Comments on: At The Monastery http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/ Random samplings from a universe of ideas Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:23:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: News From the Front, IV - Asymptotia http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-126677 News From the Front, IV - Asymptotia Mon, 23 Oct 2006 01:08:25 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-126677 [...] I began wondering about this issue (i.e., How do you recognise a string theory if it walked up and shook you by the hand?) a while ago, off and on, and then again this year in earnest. Two weeks in the monastery I referred to previously helped me crystallize some of the thoughts into a specific narrative, with the specific examples presented, and I’ve been chipping away at some of these thoughts and computations ever since then (including at the other monastery), resulting in the (long overdue) paper appearing tonight. [...] [...] I began wondering about this issue (i.e., How do you recognise a string theory if it walked up and shook you by the hand?) a while ago, off and on, and then again this year in earnest. Two weeks in the monastery I referred to previously helped me crystallize some of the thoughts into a specific narrative, with the specific examples presented, and I’ve been chipping away at some of these thoughts and computations ever since then (including at the other monastery), resulting in the (long overdue) paper appearing tonight. [...]

]]> By: Unite d’Habitation at asymptotia http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-106803 Unite d’Habitation at asymptotia Fri, 28 Jul 2006 17:42:01 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-106803 [...] On the 14th of July of this year, Bastille Day - the important French holiday - we inhabitants of the mathematics “monastery” at which I was staying in Luminy in the South of France (see a CV post about this here) were forced to wander out into the outside world. There was no food and no lectures, you see. So off to Marseille! The plan was to go up to have a look around the city and stay for the fireworks in the evening if we were not too exhausted. I was accompanied by Ilarion Melnikov (a postdoc at Chicago) and Claudine Chen (a postdoc at Penn State) initially, and the plan was to wander up to the city, and meet up with David Kutasov (professor at Chicago) to wander around the port. [...] [...] On the 14th of July of this year, Bastille Day - the important French holiday - we inhabitants of the mathematics “monastery” at which I was staying in Luminy in the South of France (see a CV post about this here) were forced to wander out into the outside world. There was no food and no lectures, you see. So off to Marseille! The plan was to go up to have a look around the city and stay for the fireworks in the evening if we were not too exhausted. I was accompanied by Ilarion Melnikov (a postdoc at Chicago) and Claudine Chen (a postdoc at Penn State) initially, and the plan was to wander up to the city, and meet up with David Kutasov (professor at Chicago) to wander around the port. [...]

]]> By: At The Other Monastery | Cosmic Variance http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-106137 At The Other Monastery | Cosmic Variance Mon, 24 Jul 2006 22:12:10 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-106137 [...] Drinking tea at high altitude again. Still a bad idea…. must remember to bring a pressure cooker next time. See this link if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Yes, I’m at the other monastery, the Aspen Center for Physics, where I’ll be continuing my quest to get coherent research thoughts fully explored before the end of the Summer and my other academic duties begin in earnest. For some of the time I’m here, I’ll overlap with a couple of workshops in my area (and other interesting ones besides), and hence several old friends and colleagues, which is always very nice to do. I’m coming in near the middle of the workshop entitled “String Theory, Gauge Theory & Particle Physics”, and have already today heard two excellent outdoor talks, once by Savdeep Sethi entitled “Can Time End?” and the other by Frederik Denef entitled “Factorization of BPS Degeneracies and the OSV Conjecture”. [...] [...] Drinking tea at high altitude again. Still a bad idea…. must remember to bring a pressure cooker next time. See this link if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Yes, I’m at the other monastery, the Aspen Center for Physics, where I’ll be continuing my quest to get coherent research thoughts fully explored before the end of the Summer and my other academic duties begin in earnest. For some of the time I’m here, I’ll overlap with a couple of workshops in my area (and other interesting ones besides), and hence several old friends and colleagues, which is always very nice to do. I’m coming in near the middle of the workshop entitled “String Theory, Gauge Theory & Particle Physics”, and have already today heard two excellent outdoor talks, once by Savdeep Sethi entitled “Can Time End?” and the other by Frederik Denef entitled “Factorization of BPS Degeneracies and the OSV Conjecture”. [...]

]]> By: Plato http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-104985 Plato Thu, 13 Jul 2006 16:23:56 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-104985 Can <a href="http://www.haloscan.com/comments/59de/115278240916126308/?a=19080#201438" rel="nofollow">orbitals</a> be held "consistently" in relation to the idea of "fermions" held to the brane? Can orbitals be held “consistently” in relation to the idea of “fermions” held to the brane?

