Quantum theory and the continuum: The case of maximal supersymmetry.

Project funded by Swedish Research Council (Project grant), grant 2010-03313_VR. Participating organisations named by the source: Chalmers University of Technology. Funded amount: SEK 2,550,000, as stated by the source. Runs 2011-01-01 to 2013-12-31. Keywords: Oklassificerat, Unclassified. Source: OpenAIRE Graph, from the funder's project data (collected by OpenAIRE on 2025-12-04); national funding data, not CORDIS. Abstract given by the source: Finding a rigorous definition of a consistent four-dimensional quantum field theory remains an outstanding problem. Empirical as well theoretical evidence indicates that this would have to be a non-abelian Yang-Mills theory, and the maximally supersymmetric (N=4) version presently appears to offer the best hope for progress. In contrast to most models with less or no supersymmetry, this theory is conformally invariant and characterized by a dimensionless coupling parameter even at the quantum level. Furthermore, there is by now substantial evidence for an equivalence known as S-duality, which relates theories with different values of this parameter. But this property, which should play an important role in a rigorous definition of the theory, is not at all manifest in the usual formulation. A promising idea, which makes S-duality manifest, is to consider this theory as the low-energy limit of a larger theory, known as six-dimensional (2,0)-theory, compactified on a small two-torus. The latter theory is a new and rather abstract kind of quantum theory; in particular it does not admit a Lagrangian formulation. This project, which is an extension of a previous grant, aims at continuing the systematic study of these maximally supersymmetric quantum theories, including an intermediate formulation in terms of five-dimensional Yang-Mills theory, with the ultimate goal of arriving at a proper definition of them.

Original source.

Source: OpenAIRE Graph: projects of national funders, OpenAIRE, from the project data of Swedish Research Council. Retrieved 2026-10-28. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (OpenAIRE Graph). Selected metadata, adapted presentation; the publisher's record is authoritative. No endorsement by the source is implied. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).

AI-assisted summary: A project funded by the Swedish Research Council, involving Chalmers University of Technology, explored quantum field theory, focusing on maximal supersymmetry (N=4) due to its conformal invariance and S-duality properties. The project ran from 2011 to 2013 with a grant of SEK 2,550,000. Suggested technology pillar: enabling. Generated by AI from the public source text; it may contain errors and the original source is authoritative.