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Guest Editorial: Truth, Beauty and Supergravity

Deser, Stanley (2017) Guest Editorial: Truth, Beauty and Supergravity. American Journal of Physics, 85 (11). pp. 809-811. ISSN 0002-9505. doi:10.1119/1.4994807. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170614-120344918

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Abstract

I begin with a warning: theoretical physics is an edifice built over the centuries by some of mankind's greatest minds, using ever more complicated and sophisticated concepts and mathematics to cover phenomena on scales billions of times removed—in directions both bigger and smaller—from our human dimensions, where our simple intuition or primitive language cannot pretend to have any validity. So any popular discussion is necessarily impressionistic, being couched in terms of classical analogies that do not really apply. This warning label should be attached to all such accounts, the present one included. However, I have tried to focus here on an aspect that involves more human attributes of our subject.


Item Type:Article
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.4994807DOIArticle
http://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/1.4994807PublisherArticle
http://arxiv.org/abs/1706.02448arXivDiscussion Paper
ORCID:
AuthorORCID
Deser, Stanley0000-0001-9285-9434
Additional Information:© 2017 American Association of Physics Teachers. Received 9 June 2017; accepted 28 June 2017. This work was supported by grants NSF PHY-1266107 and DOE#desc0011632. An earlier version appeared on the PRC Mr. Science program; the author thanks A. Zee for inviting it. Finally, the author thanks J. Franklin for translating his manuscript into AJP-ese. A somewhat longer version was posted on the arXiv.3 A technical discussion of SUGRA’s formal attractions is given in Ref. 4, while a historical account of how the theory came into being may be found in Ref. 5.
Group:Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics
Funders:
Funding AgencyGrant Number
NSFPHY-1266107
Department of Energy (DOE)DE-SC0011632
Other Numbering System:
Other Numbering System NameOther Numbering System ID
CALT-TH2017-028
Issue or Number:11
DOI:10.1119/1.4994807
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20170614-120344918
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170614-120344918
Official Citation:Guest Editorial: Truth, beauty, and supergravity. Stanley Deser. American Journal of Physics 2017 85:11, 809-811
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:78209
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Joy Painter
Deposited On:14 Jun 2017 20:43
Last Modified:15 Nov 2021 17:37

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