Theoretical physics

Grant Award Summary

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Physics awarded $1.2 million through the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey for a three-year theoretical physics research project spanning September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2028. Under the direction of Professor Edward Witten, this project supports postdoctoral researchers in conducting fundamental investigations in elementary particle physics and its interdisciplinary applications. The research encompasses multiple areas including gauge theory, string theory, geometric analysis, particle scattering methods, dark matter studies, and quantum theory applications to black-hole entropy and de Sitter space.

The primary deliverables include advancing theoretical knowledge in fundamental physics through peer-reviewed research contributions, developing new computational methods for particle physics modeling, and generating scientific outputs relevant to current and future experimental particle physics. A significant component of this award supports workforce development through postdoctoral training, enabling early-career researchers to gain high-level experience on frontier scientific problems in theoretical high-energy physics. This research directly advances the NSF's mission to promote scientific progress in fundamental physics while building research capacity through mentored postdoctoral fellowship opportunities at a premier research institution.

Abstract

This award funds the research activities of professor edward witten and a group of postdoctoral researchers at the institute for advanced study in princeton. This project is devoted to the study of elementary particle physics, including its connections to other areas of study ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to condensed-matter physics and geometry. Current and planned work of the researchers supported by this grant covers a very wide range of topics, including the connections between gauge theory (the modern language of the physics governing the elementary particles), string theory (a speculative proposal for unifying the fundamental forces of nature), and geometry. These researchers will also study the possibilities for new models of particle physics that might be relevant at current and future particle-physics experiments; new methods of computing and studying the ways in which elementary particles scatter off each other; new experimental hints of the cosmic dark matter which makes up most of the matter in the universe; and more. Research in these areas thus advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in one of its most fundamental directions: the discovery and understanding of new physical laws. This project will also have significant broader impacts. The postdoctoral fellows supported by this project will also gain experience working at a high level on these exciting scientific problems, which have all attracted great interest nationally and internationally. More technically, professor witten's recent and ongoing work has involved operator algebras that give a new perspective on black-hole entropy and on the nature of DE sitter space in quantum theory. The postdoctoral fellows supported by this project have a wide range of interests and work with each other on frontier topics in theoretical high-energy physics as well as with professor witten and other local faculty. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.