]]> By: Plato http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-104503 Plato Tue, 11 Jul 2006 13:39:42 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-104503 IN light of "current information" with regards to the QGP, does one not think the "singularites" have to be rewritten? IN light of “current information” with regards to the QGP, does one not think the “singularites” have to be rewritten?

]]> By: John G http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103922 John G Sun, 09 Jul 2006 02:54:14 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103922 Horowitz and Susskind even wrote about the 27-dim bosonic M-theory: http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/hep-th/0012037 If lots of things get figured out using the bosonic string, people may not notice if they still think it's a toy. The reasons for going away from the bosonic string may not be valid concerns any more. There's even a 28-dim bosonic F-theory. The 26-27-28-dims relate to E6-E7-E8. http://www.valdostamuseum.org/hamsmith/stringbraneStdModel.html Horowitz and Susskind even wrote about the 27-dim bosonic M-theory:
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/hep-th/0012037

If lots of things get figured out using the bosonic string, people may not notice if they still think it’s a toy. The reasons for going away from the bosonic string may not be valid concerns any more. There’s even a 28-dim bosonic F-theory.

The 26-27-28-dims relate to E6-E7-E8.
http://www.valdostamuseum.org/hamsmith/stringbraneStdModel.html

]]> By: i http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103715 i Sat, 08 Jul 2006 12:58:20 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103715 Amara, I really like the last VVG quote: it is so true! Amara,
I really like the last VVG quote: it is so true!

]]> By: Clifford http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103574 Clifford Sat, 08 Jul 2006 06:24:13 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103574 Cynthia... dimension is an elusive thing in string theory. See my comments in replies to others above about how the 26 dimensional bosonic string may not be unconencted to ten dimensional string theory. We don't have a good handle on the possible vacua and dynamics of string theory yet.... there may be a lot to learn about how dimensions may change.... -cvj Cynthia… dimension is an elusive thing in string theory. See my comments in replies to others above about how the 26 dimensional bosonic string may not be unconencted to ten dimensional string theory. We don’t have a good handle on the possible vacua and dynamics of string theory yet…. there may be a lot to learn about how dimensions may change….

-cvj

]]> By: Cynthia http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103482 Cynthia Sat, 08 Jul 2006 02:01:23 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103482 Clifford, My bad... I wrongfully assumed that 25+1 dimensions were declared obsolete during the rise of the second superstring revolution. More specifically, I erroneously thought that this revolution announced that all string models merge together to form a unified 10+1 dimensional model called M-theory. However, I gather from your message that bosonic strings are not part of this unification and still uniquely remain in the 26 dimensions. Regardless of my misunderstanding, enjoy teething on 26 dimensions... :-) Have a nice weekend! Clifford,

My bad… I wrongfully assumed that 25+1 dimensions were declared obsolete during the rise of the second superstring revolution. More specifically, I erroneously thought that this revolution announced that all string models merge together to form a unified 10+1 dimensional model called M-theory. However, I gather from your message that bosonic strings are not part of this unification and still uniquely remain in the 26 dimensions.

Regardless of my misunderstanding, enjoy teething on 26 dimensions… :-)

Have a nice weekend!

]]> By: Clifford http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103433 Clifford Fri, 07 Jul 2006 23:43:38 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103433 Cynthia, I don't understand your question. The 26 dimensional bosonic string is a very common model to study. The first one most people cut their teeth on, in fact. Ambitwistor, I am not an expert -or even close- in this, and so I'll leave it to someone else to give a better answer than I can. Cheers, -cvj Cynthia, I don’t understand your question. The 26 dimensional bosonic string is a very common model to study. The first one most people cut their teeth on, in fact.

Ambitwistor, I am not an expert -or even close- in this, and so I’ll leave it to someone else to give a better answer than I can.

Cheers,

-cvj

]]> By: Amara http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103432 Amara Fri, 07 Jul 2006 23:41:10 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103432 Oops, I left out the author of the previous quote, it was van Gogh too (writing to his brother Theo in 1888). Oops, I left out the author of the previous quote, it was van Gogh too (writing to his brother Theo in 1888).

]]> By: Clifford http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103431 Clifford Fri, 07 Jul 2006 23:40:03 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103431 Hi Amara, The answers are "yes" and "not much", so I will have to do this all some other time. Thanks to you and Andrei Sobolevskii for your suggestions. Best, -cvj Hi Amara,

The answers are “yes” and “not much”, so I will have to do this all some other time. Thanks to you and Andrei Sobolevskii for your suggestions.

