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Much of my current work seeks to broaden our understanding of string theory compactifications, both to gain deeper insight into the mathematical structure of the theory, as well as a more complete picture of how ten dimensional string theory gives rise to realistic four dimensional quantum field theories that can describe our world. Some motivations for my research can be found here.  This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY09-12219.

What is string theory?

String theory is the synthesis of elementary particle physics and general relativity:

On the small scale, elementary particle physics is the study of the fundamental constituents of matter, of nature at its most basic level, using the laws of quantum mechanics.

On the large scale, general relativity recasts the gravitational force as the warping of space and time due to matter and energy.

Since the universe includes both the large and the small, it must be described by a theory that includes both gravity and quantum mechanics. String theory is just such a theory! There are some excellent reviews of string theory on the web, where you can learn more.

Recent research areas:

• Nongeometric string theory backgrounds
• Dualities involving flux compactifications
• Fluxes in type IIB string theory
• Self-tuning domain walls
• Electrons near monopoles

Other areas of interest:

The LHC Olympics, Sound

Links:

Gravity, cosmology and particle physics experiments

Publications