov and E ...

Monstrous moonshine In mathematics, monstrous moonshine, or moonshine theory, is the unexpected connection between the monster group ''M'' and modular functions, in particular, the ''j'' function. The term was coined by John Conway and Simon P. Norton in 1979 ...

Geometry

* Kaluza–Klein theory *

Compactification Compactification may refer to: * Compactification (mathematics), making a topological space compact * Compactification (physics), the "curling up" of extra dimensions in string theory See also * Compaction (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

Why 10 dimensions In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interact ...

? *

Kähler manifold In mathematics and especially differential geometry, a Kähler manifold is a manifold with three mutually compatible structures: a complex structure, a Riemannian structure, and a symplectic structure. The concept was first studied by Jan Ar ...

Ricci-flat manifold In the mathematical field of differential geometry, Ricci-flatness is a condition on the curvature of a Riemannian manifold. Ricci-flat manifolds are a special kind of Einstein manifold. In theoretical physics, Ricci-flat Lorentzian manifolds are o ...

Calabi–Yau manifold In algebraic geometry, a Calabi–Yau manifold, also known as a Calabi–Yau space, is a particular type of manifold which has properties, such as Ricci flatness, yielding applications in theoretical physics. Particularly in superstring ...

Hyperkähler manifold In differential geometry, a hyperkähler manifold is a Riemannian manifold (M, g) endowed with three integrable almost complex structures I, J, K that are Kähler with respect to the Riemannian metric g and satisfy the quaternionic relations I^ ...

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K3 surface In mathematics, a complex analytic K3 surface is a compact connected complex manifold of dimension 2 with trivial canonical bundle and irregularity zero. An (algebraic) K3 surface over any field means a smooth proper geometrically connected ...

** G₂ manifold **

Spin(7) manifold In mathematics, a Spin(7)-manifold is an eight-dimensional Riemannian manifold whose holonomy group is contained in Spin(7). Spin(7)-manifolds are Ricci-flat and admit a parallel spinor. They also admit a parallel 4-form, known as the Cayley form, ...

Generalized complex manifold In the field of mathematics known as differential geometry, a generalized complex structure is a property of a differential manifold that includes as special cases a complex structure and a symplectic structure. Generalized complex structures we ...

Orbifold In the mathematical disciplines of topology and geometry, an orbifold (for "orbit-manifold") is a generalization of a manifold. Roughly speaking, an orbifold is a topological space which is locally a finite group quotient of a Euclidean space. D ...

Conifold In mathematics and string theory, a conifold is a generalization of a manifold. Unlike manifolds, conifolds can contain conical singularities, i.e. points whose neighbourhoods look like cones over a certain base. In physics, in particular in flu ...

Orientifold In theoretical physics orientifold is a generalization of the notion of orbifold, proposed by Augusto Sagnotti in 1987. The novelty is that in the case of string theory the non-trivial element(s) of the orbifold group includes the reversal of th ...

Moduli space In mathematics, in particular algebraic geometry, a moduli space is a geometric space (usually a scheme or an algebraic stack) whose points represent algebro-geometric objects of some fixed kind, or isomorphism classes of such objects. Such ...

* Hořava–Witten domain wall *

K-theory (physics) In string theory, K-theory classification refers to a conjectured application of K-theory (in abstract algebra and algebraic topology) to superstrings, to classify the allowed Ramond–Ramond field strengths as well as the charges of stable D-bra ...

Twisted K-theory In mathematics, twisted K-theory (also called K-theory with local coefficients) is a variation on K-theory, a mathematical theory from the 1950s that spans algebraic topology, abstract algebra and operator theory. More specifically, twisted K-theo ...

Holography Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other applications. In principle, i ...

Holographic principle The holographic principle is an axiom in string theories and a supposed property of quantum gravity that states that the description of a volume of space can be thought of as encoded on a lower-dimensional boundary to the region — such as a ...

AdS/CFT correspondence In theoretical physics, the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence, sometimes called Maldacena duality or gauge/gravity duality, is a conjectured relationship between two kinds of physical theories. On one side are anti-de Sitter ...

Gauge theory In physics, a gauge theory is a type of field theory in which the Lagrangian (and hence the dynamics of the system itself) does not change (is invariant) under local transformations according to certain smooth families of operations (Lie groups ...

* Anomalies *

Instanton An instanton (or pseudoparticle) is a notion appearing in theoretical and mathematical physics. An instanton is a classical solution to equations of motion with a finite, non-zero action, either in quantum mechanics or in quantum field theory. M ...

s *

Chern–Simons form In mathematics, the Chern–Simons forms are certain secondary characteristic classes. The theory is named for Shiing-Shen Chern and James Harris Simons, co-authors of a 1974 paper entitled "Characteristic Forms and Geometric Invariants," from whi ...

