Life at the Interface of Particle Physics and String Theory
Abstract
If the results of the first LHC run are not betraying us, many decades of particle physics are culminating in a complete and consistent theory for all non-gravitational physics: the Standard Model. But despite this monumental achievement there is a clear sense of disappointment: many questions remain unanswered. Remarkably, most unanswered questions could just be environmental, and disturbingly (to some) the existence of life may depend on that environment. Meanwhile there has been increasing evidence that the seemingly ideal candidate for answering these questions, String Theory, gives an answer few people initially expected: a huge "landscape" of possibilities, that can be realized in a multiverse and populated by eternal inflation. At the interface of "bottom-up" and "top-down" physics, a discussion of anthropic arguments becomes unavoidable. We review developments in this area, focusing especially on the last decade.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1306.5083,
title = {Life at the Interface of Particle Physics and String Theory},
author = {A. N. Schellekens},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1306.5083},
year = {2014}
}
Comments
59 pages, 5 figures. Invited contribution to Reviews of Modern Physics (original submission date 25 March 2013). Extended version available at http://www.nikhef.nl/~t58/Site/RMP v2: References added, a few typos corrected. v3: Hyperlinks enabled, tex source made paperscape-proof, a few typos corrected. v4: Journal info added, no changes in manuscript