Civilization Template

Chapter 161 Grand Unified Theory
June 1992. USA, Chicago, University of Chicago.

In the small auditorium that can accommodate nearly 500 people, only a few dozen spectators sat sparsely.

Although the number of participants is small, any inconspicuous audience here is a top physics theory expert with international reputation.

On the podium, Professor Veneziano, who is thin, kept waving his arms in front of the blackboard, and a large number of formulas flowed out from his pen.

This is a symposium on string theory.Everyone gets together, discusses and argues with each other.

String theory is an important branch of theoretical physics that originated in the 70s and became popular in the late 80s.

The important reason why modern physics has come to a dead end is the infinite number of particles.

Under the traditional particle model, the volume of particles is zero.This zero makes many calculations impossible, because any number divided by zero is infinity.

The greatest contribution of string theory, in addition to introducing the concept of high dimensions, is to replace the point properties of particles with a length of string.

The basic unit of string theory is no longer an infinitesimal abstract particle, but a closed or open string.It can vibrate in different ways.At distances much larger than the string scale, a string looks like an ordinary particle, and its mass, charge, and other properties depend on the string's vibrational states.All the different elementary particles can be thought of as vibrating strings.

Because string theory predicts the existence of gravitons, it is the first time in human history that it unifies four kinds of interaction forces, gravitation, electromagnetic force, strong interaction force, and weak interaction force.

Therefore, in the late 80s, string theory was gradually paid attention to and recognized by mainstream theoretical circles.String theory has also successfully gone out of the circle and has become a hot topic in society in recent years.

Unfortunately, with the development of time, string theory has divided again, because physicists have found a total of five theories that can close their minds. Type I, Type IIA and Type IIB, and hybrid string theory (SO(32) and E8×E8).

In the seminars in recent years, the most important topic is to find the most reasonable one among these five theories.

Due to the existence of five self-consistent theories, string theory has been reduced from the focus of attention to the laughing stock of the theoretical circle in just a few years.

The five correct grand unified theories actually mean that none of the five theories is correct.

Due to the five theoretical branches, the influence and aura brought by the first string theory climax gradually dissipated.Its representative feature is that in recent years, the number of scientists participating in string theory seminars has decreased from one session to the next.

"It will be you soon."

Qu Yanqiu grabbed the other hand on the armrest beside her.

"understood."

Chen Quan turned his palms over, and the ten fingers of the two were tightly clasped together.

Time flies, and another two years have passed.Both of them have undergone great changes.

Chen Quan, who is 1.8 meters tall, can be called tall and handsome even in Bingcheng.Coupled with the formal attire prepared for the seminar, Chen Quan looked extremely stable and reliable against the backdrop of the black suit.

Qu Yanqiu has not changed so much, but with a height of nearly 1.7 meters and three-dimensional and fair facial features, she has become a new generation of campus belle of the University of Technology since Luo Ningwei graduated.

"Please, the young genius from China, Dr. Chen!"

After Professor Veneziano published his results, he reported directly.

Not many people participated in the seminar, everyone was like a small family, one person finished the lecture while the other spoke.

Chen Quan stood up and walked sideways in front of Qu Yanqiu.

"come on."

From behind him came a girl's voice.

"It's an honor to be invited."

Although Chen Quan is still very young, he has seen countless strong winds and waves. In front of a group of real world-class bosses, he does not show timidity at all, and the typhoon is very stable. "The paper we brought this time is to discuss the possibility of unifying the five string theories under one mathematical model."

Chen Quan talked eloquently on stage, while Qu Yanqiu was silently worried in the audience.

What Qu Yanqiu was worried about was not whether the thesis was right or wrong, because this thesis had been deduced by the two of them many times.And thanks to "his" memory hints.The correctness cannot be questioned.

After three years of hard study, whether it is Chen Quan or Qu Yanqiu, they are no longer what they used to be.

With the publication of MEMS series of papers and subsequent efforts in blue LED, green LED, white LED and other fields, Chen Quan has already become a world-renowned genius scholar.

Qu Yanqiu didn't have the help of external memories, but he also rose to the top. He stood out from the crowd of ordinary students and was well-known in the Department of Physics.

It stands to reason that everything is beautiful, but since 1991, the two have become increasingly irritable.

The reason is the passage of time.

Three years have passed since Qu Yanqiu woke up.According to previous experience, every two years, 'they' should have a big feedback.But in the past three years, "they" seem to have disappeared, and they have never been in touch with Chen Quan.

