Stephen Hart Shenker (born 1953) is an American
theoretical physicist
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experi ...
who works on
string theory
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 intera ...
. He is a professor at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
and former director of the
Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics. His brother
Scott Shenker
Scott J. Shenker (born January 24, 1956) is an American computer scientist, and professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the leader of the Extensible Internet Group at the International Computer Science ...
is a computer scientist.
Work
Shenker's contributions to physics include:
* Basic results on the phase structure of gauge theories (with
Eduardo Fradkin)
* Basic results on two dimensional conformal field theory and its relation to string theory (with
Daniel Friedan,
Emil Martinec,
Zongan Qiu, and others)
* The nonperturbative formulation of matrix models of low-dimensional string theory, the first nonperturbative definitions of string theory (with
Michael R. Douglas)
* The discovery of distinctively stringy nonperturbative effects in string theory, later understood to be caused by
D-branes
In string theory, D-branes, short for Dirichlet membrane, are a class of extended objects upon which open string (physics), strings can end with Dirichlet boundary conditions, after which they are named.
D-branes are typically classified by their ...
. These effects play a major role in string dynamics
* The discovery of Matrix Theory, the first nonperturbative definition of String/M theory in a physical number of dimensions. Matrix Theory (see
matrix string theory) is an example of a
gauge/gravity duality and is now understood to be a special case of the
AdS/CFT correspondence (with
Tom Banks,
Willy Fischler and
Leonard Susskind
Leonard Susskind (; born June 16, 1940)his 60th birth anniversary 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 Americ ...
)
*Basic results on the connection between quantum gravity and
quantum chaos (with
Douglas Stanford,
Juan Maldacena and others)
Selected works
*
References
External links
home page of Stephen Shenker at Stanfordhome page of Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shenker, Stephen
Living people
21st-century American physicists
Stanford University Department of Physics faculty
American string theorists
MacArthur Fellows
Fellows of the American Physical Society
1953 births
Harvard University alumni
Cornell University alumni