Bogomol'nyi–Prasad–Sommerfield bound The Bogomol'nyi–Prasad–Sommerfield bound (named after Evgeny Bogomolny, M.K. Prasad, and Charles Sommerfield) is a series of inequalities for solutions of partial differential equations depending on the homotopy class of the solution at infi ...

Exceptional Lie group In mathematics, a simple Lie group is a connected non-abelian Lie group ''G'' which does not have nontrivial connected normal subgroups. The list of simple Lie groups can be used to read off the list of simple Lie algebras and Riemannian symme ...

s ** G₂, F₄, E₆, E₇, E₈ *

ADE classification In mathematics, the ADE classification (originally ''A-D-E'' classifications) is a situation where certain kinds of objects are in correspondence with simply laced Dynkin diagrams. The question of giving a common origin to these classifications, ...

Dirac string In physics, a Dirac string is a one-dimensional curve in space, conceived of by the physicist Paul Dirac, stretching between two hypothetical Dirac monopoles with opposite magnetic charges, or from one magnetic monopole out to infinity. The gauge ...

P-form electrodynamics In theoretical physics, -form electrodynamics is a generalization of Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. Ordinary (via. one-form) Abelian electrodynamics We have a one-form \mathbf, a gauge symmetry :\mathbf \rightarrow \mathbf + d\alpha , wher ...

People

Mina Aganagić Mina Aganagić is a mathematical physicist who works as a professor in the Center for Theoretical Physics, the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Career Aganagić was raised in Sar ...

* Daniele Amati * Amir Amini * Husam Qutteina *

Nima Arkani-Hamed Nima Arkani-Hamed ( fa, نیما ارکانی حامد; born April 5, 1972) is an American-Canadian

Paul S. Aspinwall Paul Stephen Aspinwall (born 26 January 1964 in England) is a British theoretical physicist and mathematician, who works on string theory (including dualities, mirror symmetry, D-branes, and Calabi–Yau manifolds) and also algebraic geometry. A ...

Michael Francis Atiyah Sir Michael Francis Atiyah (; 22 April 1929 – 11 January 2019) was a British-Lebanese mathematician specialising in geometry. His contributions include the Atiyah–Singer index theorem and co-founding topological K-theory. He was awarded the ...

* Tom Banks *

David Berenstein David Berenstein is a Colombian theoretical physicist and professor at University of California, Santa Barbara, USA. He received his Ph.D. from University of Texas, Austin, in 1998 under the supervision of Willy Fischler, coauthor of matrix theory. ...

* Jan de Boer *

Raphael Bousso Raphael Bousso () (born 1971) is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He is a professor at the Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics in the Department of Physics, UC Berkeley. He is known for the Bousso bound on the information content of t ...

Robert Brandenberger Robert H. Brandenberger (born 1956 in Bern) is a Swiss-Canadian theoretical cosmologist and a professor of physics at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Biography Brandenberger completed his undergraduate degree at ETH Zurich, in Swi ...

Curtis Callan Curtis Gove Callan Jr. (born October 11, 1942) is an American theoretical physicist and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics at Princeton University. He has conducted research in gauge theory, string theory, instan ...

* Gerald Cleaver *

Eugène Cremmer Eugène Cremmer (7 February 1942, in Paris – 30 October 2019, in Paris) was a French theoretical physicist. He was directeur de recherche at the CNRS working at the École Normale Supérieure. Cremmer was a postdoc at CERN from 1971–72. In 1 ...

Atish Dabholkar Atish Dabholkar (Marathi अतीश दाभोलकर) is an Indian theoretical physicist. He is currently thDirectorof the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) with the rank of Assistant Director-General, UN ...

Emilio Del Giudice Emilio Del Giudice (1 January 1940 – 31 January 2014) was an Italian theoretical physicist who worked in the field of condensed matter. Pioneer of string theory in the early 1970s, later on he became better known for his work with Giulia ...

Paolo Di Vecchia Paolo Di Vecchia (born October 29, 1942 in Terracina) is an Italian theoretical physicist who works in the field of elementary particle physics, quantum field theory and string theory. Life Di Vecchia graduated from the University of Rome with ...

Robbert Dijkgraaf Robertus Henricus "Robbert" Dijkgraaf FRSE (Dutch: born 24 January 1960) is a Dutch theoretical physicist, mathematician and string theorist, and the current Minister of Education, Culture and Science in the Netherlands. From July 2012 until ...