Best,

-cvj

]]> By: Amara http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103430 Amara Fri, 07 Jul 2006 23:37:00 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103430 Clifford, Is it possible to rent a bike there, and do you have time? If the answer to both is yes, let me recommend a some interesting places that I think are fantastic to visit by bicycle. You can travel to St. Remy de Provence, make that your base to take a couple of day rides to see Les Baux, Glanum: the Greek/Roman archeological ruins and the Ancien Moastere de St-Paul-de-Mausole, which is the monastery turned convelescent home and surroundings where van Gogh spent the last year of his life. Les Baux is great to visit by bike because it a vision that sneaks up on you. On my own bicycle trip there, my small road twisted and turned through the cliffs. I remember climbing on the twisty roads not being able to see very far around the mountains, and climbing, and try to see, and then I rounded a turn, and .... looked closer at the mountain in the distance .... and looked again. It was there! The Les Baux village is so well-blended into the rocks that one is not really quite sure that it is sitting there, until one spends some long minutes staring andadjusting one's eyes. When I was sure that I saw it, I immediately pulled over my bicycle, and I found a good viewplace to sit and I watched Les Baux for about a 1/2 hour. Some cars raced around the curve and the occupants didn't even notice the glorious sight in the near distance, because they were travelling too fast. Les Baux de Provence is an old village and castle ruins located on a detached (cliffs on all sides) portion of the Alpilles mountains. This village and its attached castle was built in the 12th (10th?) century by the warrior lords of Baux. The history of the place contains small and large battle skirmishes between the powerful ruling powers but Les Baux was also famous as a court of love in the 13th century. To become a member, the women had to be of noble birth, well-read and beautiful. Troubadours, often high lords, came from all of the southern provinces and composed passionate verses in praise of these ladies. The prize awarded to the best poet was a crown of peacock feathers and a kiss from the lady in question. The "plateau des antiques" where the Roman Monuments: Mausoleum, Arc Municpal, and the archeological site: Glanum is located is pretty cool but what I think I enjoyed more was 15 minutes away by foot: the convalescet home seeing the landscape/environment that inspired van Gogh and where he spent the last year year of his life. The psychiatric convalescent home is still in use, but the owners have set up rooms for visitors interested in learning more about the place, and about Vincent van Gogh. Also, from the views from the windows and from walking around the gardens and the rest of the home, you can gain same feelings for the Provence area that interested van Gogh so much. I remembering seeing the same mountains that he saw, similar twisted olive trees, the same beautiful yellows and blues and purples. Provence is colorful, and perhaps the area around St Remy, even more so. This last year of van Gogh's life was his most prolific painting time- He painted about a hundred paintings: many colorful natural seens, self-portraits, and he painted the "Starry Night over St. Remy", which is a favorite of every astronomer I know. "Everything is extraordinarity beautiful here! Everything and everywhere the color of the sky is an admirable blue, the sun shines like pale sulfur, it is sweet and charming like the combinations of blues and yellows in the skies of the Vermeer of Delft." My favorite van Gogh quote is this one: "Don't forget that little emotions are the great captains of our lives." (Vincent van Gogh, Arles, 1888). Clifford,
Is it possible to rent a bike there, and do you have time? If the answer to both is yes, let me recommend a some interesting places that I think are fantastic to visit by bicycle. You can travel to St. Remy de Provence, make that your base to take a couple of day rides to see Les Baux, Glanum: the Greek/Roman archeological ruins and the Ancien Moastere de St-Paul-de-Mausole, which is the monastery turned convelescent home and surroundings where van Gogh spent the last year of his life.

Les Baux is great to visit by bike because it a vision that sneaks up on you. On my own bicycle trip there, my small road twisted and turned through the cliffs. I remember climbing on the twisty roads not being able to see very far around the mountains, and climbing, and try to see, and then I rounded a turn, and …. looked closer at the mountain in the distance …. and looked again. It was there! The Les Baux village is so well-blended into the rocks that one is not really quite sure that it is sitting there, until one spends some long minutes staring andadjusting one’s eyes. When I was sure that I saw it, I immediately pulled over my bicycle, and I found a good viewplace to sit and I watched Les Baux for about a 1/2 hour. Some cars raced around the curve and the occupants didn’t even notice the glorious sight in the near distance, because they were travelling too fast.

Les Baux de Provence is an old village and castle ruins located on a detached (cliffs on all sides) portion of the Alpilles mountains. This village and its attached castle was built in the 12th (10th?) century by the warrior lords of Baux. The history of the place contains small and large battle skirmishes between the powerful ruling powers but Les Baux was also famous as a court of love in the 13th century. To become a member, the women had to be of noble birth, well-read and beautiful. Troubadours, often high lords, came from all of the southern provinces and composed passionate verses in praise of these ladies. The prize awarded to the best poet was a crown of peacock feathers and a kiss from the lady in question.

