dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaString theory, the crisis in particle physics and the ascent of metaphoric arguments
| Authors | Bert Schroer |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0603112 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0603112 |
| DOI | 10.1142/S0218271808014217 |
| Journal | IJMPD 17, (2008) 2373-2431 |
| License | http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/ |
Abstract
This essay presents a critical evaluation of the concepts of string theory and its impact on particle physics. The point of departure is a historical review of four decades of string theory within the broader context of six decades of failed attempts at an autonomous S-matrix approach to particle theory. The central message, contained in sections 5 and 6, is that string theory is not what its name suggests, namely a theory of of objects in spacetime whose localization is string- instead of point-like. Contrary to popular opinion the oscillators corresponding to the Fourier models of a quantum mechanical string do not cause a stringlike spatial extension of the object under discussion and neither does the "range space" of a chiral conformal QFT acquire the interpretation of string-like localized quantum matter. Rather the superstring represents a solution of a problem which enjoyed some popularity in the 60s: the construction of infinite component wave function with a (realistic) mass/spin spectrum. The mass/spin tower "sits" over one point and does not arise from a string in spacetime. The widespread acceptance of a theory whose interpretation has been based on metaphoric reasoning had a corroding influence on particle theory, a point which will be illustrated in the last section with some remarks of a more sociological nature.
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"abstract": "This essay presents a critical evaluation of the concepts of string theory\nand its impact on particle physics. The point of departure is a historical\nreview of four decades of string theory within the broader context of six\ndecades of failed attempts at an autonomous S-matrix approach to particle\ntheory. The central message, contained in sections 5 and 6, is that string\ntheory is not what its name suggests, namely a theory of of objects in\nspacetime whose localization is string- instead of point-like. Contrary to\npopular opinion the oscillators corresponding to the Fourier models of a\nquantum mechanical string do not cause a stringlike spatial extension of the\nobject under discussion and neither does the \"range space\" of a chiral\nconformal QFT acquire the interpretation of string-like localized quantum\nmatter. Rather the superstring represents a solution of a problem which enjoyed\nsome popularity in the 60s: the construction of infinite component wave\nfunction with a (realistic) mass/spin spectrum. The mass/spin tower \"sits\" over\none point and does not arise from a string in spacetime. The widespread\nacceptance of a theory whose interpretation has been based on metaphoric\nreasoning had a corroding influence on particle theory, a point which will be\nillustrated in the last section with some remarks of a more sociological\nnature.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0603112",
"authors": [
"Bert Schroer"
],
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"doi": "10.1142/S0218271808014217",
"journal_ref": "IJMPD 17, (2008) 2373-2431",
"license": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
"title": "String theory, the crisis in particle physics and the ascent of metaphoric arguments",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0603112"
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