Michael Dine Michael Dine (born 12 August 1953, Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American theoretical physicist, specializing in elementary particle physics, supersymmetry, string theory, and physics beyond the Standard Model. Education and career Dine received in 19 ...

* Jacques Distler *

Louise Dolan Louise Ann Dolan (born April 5, 1950) is an American mathematical physicist and professor of physics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She does research in theoretical particle physics, gauge theories, gravity, and string theory ...

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

* Michael Duff * Giorgi Dvali *

Sergio Ferrara Sergio Ferrara (born May 2, 1945) is an Italian physicist working on theoretical physics of elementary particles and mathematical physics. He is renowned for the discovery of theories introducing supersymmetry as a symmetry of elementary particles ...

Willy Fischler Willy Fischler (born 1949 in Antwerp, Belgium) is a theoretical physicist. He is the Jane and Roland Blumberg Centennial Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is affiliated with the Weinberg theory group. He is a ...

Daniel Friedan Daniel Harry Friedan (born October 3, 1948) is an American theoretical physicist and one of three children of the feminist author and activist Betty Friedan. He is a professor at Rutgers University. Biography Education and career Friedan earned h ...

* Rajesh Gopakumar *

Sylvester James Gates Sylvester James Gates Jr. (born December 15, 1950), known as S. James Gates Jr. or Jim Gates, is an American theoretical physicist who works on supersymmetry, supergravity, and superstring theory. He currently holds the Clark Leadership Chair in ...

* Michael Green *

Brian Greene Brian Randolph Greene (born February 9, 1963) is a American theoretical physicist, mathematician, and string theorist. Greene was a physics professor at Cornell University from 19901995, and has been a professor at Columbia University since 1 ...

David Gross David Jonathan Gross (; born February 19, 1941) is an American theoretical physicist and string theorist. Along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of asymptotic freedom ...

Steven Gubser Steven Scott Gubser (May 4, 1972 – August 3, 2019) was a professor of physics at Princeton University. His research focused on theoretical particle physics, especially string theory, and the AdS/CFT correspondence. He was a widely cited sc ...

* Sergei Gukov *

Alan Guth Alan Harvey Guth (; born February 27, 1947) is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist. Guth has researched elementary particle theory (and how particle theory is applicable to the early universe). He is Victor Weisskopf Professo ...

* Jeffrey Harvey * Petr Hořava *

Tasneem Zehra Husain Tasneem Zehra Husain is a Pakistani theoretical physicist. She is one of few Pakistani women to obtain a doctorate in physics, and the first Pakistani woman string theorist. An eminent scientist, she has been a guest speaker at a various s ...

Gary Gibbons Gary William Gibbons (born 1 July 1946) is a British theoretical physicist. Education Gibbons was born in Coulsdon, Surrey. He was educated at Purley County Grammar School and the University of Cambridge, where in 1969 he became a researc ...

Michio Kaku Michio Kaku (, ; born January 24, 1947) is an American theoretical physicist, futurist, and popularizer of science (science communicator). He is a professor of theoretical physics in the City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center. Kaku is ...

Renata Kallosh Renata Elizaveta Kallosh uk, Рената Єлизавета Каллош; born 1943) is Ukrainian-American a theoretical physicist. She is a Professor of Physics at Stanford University, working there on supergravity, string theory and inflat ...

Theodor Kaluza Theodor Franz Eduard Kaluza (; 9 November 1885 – 19 January 1954) was a German mathematician and physicist known for the Kaluza–Klein theory, involving field equations in five-dimensional space-time. His idea that fundamental forces can b ...

Anton Kapustin Anton Nikolayevich Kapustin (born November 10, 1971, Moscow) is a Russian-American theoretical physicist and the Earle C. Anthony Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology. His interests lie in quantum field theo ...

Igor Klebanov Igor R. Klebanov (russian: И́горь Ромáнович Клеба́нов; uk, Ігор Романович Клєбанов; born March 29, 1962) is an American theoretical physicist. Since 1989, he has been a faculty member at Princeton ...

Oskar Klein Oskar Benjamin Klein (; 15 September 1894 – 5 February 1977) was a Swedish theoretical physicist. Biography Klein was born in Danderyd outside Stockholm, son of the chief rabbi of Stockholm, Gottlieb Klein from Humenné in Kingdom of Hungar ...

Juan Martín Maldacena Juan Martín Maldacena (born September 10, 1968) is an Argentine theoretical physicist and the Carl P. Feinberg Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. He has made significant contributions to t ...

Donald Marolf Donald Marolf is a theoretical physicist, a Professor of Physics, and former head of the physics department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Biography Marolf gained his Ph.D. from University of Texas at Austin in 1992, under Bryce ...

