Review article
Physics and astronomy
Gravity and unification: hints from microphysics and cosmology
Kellogg S. Stelle
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Submitted: 10 January 2025; Accepted: 10 April 2025; Published Online: 15 April 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61109/cs.202504.146
Coshare Science 03, 02 | Published 15 April 2025 |
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K.S. Stelle, Gravity and unification: hints from microphysics and cosmology, Coshare Science 03, 02 (2025).
Abstract

Elementary Particle Physics and General Relativity relate respectively to the very small and the very large. But they are both essential in trying to understand the structure of the universe, especially at the very first instants. Some of the key ideas involved in this juncture of the very small and the very large are illustrated.

Keywords
elementary particle physics
general relativity
extra spacetime dimensions
gravity waves
the universe as a membrane
Particle Physics
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Einstein's general relativity
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Flying carpet universes
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The unification of fundamental interactions
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Declarations
The author declares no competing interests.
Author Information
Kellogg S. Stelle

Kellogg S. Stelle earned his Ph.D. from Brandeis University. He is currently a Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics at Imperial College London. His research focuses on the theory of gravitation, on gauge and supersymmetric field theories and on string theory. He has been a pioneer in the study of higher dimensional extended objects, known as branes, in supersymmetric and string theories, and in the analysis of counterterms for ultraviolet divergences in supersymmetric field theories. He was a 2006 winner of the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation Research Award and a 2020 winner of IoP John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh Medal and Prize. He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics and of the American Physical Society.

References

1. T. Kaluza, Zum unitätsproblem der physik, Sitzungsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin (Math. Phys.) 1921, 966 (1921).
2. O. Klein, Quantentheorie und fünfdimensionale relativitätstheorie, Z. Phys. 37, 895 (1926).
3. W.P. Jr., Zur quantenmechanik des magnetischen elektrons, Z. Phys. 43, 601 (1927).
4. J.K. Webb, M.T. Murphy, V.V. Flambaum, V.A. Dzuba, J.D. Barrow, C.W. Churchill, J.X. Prochaska, and A.M. Wolfe, Further evidence for cosmological evolution of the fine structure constant, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 091301 (2001).

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