Main research is focused on applications of superstring theory to studies of strongly interacting systems at finite temperature and density. Newly developed string theory technique known as the gauge/gravity duality relates transport properties of strongly coupled plasmas (their viscosities, thermal conductivities, diffusion constants) to excitation spectra of black holes in dual curved spacetimes. By computing transport coefficients for these theoretical models, one gets qualitative insights into physics of strongly coupled hot and dense nuclear matter created in heavy ion collision experiments at RHIC and LHC.
Credit: Jack Hobhouse
Andrei Starinets
Professor of Physics
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