String theory

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String theory

In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings move through space and interact with each other by vibrations. On distance scales larger than the string scale, a string acts like a particle, with its mass, charge, and other properties determined by the vibrational state of the string. In string theory, one of the many vibrational states of the string corresponds to the graviton, a quantum mechanical particle that carries the gravitational force. Thus, string theory is a theory of quantum gravity. String theory is a broad and varied subject that attempts to address a number of deep questions of fundamental physics. String theory has contributed a number of advances to mathematical physics, which have been applied to a variety of problems in black hole physics, early universe cosmology, nuclear physics, and condensed matter physics, and it has stimulated a number of major developments in pure mathematics. Because string theory potentially provides a unified description of gravity and particle physics, it is a candidate for a theory of everything, a self-contained mathematical model that describes all fundamental forces and forms of matter. Despite much work on these problems, it is not known to what extent string theory describes the real world or how much freedom the theory allows in the choice of its details. String theory was first studied in the late 1960s as a theory of the strong nuclear force, before being abandoned in favor of quantum chromo­dynamics. Because of this, it was realized that the very properties that made string theory unsuitable as a theory of nuclear physics made it a promising candidate for a quantum theory of gravity. The earliest version of string theory, bosonic string theory, incorporated only the class of particles known as bosons. It later developed into superstring theory, which posits a connection called super­symmetry between bosons and the class of particles called fermions. Five consistent versions of superstring theory were developed before it was conjectured in the mid-1990s that they were all different limiting cases of a single theory in eleven dimensions known as M-theory. In late 1997, theorists discovered an important relationship called the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence, which relates string theory to another type of physical theory called a quantum field theory. One of the challenges of string theory is that the full theory does not have a satisfactory definition in all circumstances. Another issue is that the theory is thought to describe an enormous landscape of possible universes, which has complicated efforts to develop theories of particle physics based on string theory. These issues have led some in the community to criticize these approaches to physics, and to question the value of continued research on string theory unification.

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• String theory - Wikipedia

  String theory is a broad and varied subject that attempts to address a number of deep questions of fundamental physics. String theory has contributed a number of advances to mathematical physics, which have been applied to a variety of problems in black hole physics, early universe cosmology, nuclear physics, and condensed matter physics, and it has stimulated a number of major developments in pure mathematics. Because string theory potentially provides a unified description of gravity and particle physics, it is a candidate for a theory of everything, a self-contained mathematical model that describes all fundamental forces and forms of matter. Despite much work on these problems, it is not known to what extent string theory describes the real world or how much freedom the theory allows [...] In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional "Dimension (mathematics and physics)") objects called strings "String (physics)"). String theory describes how these strings move through space and interact with each other by vibrations. On distance scales larger than the string scale, a string acts like a particle, with its mass, charge "Charge (physics)"), and other properties determined by the vibrational state of the string. In string theory, one of the many vibrational states of the string corresponds to the graviton, a quantum mechanical particle that carries the gravitational force. Thus, string theory is a theory of quantum gravity. [...] The starting point for string theory is the idea that the point-like particles of particle physics can also be modeled as one-dimensional objects called strings "String (physics)"). String theory describes how strings propagate through space and interact with each other. In a given version of string theory, there is only one kind of string, which may look like a small loop or segment of ordinary string, and it can vibrate in different ways. On distance scales larger than the string scale, a string will look just like an ordinary particle consistent with non-string models of elementary particles, with its mass, charge "Charge (physics)"), and other properties determined by the vibrational state of the string. String theory's application as a form of quantum gravity proposes a vibrational

• String theory | Explanation & Definition | Britannica

  # string theory Britannica AI Icon String theory is a theoretical framework in particle physics that seeks to reconcile quantum mechanics with Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. It models subatomic particles as tiny, one-dimensional "stringlike" entities, unlike the conventional approach that envisions them as zero-dimensional point particles. Each string's unique mode of vibration corresponds to a particle with specific properties like mass and charge. String theory has the potential to unify all four of nature's forces: gravity, electromagnetism, strong force, and weak force, along with all types of matter, within a single quantum mechanical framework. This suggests it could be the long-sought unified field theory or "theory of everything". [...] string theory, in particle physics, a theory that attempts to merge quantum mechanics with Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. The name string theory comes from the modeling of subatomic particles as tiny one-dimensional “stringlike” entities rather than the more conventional approach in which they are modeled as zero-dimensional point particles. The theory envisions that a string undergoing a particular mode of vibration corresponds to a particle with definite properties such as mass and charge. In the 1980s, physicists realized that string theory had the potential to incorporate all four of nature’s forces—gravity, electromagnetism, strong force, and weak force—and all types of matter in a single quantum mechanical framework, suggesting that it might be the long-sought [...] String theory seeks to reconcile quantum mechanics with general relativity by modeling subatomic particles as tiny, one-dimensional "stringlike" entities, unlike the conventional zero-dimensional point particles. In string theory, different vibrational patterns of these tiny strings correspond to different particles, each possessing unique properties like mass and charge. Crucially, among these vibrational patterns, physicists believe there should be particles that communicate nature's forces, including gravity. Thus, string theory has been proposed as a potential framework for unifying all forces and matter.

