| Subject |
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has name origin |
has author |
has synonym |
has acronym |
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| Gauge theory | In 1973 David Gross, Frank Wilczek, and David Politzer showed that these theories possess a property called asymptotic freedom, just what was needed for a theory of how quarks bind to form protons and neutrons. The new theory, dubbed quantum chromodynamics or QCD, proposed that the color of the quarks acts as the charge of the Yang-Mills interactions. | the term "gauge theory" is an archaic one, coming from earlier theories which were based on invariance under transformation of scale (i.e. gauge) | Chen Ning Yang and Robert Mills (1954) | Yang-Mills theories | |
| grand unified theory | Class of theories that merge all three nongravitational forces into a single theoretical framework. | | or reasearch group | grand unification | GUT |
| Kaluza-Klein theory | An early attempt to unify general relativity and electromagnetism by working in five dimensions. The electromagnetic field was obtained by curling up or compactifying the extra dimension. With the advent of higher dimensional theories such as superstrings, the Kaluza-Klein approach came back into fashion. | | or reasearch group | | |
| quantum gravity | A theory that successfully mergers quantum mechanics and general relativity, possibly involving modifications of one or both. String theory is an example of a theory of quantum gravity. | | or reasearch group | | |
| string theory | Theory that subatomic particles actually have extension along one axis, and that their properties are determined by the arrangement and vibration of the strings. | | or reasearch group | | |
| supersymmetry | A mathematical property of some theories of physics proposing that every particle of integer spin (intrinsic angular momentum) has a partner of half integer spin. For example, the photon, which is the particle of light, has a spin of 1 unit. Its hypothesized super symmetric partner is called the photino, which would have a spin of 1/2 units. | | or reasearch group | | |
| superunified theory | Hypothetical theory that presumably would show how all four fundamental forces of nature functioned as a single force in the extremely early universe. The best current candidates for such a potential achievement are thought to be supersymmetry and string theory. | | or reasearch group | | |
| theory of everything | Theory of Everything. A quantum-mechanical theory that encompasses all forces and all matter. | | or reasearch group | | TOE |
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