9311567 Kennedy Dr. Kennedy is examining the conceptual foundations of the new theories in physics which describe quarks, the so-called `gauge theories.' Gauge theory is a dizzyingly exotic theory of the underbelly of our physical world. Quarks are laden with properties like `charm' and `flavor,' but are so absolutely imprisoned within protons and neutrons that direct observation seems foreclosed. Gauge theorists seriously debate the prospect that these quarks reside in a world which consists not of the mere three spatial dimensions plus time, but of seven or even eleven dimensions. These fantastical proposals seem all the more strange for being derived from a venerable, but odd principle inherited from classical mechanics. Eugene Wigner has styled the principle of `gauge invariance,' as the equivalent of introducing the `location of a ghost' into the theory's equations but then requiring that all predictions remain undisturbed. This odd procedure is the core of the theory. To date, philosophers of physics have failed to evaluate and apply gauge theoretic advances in the fierce debates now being waged. Dr. Kennedy, under this grant, is pioneering the philosophical study of gauge theories. In the course of his research, he plans to interview leading theorists in gauge theory. His research is concentrated in the geometrization of gauge theories and the bearing of gauge theory on non-locality debates. He hopes to resolve whether the model of the physical world that gauge theory presents does in fact resolve some central and long-standing questions about action at a distance. He is undertaking this research with Jeremy Butterfield and Micheal Redhead at Cambridge University. ***
