Mini Spring School: An introduction to the Mathematics of String Theory

  • Date: Mon, 18 - Fri, 22 Nov 2002
  • Location: Engineering & Maths Building, Room EMG07, North Terrace campus
  • Contact: Peter Bouwknegt Organiser
  • Mathai Varghese Organiser

String Theory is arguably the most exciting research area in modern mathematical physics. There is prolific research done in String Theory world-over.

String Theory is known to the general public as the "Theory Of Everything", thanks to its great success in unifying Relativity and Quantum Field Theory, yielding a theory of Quantum Gravity. The impact of String Theory is not just felt in physics, but also in modern mathematics. It has profound connections with a broad spectrum of modern mathematics, including algebraic geometry, differential geometry, noncommutative geometry, K-theory, index theory and representation theory. Research in String Theory has created several interesting open problems both in this rapidly developing field, and in the related areas of modern mathematics.

We have organized a series of expository lectures, for students in both mathematics and mathematical physics, at the level of beginning postgraduate students.

Lectures and titles

  • Per Berglund (CITUSC Center for Theoretical Physics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles)
    Titles:
    • 1. Complex Manifolds and Calabi-Yau manifolds I
    • 2. Complex Manifolds and Calabi-Yau manifolds II
    • 3. N=2 SCFT and Mirror Symmetry from a physics point of view
    • 4. Batyrev's construction of Mirror Symmetry, toric geometry and the linear sigma model
    • 5. Special geometry, periods and the Pichard-Fuchs equations
  • Christian Römelsberger (CITUSC Center for Theoretical Physics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles)
    Titles:
    • 1. D-branes on Calabi-Yau/Gepner models
    • 2. Index/intersection numbers
    • 3. Matching (using periods)
    • 4. Stability and Quivers I
    • 5. Stability and Quivers II
  • Peter Bouwknegt (University of Adelaide)
    Title: String Theory: Abstract Nonsense?
  • Michael Murray (University of Adelaide)
    Title: Introduction to bundle gerbes
  • Danny Stevenson (University of Adelaide)
    Title: K-theory
  • Mathai Varghese (University of Adelaide)
    Title: Noncommutative Geometry
  • Paul Norbury (University of Melbourne)
    Title: Symplectic Toric Varieties
  • Mike Eastwood (University of Adelaide)
    Title: Conformal Geometry and the AdS/CFT correspondence
  • Sergei Kuzenko (University of Western Australia)
    Title: Introduction to Superspace

Schedule

  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
9:30   Berglund Römelsberger Berglund Römelsberger
10:30 refreshments refreshments refreshments refreshments refreshments
11:00 Bouwknegt Römelsberger Berglund Römelsberger Römelsberger
12:00 Berglund Kuzenko Kuzenko Murray Murray
13:00 lunch lunch lunch lunch lunch
14:00 Berglund Eastwood Eastwood Norbury Norbury
15:00 refreshments refreshments refreshments refreshments refreshments
15:15 Mathai Mathai Stevenson Stevenson  
16:15          

In addition there will be a Mathematical Physics Seminar on Friday November 22, at 4:00pm, by Michael Kroyter (Tel Aviv University) on "Squeezed State Projectors in String Field Theory" (CSSM Seminar Room, Level 4, 10 Pulteney Str).

Participant information

Venue

Engineering & Maths Building, Room EMG07, North Terrace Campus (see campus map).

Registration

If you are interested in attending the Mini Spring School, please email or fax one of the organisers below by 25/10/2002.

Organisers

A/Prof Peter Bouwknegt
Department of Physics and Mathematical Physics
and Department of Pure Mathematics
University of Adelaide, SA 5005
Australia
Phone: (08) 8303-5308
Fax: (08) 8303-4380
E-mail: pbouwkne@physics.adelaide.edu.au

A/Prof Mathai Varghese
School of Pure Mathematics
University of Adelaide, SA 5005
Australia
Phone: (08) 8303-4173
Fax: (08) 8303-3696
E-mail: mathai.varghese@adelaide.edu.au

Tagged in Workshop, Mini Spring School