The more you have, the heavier the burden.

Whether it is Chen Quan or Qu Yanqiu, they have long been reborn.Regardless of fame, status, or money.

Just thinking about losing everything you have now makes you shudder.

In addition to the fear of failure, there is also the fear of the future.

This fear even goes beyond failure itself.

Ma Sanli's cross talk, a boot that didn't fall off, truly described the mentality of the two.Fear of death and suicide is not a joke.

In order to get the attention of "them" as soon as possible, Chen Quan reversed the slightly laid-back mentality of the previous two years, and took the initiative to expand and create influence.

Chen Quan tried to dig deep into the MEMS and LED fields, but the effect was not good.After all, the upsurge of MEMS has passed, and besides finding ways to increase the brightness of LEDs, there are no good topics and focus points.

In the eyes of outsiders, Chen Quan is still a prolific genius scientist.Under his leadership and intervention, several related departments of the University of Technology are still publishing new papers with high intensity every month.

In the past two years, many scientific research topics brought about by future mobile phone models have blossomed and borne fruit.

But it is a pity that these achievements are all industrial and belong to integrated technology.The achievements of this kind of industrialization are obviously not in the eyes of 'them'.The papers signed by Chen Quan have been published in the past two years, but "they" still haven't given any valid signal.

Chen Quan couldn't sit still anymore. He tried to change the track and march into other fields, looking for a new breakthrough direction.

String theory is the result of many attempts.

Qu Yanqiu made a great contribution to this harvest.

Qu Yanqiu's undergraduate major is applied physics, which can be regarded as a transitional major between theoretical physics and engineering applications.Therefore, there are dabbles in multiple directions.

String theory, as the most promising grand unified theory candidate, naturally entered the field of vision of the two.But related research is mainly done by Qu Yanqiu.

Although Chen Quan was in high school, his mathematics, especially Olympiad, formed an advantage over Qu Yanqiu.But use it or lose it, after entering the University of Technology, due to the choice of major, Qu Yanqiu's theoretical level gradually overtook Chen Quan.In addition to mathematics, there is also the field of purely theoretical physics, as well.

Although Qu Yanqiu borrowed the advantage of AI and made an exception to enter the University of Technology, but also because of AI, the learning in middle school was not systematic and comprehensive.This caused her to encounter serious learning difficulties in her freshman year.

After nearly a year of catching up, after the most difficult freshman year of college was passed, her grades slowly picked up.Qu Yanqiu finally showed her demeanor as a schoolmaster and stood out among her peers.

After all, her vision and thinking height are so much higher than those of her classmates who only know how to study hard.

String theory has been in the limelight in the past few years, and it is a popular fried chicken in the theoretical circle.Qu Yanqiu was naturally attracted by string theory.

When the two of them were exhausting their thoughts, Qu Yanqiu accidentally mentioned string theory, which then aroused Chen Quan's "memory".

In this memory, "he" only provided a clue and idea, rather than a complete mathematical derivation process.But having a direction is enough for two people.

With the guidance and help of Chen Quan, Qu Yanqiu "re-derived" the superstring theory.

Therefore, the new theory is the result of the cooperation of two people.Chen Quan provided ideas, and Qu Yanqiu realized the derivation and calculation in detail.

"We call the new theory, let's call it M theory."

Chen Quan was on the stage, almost filling the upper and lower movable blackboards.

"In summary, the five known superstring theories and eleven-dimensional supergravity are some limit regions or boundary points of M-theory. The research on superstring duality tells us that there is no modulus space in which One region is more important and fundamental than others, and each region is only a part of the properties that can better describe M-theory"

Chen Quan and Qu Yanqiu successfully unified the five superstring theories and eleven-dimensional supergravity into a new framework.

"From the derivation process of the above formulas, we can see that the above theories can all be regarded as the same formula, deformed under different conditions." Chen Quan finally concluded.

"That's my humble opinion. Thank you all."

Chen Quan waited for a long time, did not wait for the audience's response, nodded slightly, and walked off the stage alone.

"How could this be?"

When passing by Qu Yanqiu again, Chen Quan asked strangely.

When the first few people expressed their opinions, whether they agreed or disagreed, there would be some feedback.Is it because they are outsiders that they are not familiar with themselves?Not good at commenting?
I crossed the boundary too hard this time?
Is there such a exclusion in the theoretical physics world?

I haven't heard of it!
"Wait a little longer, they need some time to digest and absorb." Qu Yanqiu comforted.

(End of this chapter)