Emil Martinec Emil John Martinec (born 1958) is an American string theorist, a physics professor at the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago, and director of the Kadanoff Center for Theoretical Physics. He was part of a group at Princeton Univer ...

Shiraz Minwalla Shiraz Naval Minwalla (born January 2, 1972) is an Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist. He is a faculty member in the Department of Theoretical Physics at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. Prior to his present positio ...

* Gregory Moore *

Luboš Motl Luboš Motl (; born 5 December 1973) is a Czech physicist and blogger. He was an assistant professor in physics at Harvard University from 2004 to 2007. His scientific publications were focused on string theory. Life and career Motl was born i ...

* Sunil Mukhi * Robert Myers *

K. S. Narain K is the eleventh letter of the Latin alphabet. K may also refer to: General uses * K (programming language), an array processing language developed by Arthur Whitney and commercialized by Kx Systems * K (cider), a British draft cider manufact ...

Horațiu Năstase Horațiu Năstase is a Romanian physicist and professor in the String Theory group at Instituto de Física Teórica of the São Paulo State University in São Paulo, Brazil. He was born in Bucharest, Romania, and finished high school at the N ...

Nikita Nekrasov Nikita Alexandrovich Nekrasov (russian: Ники́та Алекса́ндрович Некра́сов; born 10 April 1973) is a mathematical and theoretical physicist at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics and C.N.Yang Institute for The ...

* André Neveu *

Dimitri Nanopoulos Dimitri V. Nanopoulos (; el, Δημήτρης Νανόπουλος; born 13 September 1948) is a Greek physicist. He is one of the most regularly cited researchers in the world, cited more than 48,500 times across a number of separate branches of ...

Holger Bech Nielsen Holger Bech Nielsen (born 25 August 1941) is a Danish theoretical physicist and professor emeritus at the Niels Bohr Institute, at the University of Copenhagen, where he started studying physics in 1961. Work Nielsen has made original contributi ...

Peter van Nieuwenhuizen Peter van Nieuwenhuizen (; born October 26, 1938) is a Dutch physicist. He is now a distinguished Professor at Stony Brook University in the United States. Van Nieuwenhuizen is best known for his discovery of supergravity with Sergio Ferrar ...

David Olive David Ian Olive ( ; 16 April 1937 – 7 November 2012) was a British theoretical physicist. Olive made fundamental contributions to string theory and duality theory, he is particularly known for his work on the GSO projection and Montonen– ...

Hirosi Ooguri is a theoretical physicist working on quantum field theory, quantum gravity, superstring theory, and their interfaces with mathematics. He is Fred Kavli Professor of Theoretical Physics and Mathematics and the Founding Director of the Walter Burk ...

Burt Ovrut Burt Ovrut is an American theoretical physicist best known for his work on heterotic string theory. He is currently Professor of Theoretical High Energy Physics at the University of Pennsylvania. Ovrut earned his Ph.D. in physics at the Universi ...

Joseph Polchinski Joseph Gerard Polchinski Jr. (; May 16, 1954 – February 2, 2018) was an American theoretical physicist and string theorist. Biography Polchinski was born in White Plains, New York, the elder of two children to Joseph Gerard Polchinski Sr. (1929 ...

* Alexander Polyakov *

Arvind Rajaraman Arvind Rajaraman is an Indian-born theoretical physicist and string theorist. Rajaraman earned his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is an associate professor at University of California, Irvine. The first time that India received any medals i ...

Lisa Randall Lisa Randall (born June 18, 1962) is an American theoretical physicist working in particle physics and cosmology. She is the Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science on the physics faculty of Harvard University. Her research includes the funda ...

Seifallah Randjbar-Daemi Seifallah Randjbar-Daemi ( fa, سیف الله رنجبر دائمی, born 1950) is an Iranian theoretical physicist. He is currently an Emeritus Scientist at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics. Education and Academic career Seifa ...

Martin Rocek Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aus ...

John H. Schwarz John Henry Schwarz (; born November 22, 1941) is an American theoretical physicist. Along with Yoichiro Nambu, Holger Bech Nielsen, Joël Scherk, Gabriele Veneziano, Michael Green, and Leonard Susskind, he is regarded as one of the founders of ...

Nathan Seiberg Nathan "Nati" Seiberg (; born September 22, 1956) is an Israeli American theoretical physicist who works on quantum field theory and string theory. He is currently a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, United ...

Ashoke Sen Ashoke Sen FRS (; born 1956) is an Indian theoretical physicist and distinguished professor at the Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad. He is also an honorary fellow in National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bh ...

