Related papers: The Emperor's Last Clothes?
Currently, string theory represents the only advanced approach to a unification of all interactions, including gravity. In spite of the more than thirty years of its existence it did not make any empirically testable predictions. And it is…
The Standard Model of the electroweak and strong interactions of particle physics is a quantum field theory. Elementary particles are not indivisible `pieces' of matter but energy bundles of fields, whose properties and interactions are a…
The standard model of particle physics is marvelously successful. However, it is obviously not a complete or final theory. I shall argue here that the structure of the standard model gives some quite concrete, compelling hints regarding…
In the last decades, a very important breakthrough has been brought in the elementary particle physics by the discovery of the phenomenon of the neutrino oscillations, which has shown neutrino properties beyond the Standard Model. But a…
We look at various features of the Standard Model with the purpose of exploring some possibilities of how to seek physical laws beyond it, i.e. at even smaller distances. Only parameters and structure which are not calculable from the…
The standard model of particle physics represents the cornerstone of our understanding of the microscopic world. In these lectures we review its contents and structure, with a particular emphasis on the central role played by symmetries and…
The most well tested and successful model of particle physics is the Standard Model (SM). It is shown here that the restoration of the full SM symmetry (as in the Early Universe) leads to the result that the electric charge loses all…
In recent years, criticism of the methodology of particle physics beyond the Standard Model has increased, diagnosing too much reliance on aesthetic criteria for theory development and evaluation. Faced with several decades of experimental…
The Standard Model of cosmology of the 1980's was based on a remarkable interplay of ideas from particle theory, experiment and astrophysical observations. That model is now dead, and has been replaced by something far more bizarre.…
I present a concise review of the major issues and challenges in particle physics at the start of the LHC era. After a brief overview of the Standard Model and of QCD, I will focus on the electroweak symmetry breaking problem which plays a…
The Standard Model of Particle Physics has been verified to unprecedented precision in the last few decades. However there are still phenomena in nature which cannot be explained, and as such new theories will be required. Since terrestrial…
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…
This article surveys some of the highlights in the development of string theory through the first superstring revolution in 1984. The emphasis is on topics in which the author was involved, especially the observation that critical string…
The most successful "Standard Model" allows one to define the so-called "Elementary Particles". Now from another point of view, philosophical, how can we think of them? Which kind of a status can be attributed to Elementary Particles and…
New status in quantum mechanics is connected with recent achievements in the inverse problem. With its help instead of about ten exactly solvable models which serve as a basis of the contemporary education there are infinite (!) number,…
"Ever since the advent of modern quantum mechanics in the late 1920's, the idea has been prevalent that the classical laws of probability cease, in some sense, to be valid in the new theory. [...] The primary object of this presentation is…
The aim of "A glance beyond the quantum model" [arXiv:0907.0372] to modernize the Correspondence Principle is compromised by an assumption that a classical model must start with the idea of particles, whereas in empirical terms particles…
Searching for the fundamental symmetries that characterize the particle physics of the early universe lies at the forefront of particle physics, nuclear physics, and cosmology. In this talk, I review low energy probes of these symmetries…
In the first part of the talk, I give a low-resolution overview of the current state of particle physics - the triumph of the Standard Model and its discontents. I review and re-endorse the remarkably direct and (to me) compelling argument…
I present a concise review of where we stand in particle physics today. First, I will discuss QCD, then the electroweak sector and finally the motivations and the avenues for new physics beyond the Standard Model.