This is a long thread for a chapter-by-chapter review and a reading guide for volume 1 of Polchinski’s book on string theory. Familiarity with the basics of QFT and GR is required (you will need these pre-requisites to read the book anyway)
1/69
#physics
#scicomm
This is a post to describe how we construct the standard model lagrangian and generate the masses for gauge bosons and fermions. I will assume basic familiarity with QFT, lagrangians, gauge transformations, and gauge groups (like U(1), and SU(2)).
1/65
#physics
#scicomm
This is a small post to argue that (-+++) metric is objectively better than the (+ – – -) metric. Before starting, let me mention that I studied QFT in the (+ – – -) metric (from Peskin and Schroeder).
1/17
#Physics
#scicomm
This post summarizes the reasoning that goes into deriving Einstein’s field equation. There is more than one way to derive this field equation but I will focus on the most conventional path to derive it. 1/28
#Physics
#scicomm
I am deeply saddened by the passing of James Simons. Among his other works, his work on the Chern-Simons 3 form contributed to the development of Chern-Simons theory, which is also relevant for low energy M theory and string compactifications.
He is also a mentor for people who
In this post, I will give arguments to explain why the Schrodinger equation has the form that it has. I will try to give enough mathematical details so that the reader can understand the argument easily. 1/29
#Physics
#scicomm
In this post, I will explain what the Renormalization Group (RG) flow is. I will assume the knowledge of the basics of QFT for this post.
1/54
#physics
#scicomm
This post summarizes the main ideas behind supersymmetry. Pre-requisites to read this post include some familiarity with Poincare algebra and the basics of quantum field theory (especially the basics of fermions)
1/33
#physics
#scicomm
In this small thread, I will show why the first few possible corrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action are the way they are. Basic familiarity with General Relativity is assumed. 🧵
1/31
#physics
#scicomm
Why criticizing string theory has become a "cool thing"?
In the last few years, I, many of my friends & colleagues have noticed that many people (physicists & non-physicists) have started to criticize string theory. It is becoming the new "cool thing to do". 1/n
#Physics
#Scicomm
My father passed away today. I never thought that I would be writing this sentence. He will be present in my (and my family's) memories forever 😢😢😢
(This is my picture with him when I was very young)
I want to build a mind map like this to put the topics in modern theoretical physics research in their appropriate place (and cross-reference them) so that upcoming young researchers can put the topics they want to work on in the proper context and how they relate to the other
Let's do a small thread on D-Branes and their charges. Before starting, let's review some familiar concepts so that it is easy to understand what follows. 1/13
#Physics
#SciComm
#Dbrane
#strings
#research
In this post, we will go through the reasoning that gives us the Schwarzchild solution of Einstein field equations. Prerequisites for this post include familiarity with Einstein field equations.
1/23
#physics
#scicomm
This is a post about the generalization of the concept of global symmetries. This area has been a very active area of research for the last 8 years or so. 1/28
#Physics
#scicomm
#research
I have been putting off reading "The Big Picture" by
@seanmcarroll
for two years (my friend recommended it to me). I finally read it and hands down, those were some of the most well-spent hours of my life. This book really deserves its title. It really builds "The Big Picture".
This is the first in a series of posts on duality between strings moving on AdS3 x S3 x T4 spacetime (don't get intimidated by this) and a conformal field theory living on the boundary of the AdS3 spacetime (which is two-dimensional). 1/15
#physics
#scicomm
Just a reminder that if somebody is confidently talking about a physics topic on YouTube, it doesn't necessarily mean that this person actually knows about that topic. Confidence doesn't imply knowledge.
Youtube often requires fake confidence. Don't be fooled by it.
#physics
I was invited by the Physics Society of IISER Berhampur (
@137Inverse
) to write a guest article for their monthly newsletter named "Matter Matters". I wrote an accessible article about the Swampland Program. Here are the pictures of the article.
#Physics
#scicomm
@NikoMcCarty
Physics+ Mathematical Physics
1. QFT by Peskin and Schroeder
2. Electrodynamics by D. Griffiths
3. String Theory by Polchinski
4. Geometry, Topology and Physics by Nakahara
Mathematics
1. Real analysis by Rudin
2. Functional analysis by Kreyzsig
3. Algebraic Topology by Hatcher
Just a random thing that I like:
I love how the tadpole cancellation in open string theory determines the allowed gauge group.
A small explanation of this thing follows but it will be a little technical and requires some familiarity with basic QFT. 1/5
#Physics
#scicomm
Sometimes, I get a book that I just can't let go until I have read it. Whenever this happens, I end up doing nothing for two or three days except reading that book.
I am in such a situation right now and the concerned book is "Symmetry & the Monster" by Mark Ronan
#Physics
#Maths
I wrote this review (and a reading guide) for volume 1 of Polchinski's book on string theory. Please read the guide to the review included in the blogpost first. I hope it is helpful for some students as I put my heart into writing this.
#physics
#scicomm
"Have we found all string theories?"
This brief post answers the question mentioned above. It'll require a basic understanding of QFT and symmetry algebras. I'll spend some time on background material before answering the question mentioned at the start. 1/n
#Physics
#scicomm
Dr. Nirmalya Kajuri (
@Kaju_Nut
) is coming to our podcast. He is a theoretical physicist at IIT Mandi in India, working on holography and related topics. He is also a physics communicator. Let me know if you want to ask him any questions. Thanks.