The “plateau des antiques” where the Roman Monuments: Mausoleum, Arc Municpal, and the archeological site: Glanum is located is pretty cool but what I think I enjoyed more was 15 minutes away by foot: the convalescet home seeing the landscape/environment that inspired van Gogh and where he spent the last year year of his life.

The psychiatric convalescent home is still in use, but the owners have set up rooms for visitors interested in learning more about the place, and about Vincent van Gogh. Also, from the views from the windows and from walking around the gardens and the rest of the home, you can gain same feelings for the Provence area that interested van Gogh so much. I remembering seeing the same mountains that he saw, similar twisted olive trees, the same beautiful yellows and blues and purples. Provence is colorful, and perhaps the area around St Remy, even more so. This last year of van Gogh’s life was his most prolific painting time- He painted about a hundred paintings: many colorful natural seens, self-portraits, and he painted the “Starry Night over St. Remy”, which is a favorite of every astronomer I know.

“Everything is extraordinarity beautiful here! Everything and everywhere the color of the sky is an admirable blue, the sun shines like pale sulfur, it is sweet and charming like the combinations of blues and yellows in the skies of the Vermeer of Delft.”

My favorite van Gogh quote is this one:

“Don’t forget that little emotions are the great captains of our lives.” (Vincent van Gogh, Arles, 1888).

]]> By: Ambitwistor http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103287 Ambitwistor Fri, 07 Jul 2006 16:03:15 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103287 So what do affine Hecke algebras have to do with statistical mechanics? So what do affine Hecke algebras have to do with statistical mechanics?

]]> By: Cynthia http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103284 Cynthia Fri, 07 Jul 2006 13:24:22 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103284 Clifford, Just when I have become fairly comfortable with the "high-altitudes" of the 10+1 dimensions, you are ascending to the "nose-bleed-altitudes" of 26 dimensions! What's up? Clifford,

Just when I have become fairly comfortable with the “high-altitudes” of the 10+1 dimensions, you are ascending to the “nose-bleed-altitudes” of 26 dimensions!

What’s up?

]]> By: Andrei Sobolevskii http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103202 Andrei Sobolevskii Fri, 07 Jul 2006 09:40:18 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103202 Clifford, There is a nice English-language website on where to bike and what to see in Provence: <a href="http://www.beyond.fr/" rel="nofollow">http://www.beyond.fr/</a> Check the <a href="http://www.beyond.fr/travel/itineraries.html" rel="nofollow">Itineraries</a> section. Andrei Clifford,

There is a nice English-language website on where to bike and what to see in Provence:

http://www.beyond.fr/

Check the Itineraries section.

Andrei

]]> By: Nick Halmagyi http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103043 Nick Halmagyi Fri, 07 Jul 2006 05:49:07 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103043 dont get me wrong, Im a big bike fan. I dont think I need to defend my credentials there...but...Im just not sure that when France wins that funny little soccer game on sunday, doing laps of the town fountain on a Brompton will really cut it. nick dont get me wrong, Im a big bike fan. I dont think I need to defend my credentials there…but…Im just not sure that when France wins that funny little soccer game on sunday, doing laps of the town fountain on a Brompton will really cut it.

nick

]]> By: Clifford http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103040 Clifford Fri, 07 Jul 2006 05:30:20 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103040 Bikes.. how about hiring some nice bikes? ;-) -cvj Bikes.. how about hiring some nice bikes? ;-)

-cvj

]]> By: Clifford http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103013 Clifford Fri, 07 Jul 2006 05:10:35 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103013 Stephan, Plato, thanks. wolfgang: -as as to your last sentence... it has been said before. It is an intriguing thought. -cvj Stephan, Plato, thanks.

wolfgang: -as as to your last sentence… it has been said before. It is an intriguing thought.

-cvj

]]> By: Nick Halmagyi http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/07/06/at-the-monastery/#comment-103012 Nick Halmagyi Fri, 07 Jul 2006 05:10:25 +0000 http://cosmicvariance.com/?p=902#comment-103012 people should feel free to convince Clifford that we should hire a couple of Vespas for the weekend. He doesnt seem to appreciate just quite how swank and cliched we would look in the south of france on vespas... attacking his sense of adventure I think would be an excellent starting point... people should feel free to convince Clifford that we should hire a couple of Vespas for the weekend. He doesnt seem to appreciate just quite how swank and cliched we would look in the south of france on vespas…

attacking his sense of adventure I think would be an excellent starting point…

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