• String theory | Physics | Research Starters | EBSCO Research

  RESEARCH STARTER # String theory String theory is a theoretical framework in physics that seeks to unify the fundamental aspects of the universe by proposing that the basic building blocks of matter are not zero-dimensional points but rather one-dimensional strings. These strings vibrate at different frequencies, and their various oscillation patterns correspond to different particles, such as electrons and gravitons. Since its inception in the late 1960s, string theory has challenged the traditional atomic model by suggesting that the material universe is animated by not just four fundamental forces—gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces—but potentially many more dimensions, some of which could exceed the conventional four dimensions of space and time. [...] Touted by advocates in the field of quantum physics as nothing less than a theoretical model of “everything,” string theory is a visionary and ambitious conceptual model that upended traditional standard models of the universe because it accounts for all matter and its motion. The landmark work in string theory remains theoretical. There has been no confirmation of its basic premise: that the fundamental particles of the universe, such as electrons, are less akin to zero-dimensional points in space than they are manifestations of one-dimensional strings embedded throughout space-time. String theory affords the subatomic universe a great degree of animation and significantly widens the conceptual patterns of its movements—movements that, in turn, are critical in creating and moving matter. [...] Touted by advocates in the field of quantum physics as nothing less than a theoretical model of “everything,” string theory is a visionary and ambitious conceptual model that upended traditional standard models of the universe because it accounts for all matter and its motion. The landmark work in string theory remains theoretical. There has been no confirmation of its basic premise: that the fundamental particles of the universe, such as electrons, are less akin to zero-dimensional points in space than they are manifestations of one-dimensional strings embedded throughout space-time. String theory affords the subatomic universe a great degree of animation and significantly widens the conceptual patterns of its movements—movements that, in turn, are critical in creating and moving matter.

• What Is String Theory? | Live Science

  Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Subscribe to our newsletter String theory is an attempt to unite the two pillars of 20th century physics — quantum mechanics and Albert Einstein's theory of relativity — with an overarching framework that can explain all of physical reality. It tries to do so by positing that particles are actually one-dimensional, string-like entities whose vibrations determine the particles' properties, such as their mass and charge. [...] ## Unraveling mysteries String theory is one of the proposed methods for producing a theory of everything, a model that describes all known particles and forces and that would supersede the Standard Model of physics, which can explain everything except gravity. Many scientists believe in string theory because of its mathematical beauty. The equations of string theory are described as elegant, and its descriptions of the physical world are considered extremely satisfying.

• What is string theory? | Space

  ### What is string theory? String theory is a collection of ideas in theoretical physics in which the fundamental building-blocks of nature are not particles (such as the point-like electron) but instead strings. Imagine microscopic wiggling rubber bands. String theory is primarily a theory of quantum gravity which elegantly combines the theories of gravity and quantum mechanics. Physicists have been searching for a theory of quantum gravity for nearly one hundred years. Moreover, ideas from string theory have been used to solve problems in mathematics and other fields of theoretical physics. In many ways, string theory is a language that can be used by theoretical physicists to solve problems and to investigate the mathematics of the universe. [...] Jump To: String theory FAQs What is it? Evolution Importance Additional resources Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Subscribe to our newsletter String theory is the idea in theoretical physics that reality is made up of infinitesimal vibrating strings, smaller than atoms, electrons or quarks. According to this theory, as the strings vibrate, twist and fold, they produce effects in many, tiny dimensions that humans interpret as everything from particle physics to large-scale phenomena like gravity. [...] String theory has been held up as a possible "theory of everything," a single framework that could unite general relativity and quantum mechanics, two theories that underlie almost all of modern physics. While quantum mechanics does very well in describing the behavior of very small things and general relativity works well to explain how very large things happen in the universe, they don't play nicely together. Some scientists think (or thought) that string theory could resolve the conundrums between the two, conquering one of the major remaining unsolved problems of physics.

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