* Suvankar Dutta *

Samson Shatashvili Samson Lulievich Shatashvili (Georgian: სამსონი შათაშვილი, Russian: Самсон Лулиевич Шаташвили, born February 1960) is a theoretical and mathematical physicist who has been working at Trinity ...

Steve Shenker Stephen Hart Shenker (born 1953) is an American theoretical physicist who works on string theory. He is a professor at Stanford University and former director of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics. His brother Scott Shenker is a com ...

Warren Siegel Warren Siegel ( ) is a theoretical physicist specializing in supersymmetric quantum field theory and string theory. He is a professor at the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics at Stony Brook University in New York. Background Siegel di ...

Eva Silverstein Eva Silverstein (born October 24, 1970) is an American theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and string theorist. She is a professor of physics at Stanford University and director of the Modern Inflationary Cosmology collaboration within the Si ...

Matthias Staudacher Matthias Staudacher born 11th January of 1963 is a German theoretical physicist who has done significant work in the area of quantum field theory and string theory. Education Beginning his physics studies at the University of Heidelberg and at Lud ...

Paul Steinhardt Paul Joseph Steinhardt (born December 25, 1952) is an American theoretical physicist whose principal research is in cosmology and condensed matter physics. He is currently the Albert Einstein Professor in Science at Princeton University, where h ...

Andrew Strominger Andrew Eben Strominger (; born 1955) is an American theoretical physicist who is the director of Harvard's Center for the Fundamental Laws of Nature. He has made significant contributions to quantum gravity and string theory. These include his ...

Leonard Susskind Leonard Susskind (; born June 16, 1940)his 60th birthday was celebrated with a special symposium at Stanford University.in Geoffrey West's introduction, he gives Suskind's current age as 74 and says his birthday was recent. is an American physicis ...

Charles Thorn Charles Thorn (born 14 August 1946) is a Professor of Physics at University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He played an important role in the development of dual models and string theory. Among his contributions is the proof of the non-exist ...

Paul Townsend Paul Kingsley Townsend FRS (; born 3 March 1951) is a British physicist, currently a Professor of Theoretical Physics in Cambridge University's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. He is notable for his work on string th ...

Sandip Trivedi Sandip Trivedi ( hi, सन्दिप त्रिवेदी; born 1963) is an Indian theoretical physicist working at Tata Institute for Fundamental Research ( TIFR) at Mumbai, India, while he is its current director. He is well known ...

Neil Turok Neil Geoffrey Turok (born 16 November 1958) is a South African physicist. He holds the Higgs Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Edinburgh since 2020, and has been director emeritus of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physi ...

Cumrun Vafa Cumrun Vafa ( fa, کامران وفا ; born 1 August 1960) is an Iranian-American theoretical physicist and the Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard University. Early life and education Cumrun Vafa was born in Tehran ...

Gabriele Veneziano Gabriele Veneziano (; ; born 7 September 1942) is an Italian theoretical physicist widely considered the father of string theory. He has conducted most of his scientific activities at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, and held the Chair of Elementar ...

Erik Verlinde Erik Peter Verlinde (; born 21 January 1962) is a Dutch theoretical physicist and string theorist. He is the identical twin brother of physicist Herman Verlinde. The Verlinde formula, which is important in conformal field theory and topologi ...

Herman Verlinde Herman Louis Verlinde (born 21 January 1962) is a Dutch theoretical physicist and string theorist. Herman is the Class of 1909 Professor of Physics at Princeton University, where they are also the chair of the Department of Physics. Herman is the ...

Edward Witten Edward Witten (born August 26, 1951) is an American mathematical and theoretical physicist. He is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Witten is a researcher in string theory, ...

Tamiaki Yoneya (born 1947) is a Japanese physicist. Independently of Joël Scherk and John H. Schwarz, he realized that string theory describes, among other things, the force of gravity. Yoneya has worked on the stringy extension of the uncertainty principl ...

Alexander Zamolodchikov Alexander Borisovich Zamolodchikov (russian: Алекса́ндр Бори́сович Замоло́дчиков; born September 18, 1952) is a Russian physicist, known for his contributions to condensed matter physics, two-dimensional conforma ...

Alexei Zamolodchikov Alexei Borisovich Zamolodchikov (russian: Алексей Борисович Замолодчиков; 18 September 1952 – 18 October 2007) was a Russian physicist known for his contributions to quantum field theory, quantum gravity and the Liou ...

Barton Zwiebach Barton Zwiebach (born ''Barton Zwiebach Cantor'', October 4, 1954) is a Peruvian string theorist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Work Zwiebach's undergraduate work was in Electrical Engineering at the Universidad Nac ...

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