Asian Young Scientist Webinar
“The Biggest Question for My Science” Series
As the saying goes, “asking the right question is half the answer.” The Biggest Question for My Science event series fosters a deeper understanding of the fundamental questions that drive scientific discovery.
Each session invites one AYS Fellow and one prominent scientist, both from related research fields, to identify the biggest question in their research field and to discuss why it is the biggest question and how the scientific community is approaching it, essentially taking a step back to look at the big picture.
This series is tailored for students and faculty members with a keen interested in science, research, and grappling with scientific inquiries in this field. This event series will be held monthly via online Zoom meetings and is open to participation.
The Origin of Mass in Quantum Field Theory and String Theory
The Biggest Question for My Science - session 1
The Origin of Mass in Quantum Field Theory and String Theory
The origin of the mass of visible matter in our universe is a pivotal question in both physics and broader scientific inquiry. According to the Standard Model of particle physics, approximately 1% of mass originates from the Higgs field, while about 99% results from the strong interactions between quarks and gluons. Both factors play crucial roles in the evolution of the universe and the emergence of life.
Date and Time:
l Beijing Time: June 16, 2024 (Sunday), 10:30 AM- 12:30 PM
l India Time: June 16, 2024 (Sunday), 8:00 - 10:00 AM
l Chicago Time: June 15, 2024 (Saturday), 9:30 - 11:30 PM
Meeting Format: Online @ Zoom
Joining link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/3601039307?pwd=kkOMYogz2XULJvO52G1Z5bUUoFetVK.1
Meeting ID: 360 103 9307
Password: AYSF
Agenda (Beijing Time)
- 10:20 - 10:35 Zoom meeting room open
- 10:35 - 10:40 Opening Remark
l Dr. Eric Chen, Chairman of BaseBit Technologies; Co-CEO of ARM China Independent director of Applied Materials; Donor of the Asian Young Scientist Fellowship
- 10:40 - 11:00 Presentation by Prof. Liantao Wang
l The origin of mass through the Higgs mechanism and the most fundamental questions to be answered there.
- 11:00 - 11:20 Presentation by Dr. Huaxing Zhu
l The current understanding of how mass emerges from strong interactions of quarks and gluons highlights some key unresolved questions.
- 11:20 - 11:40 Presentation by Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar
l How strings with tension emerge from strong interactions and seek to fundamentally understand how strings arise from quantum field theories (QFTs).
- 11:40 - 12:10 Open Discussion
l Moderator: Dr. Huaxing Zhu
l Panelists: Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar, Prof. Liantao Wang, Dr. Huaxing Zhu
- 12:10 - 12:30 Q&A
Convener (AYS Fellow):
HuaXing Zhu, Associate Professor, School of Physics, Peking University; 2023 AYS Fellow-Physical Science, Asian Young Scientist Fellowship
HuaXing Zhu is an Associate Professor at the School of Physics, Peking University. He obtained his PhD degree in 2012 from Peking University. Since then, he has been a postdoctoral fellow at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Center for Theoretical Physics at MIT. He held a tenured-track researcher position at Zhejiang University from 2017 to 2023 before moving to Peking University. His research interests involve quantum field theory and particle physics, with a particular focus on the development of theoretical tools for understanding the strong interactions of quarks and gluons in quantum chromodynamics. He received the Qiushi Outstanding Young Scholar Award in 2020 for his contributions to theoretical particle physics.
Invited Speakers:
Rajesh Gopakumar, Distinguished Professor, International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Tata Instt. of Fundamental Research; Member of the Steering Committee, Asian Young Scientist Fellowship
Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar is a theoretical physicist who is Senior Professor and Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Tata lnstitute of Fundamental Research in Bengaluru. His research interests are in string theory and quantum field theory aiming to understand the nature of fundamental interactions in nature.
He completed his MSc in physics from llT Kanpur in 1992 and received his PhD from Princeton University in 1997. After a few years as a Research Associate at Harvard University, he joined Harish Chandra Research institute, Allahabad in 2001 where he was until 2015. He was also a Visiting Fellow at the lnstitute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey from 2001 to 2004.
Prof. Gopakumar's work in theoretical physics aims to understand the versatility of string theory and he has developed a program to decipher the AdS/CFT correspondence. His early research was primarily focused on large N gauge theories, non-commutative gauge theories and topological string theory. His work in the context of topological string theory has also had an impact in mathematics in what are now known as the Gopakumar-Vafa invariants. He has recently also worked on the conformal bootstrap in quantum field theory.
He is the recipient of the B.M. Birla Science Prize in Physics in 2004, the lCTP Prize in 2006, the Swarnajayanti Fellowship in 2006, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 2009, the GD Birla Prize in 2013 and the JC Bose National Fellowship in 2015. He is a founding member of the Global Young Academy and was elected the Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences in 2015. He is also a Fellow of the lndian Academy of Sciences, the lndian National Science Academy (INSA)and the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI). In 2019, he received llT Kanpur's Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Lian-Tao Wang, Professor, Department of Physics and Enrico Fermi Institute University of Chicago; Member, Science Committee of the Future Science Prize
Liantao Wang is the professor of Enrico Fermi Institute, Department of Physics, and Kalvi Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago. He completed his B.S. at Fudan University (1995) and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan (2002). He later worked as a research associate at the University of Wisconsin and Havard University. He joined the faculty of Princeton University in 2006 and moved to the University of Chicago in 2011. He is a Fellow of the American Physics Society. He has won an Early Career Award of US Department of Energy (2010-2015), and Outstanding Junior Investigator Award of US Department of Energy (2008-2010). His focus has been on various aspects of the phenomenology of elementary particle physics.
