Research Interest of Ian Swanson

      Publication 1: Cosmology of the closed string tachyon (URL)
      Publication 2: A Stable vacuum of the tachyonic E(8) string (URL)
      Publication 3: Charting the landscape of supercritical string theory (URL)

    URL of Research: 

Statement of Interest:


  My research efforts focus on solving fundamental 
problems in theoretical high-energy physics. Much 
of my work has centered on various aspects of 
string theory, though I have also worked directly on 
related questions in cosmology and supersymmetric 
gauge theory.  A common thread to my research is 
the employment or exploration of systems that exhibit 
exact solvability. In addition to featuring interesting
properties in their own right, such systems often 
afford sharp statements that can be explored 
through detailed and controlled calculation.  Lately I 
have been studying the rich landscape of connected 
string theories that arises as a consequence of closed
string tachyon condensation.  This landscape unifies a 
large number of seemingly disparate string theories, and
has already taught us a great deal about the fundamental 
nature of quantum gravity, with and without supersymmetry.