The "INT Summer School on Applications of String Theory," to be held July 18-29, 2011 at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, is designed to educate advanced graduate students and beginning postdoctoral researchers in nuclear physics about recent applications of gauge/gravity duality in various subfields of physics. Gauge/gravity duality is a method, originally developed in string theory, which is now being applied to systems in various subfields of physics including nuclear and condensed matter physics. In nuclear physics, the main application has been in modeling the strongly interacting quark gluon plasma, and in modeling hadrons. Attempts to apply the method of gauge/gravity duality to condensed matter physics have been made much more recently; this field is developing very rapidly. At this summer school, participants will learn the basics of gauge/gravity duality (or AdS/CFT correspondence) and its most important applications to the physics of the quark-gluon plasma, hadron physics, and condensed matter physics. The goal is to help the student quickly orient him/herself in the current literature, learn the most important facts, formulate the most important questions, and learn the basic computational skills for successfully using the techniques of gauge/gravity duality.
As an interdisciplinary subject, applied AdS/CFT holds a special appeal to students across fields. The plan is to recruit about half of the participants from nuclear theory, and the other half from string theory and condensed matter theory. Such a mixed body will help broaden the view of the participants who will be able to make connections with peers outside their immediate research areas.
The "INT Summer School on Applications of String Theory" was held at the Institute for Nuclear Theory (INT) at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA during July 18-29, 2011. This was co-sponsored by the INT (the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Institute for Nuclear Theory), the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Physics at the University of Washington. Intellectual Merit The school was intended for advanced graduate students and beginning postdoctoral researchers interested in applying gauge/string duality to problems in nuclear and condensed matter physics. The purpose was to introduce the basics of gauge/gravity duality (or AdS/CFT correspondence) and its most important applications to the physics of the quark-gluon plasma, hadron physics, and condensed matter physics. The tremendous amount of activity in these areas and the sheer volume of the accumulated knowledge in string theory can make it very difficult for a beginner to gain an entry point into the modern research. The school helped students quickly orient themselves in the large literature, learn the most important facts, formulate the most important questions, and learn the basic computational skills for successfully using the techniques of gauge/gravity duality, enabling them to gain sufficient knowledge to be able to start independent research. Broader Impacts As an interdisciplinary subject, applied AdS/CFT holds a special appeal to students across fields. There were 43 participants with the majority being graduate students, representing the subfields of nuclear theory, high energy/string theory, and condensed matter theory. Such a mixed body helped to both broaden the view of the students and achieve our goal of enhancing communication between subfields as students made connections with peers outside their immediate research area, an important aspect of training this next generation of physicists. Lectures were given by physicists well-known for their expertise in the subject areas: Peter Arnold (Univ of Virginia), Tom Faulkner (UC Santa Barbara), Sean Hartnoll (Stanford), Pavel Kovtun (Univ of Victoria), John McGreevy (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Krishna Rajagopal (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Subir Sachdev (Harvard), Shivaji Sondhi (Princeton), Shigeki Sugimoto (IPMU Tokyo), and Derek Teaney (Stony Brook Univ). In addition to three 75-minute lectures and a 90-minute discussion session each day, there were opportunities for students to give talks and receive feedback from the lecturers and their peers. The faculty lectures (in podcast and pdf formats) are accessible to the physics community and the general public, archived on the INT website. www.int.washington.edu/talks/WorkShops/int_11_2c/
