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ALS: Doreen Fraser
September 23, 2022 @ 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm EDT
Title: “The field framework in physics (and beyond)”
Abstract: Over the past century, analogies between particle physics and condensed matter physics have successfully guided theoretical developments in both domains. Prominent examples include the construction of the Higgs model in particle physics and the development of renormalization group methods. Unlike prior historical uses of analogies in physics, these analogies do not have a physical basis; they are purely formal. Accounting for the success of these purely formal analogies prompts a closer examination of the role of the field framework on which they are based. This framework supplies a mode of representation that is more abstract than theories (or models). I will argue that there are advantages to carving up representations in this way, according to their level of abstractness. Generalization by development of more abstract frameworks does not entail unification in the usual sense. Explicit consideration of the field framework facilitates the critical evaluation of its application outside of physics (e.g., in econophysics). Within physics, benefits include conceptual clarity about limits on exporting physical interpretations from one domain to another and the ability to articulate new research questions.
This talk will also be available live streamed on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
Details
- Date:
- September 23, 2022
- Time:
-
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm EDT
- Event Category:
- 63rd Annual Lecture Series 2022-23
Venue
- 1008 Cathedral of Learning
-
4200 Fifth Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15260 United States