Harvard University Department of Physics

• Faculty by Name
• Faculty by Research Area

ADDRESS/TELEPHONE
Jefferson 570
17 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617)496-8361

STAFF SUPPORT
Nancy Partridge
Jefferson 463
(617)495-2807



LINKS
Research Group

Physics Department Faculty:

Frederik Denef

Associate Professor of Physics

PhD 1999, Leuven

String theory provides a framework in which one can quantitatively address fundamental questions about the nature of space and time, the origin of the universe, quantum gravity, black holes, cosmology and the observed properties of fundamental particles and their interactions. All of these questions get intimately related within this theory, unified by the language of geometry and its generalizations, fitting into a remarkably rigid but rich structure originating from a simple set of basic principles. However, just like a simple equation may have many complicated solutions, so do the basic equations of string theory appear to allow for a huge number of different vacuum solutions, each with different low energy properties.

The analysis of this string theory "landscape" has been one of the central topics in Frederik Denef's research, going from the first construction of explicit examples of vacua meeting all conditions for moduli stabilization³ and the development of statistical tools to efficiently investigate ensembles of string vacua⁴ to a quantitative analysis of the question whether we can ever hope to find our own vacuum amidst googols of theoretical candidates². Another focus point of his research has been bound states in string theory, going from stationary, molecule-like bound states of particles or black holes⁶ and their relation to geometrical D-brane bound states⁵ to new approaches to count these states and thus to statistically compute black hole entropies¹. In fact the multitude and richness of vacua and of bound states in string theory turn out to be fundamentally related, and exploring this connection is a central theme of Denef's current research.

Selected Publications:

1. F. Denef and G.W. Moore, "Split states, entropy enigmas, holes and halos," arXiv:hep-th/0702146.
2. F. Denef and M.R. Douglas, "Computational complexity of the landscape," Annals Phys. 322: 1096 (2007) [arXiv:hep-th/0602072].
3. F. Denef, M.R. Douglas and B. Florea, "Building a better racetrack," JHEP 0406: 034 (2004) [arXiv:hep-th/0404257].
4. F. Denef and M.R. Douglas, "Distributions of flux vacua," JHEP 0405: 072 (2004) [arXiv:hep-th/0404116].
5. F. Denef, "Quantum quivers and Hall/hole halos," JHEP 0210: 023 (2002) [arXiv:hep-th/0206072].
6. F. Denef, "Supergravity flows and D-brane stability," JHEP 0008: 050 (2000) [arXiv:hep-th/0005049].