Niels Bohr Lecture by Cumrun Vafa, Harvard University

String Theory and Our Universe

Abstract: In this talk I provide an executive summary of some of the recent progress that has been made in understanding some key features of quantum gravitational theories.  This is rooted in lessons learned from the landscape of consistent solutions to string theory and captured by the principles of the Swampland program.  

A key feature of this is the lack of decoupling between short and long distance descriptions of the theory leading to a radical revision of the notion of consistency of effective field theories. 

This opens up a new window into unresolved fine tuning  problems for particle physics and cosmology.   I will further explain how these ideas lead to concrete experimentally verifiable predictions for our universe.

Biography:

Cumrun Vafa is the Hollis Professor of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy and the Chair of the Physics Department at Harvard University, where he does research and teaches theoretical physics since 1985. Born in Iran in 1960, he moved to the US for higher education where he received his B.S. in math and physics from MIT before moving to Princeton University, where he received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics.

• Professor Vafa is world-renowned for his groundbreaking work in string theory and the mathematical technology needed to explore this field.
• He is one of the founders of the duality revolution in string theory which has reshaped our understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe.
• He has uncovered mysteries of black holes using topological aspects of string theory and is the founder of `F-theory’ which is one of the most promising directions in connecting string theory solutions known as the `string landscape’ to particle physics.
• His ideas related to apparently consistent, but ultimately inconsistent, theories of quantum gravity which he initiated in the `swampland’ project has helped narrow down the vast string landscape and is currently an active area of research with impact on cosmology, as well as particle phenomenology.

Professor Vafa has received numerous prizes and recognitions for his work on theoretical physics including the 2021 Mustafa prize, the 2017 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the 2008 Dirac Medal of ICTP and prizes for his work on mathematical physics from American Mathematical Society, as well as American Physical Society. He is a member of National Academy of Sciences as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.