#Physics
#scicomm
#podcast
This is a post that tries to answer the question, “How do we come to know that in string theory, there ‘can be’ extra dimensions in space?”. 1/25
#physics
#scicomm
This book brought me to physics. I wanted to become a mathematician (and I still like maths more than physics to be honest) but after reading this book when I was 16, I decided to take theoretical physics as my career path.
#physics
#scicomm
This is the second of my series of posts on AdS3/CFT2 correspondence. In this post, I will describe what the WZW (Wess-Zumino-Witten) models are. They are relevant here because a WZW model is used to describe string theory on AdS3. 1/14
#Physics
#scicomm
Underrated Tweet
Context for non Urdu speakers: "Gluon me rang bhare" means "Gluon gets filled with color" or "May the gluon gets filled with color" which is a twist over a popular Urdu poem "Gulon me rang bhare" meaning "May the flowers get filled with color".
#Physics
#scicomm
The life and works of Abdus Salam | Trailer | PhyMaths
The trailer of the upcoming documentary, named "The Life and Works of Dr. Abdus Salam". This documentary is being made by me and some of my friends and it will be released on 21st November.
#Physics
So sad to know about the passing of Peter Higgs. He is responsible (with others) for working out a key ingredient of the Standard Model. It is a fortunate fact that he lived long enough to see his work bearing fruit. Thanks for your contributions, Dr. Higgs.
#physics
#scicomm
Dr. Suvrat Raju is coming to the podcast. He is a theoretical physicist at ICTS-TIFR, Bangaluru and he primarily works on black holes and holography.
What questions do you have for him? Let me know in the replies.
#physics
#scicomm
A fun reminder:
Paul Dirac got a Nobel prize for taking a square root.
PS: Taking that square root was not easy and taking this square root predicted anti-matter. So... a Nobel Prize was called for...
#physics
#scicomm
Finally got a hard copy of this book by
@CburgesCliff
. Looking forward to reading some parts of it that I haven't read before (especially the parts about GR being an effective theory).
#physics
#scicomm
I wrote this article about an issue that I wanted to write about for quite some time. Would like to see the comments of the community on this. There are some points that I wanted to include in this. (Maybe in a future post)
#Physics
#scicomm
I made this compilation of resources + comments for topics in theoretical physics. I just started & I'll add more topics and resources that I know I have to add in my free time later. Feel free to give suggestions.
#Physics
#scicomm
#research
Compilation:
Dr. Cliff Burgess (
@CburgesCliff
) is coming to the podcast. He is a theoretical physicist and he (co)authored two textbooks (one on the Standard Model and one on Effective Field Theories).
What questions do you have for him? Let me know in the replies.
#Physics
#scicomm
So this is a thread about compactifications in superstring theory and M theory. This post is related to my second Ph.D. project. A little familiarity with the Ricci tensor and the word "gauge group" is assumed but I tried to make it self-contained. 1/19
#Physics
#scicomm
#Maths
I agree because we should mock ANYONE (not just women) who takes astrology seriously. Also, the mockers should be from ALL groups of people (not just men).
#Astrologyisgross
arXiv -> alphaXiv
Students at Stanford have built alphaXiv, an open discussion forum for arXiv papers.
@askalphaxiv
You can post questions and comments directly on top of any arXiv paper by changing arXiv to alphaXiv in any URL!
A thread on how to try to get realistic 4D spacetimes from type IIA & IIB string theories. I'll try to explain the technical points. I'll assume the knowledge of metric, Ricci & Riemann tensors + very basic QFT. Lemme know if some point needs clarification. 1/29
#physics
#scicomm
Spent 12 hours yesterday to perform a bunch of calculations based on an assumption that sounded reasonable...
The assumption was wrong.
#physics
#research
Got my third Master's degree in physics 🥳🥳🥳
Just got the confirmation email. This one is a supplementary Master's degree in the Ph.D. program.
#degrees
#celebration
#academia
Here is an interesting fact.
The equation "F=ma" was never written by Newton. Newton always wrote F=dp/dt. Obviously, it would still be called Newton's equation, but he never wrote "F=ma". The equation "F=ma" was first written by Euler.
#physics
#scicomm
This is a small post to argue that (-+++) metric is objectively better than the (+ – – -) metric. Before starting, let me mention that I studied QFT in the (+ – – -) metric (from Peskin and Schroeder).
1/17
#Physics
#scicomm
The Weinberg Institute for Theoretical Physics at Univ of Texas, Austin, is live! BTW I'm the Director. So happy to honor the late Nobel Laureate Steve Weinberg, one of the founders of the Standard Model of Particle Physics and amazing human being
Expressions for OPE and commutators of modes of quasi primary fields in conformal field theory. Wrote these on whiteboard as I can't sleep tonight. 😒
#physics
#scicomm
Got this today for checking it out.
After the recent work of Susskind & his collaborators, the topic of computational complexity seems to be very relevant to black hole physics. There're reviews (& lectures) by Susskind about this stuff + Scott Aaronson's course 1/2
#Physics
It's 20th October 2023, i.e. 9 years since my first day as a physics undergrad. After 1 more year, I would have officially given a decade of my life to physics (with 7-8 of these years given to theoretical physics TBH). I'm having a small personal celebration today 🥳.
#physics
An Insta account took my YT short involving Susskind (I edited & subtitled it), posted it as an Instagram reel, and got 2.6 million views for it.
Not gonna mention the account but it isn't cool. Could have at least given me the credit for making this.
#Physics
Positive volume
In the (-+++) metric, the volume of a spatial slice is positive. This makes total sense because the volume of a spatial slice should be positive. A negative volume of space is unphysical.
3/17
#Physics
#scicomm