From S-matrix theory to strings: Scattering data and the commitment to non-arbitrariness

IF 1.4 2区 哲学 Q1 HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Pub Date : 2024-03-21 DOI:10.1016/j.shpsa.2023.12.011
Robert van Leeuwen
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Abstract

The early history of string theory is marked by a shift from strong interaction physics to quantum gravity. The first string models and associated theoretical framework were formulated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the context of the S-matrix program for the strong interactions. In the mid-1970s, the models were reinterpreted as a potential theory unifying the four fundamental forces. This paper provides a historical analysis of how string theory was developed out of S-matrix physics, aiming to clarify how modern string theory, as a theory detached from experimental data, grew out of an S-matrix program that was strongly dependent upon observable quantities. Surprisingly, the theoretical practice of physicists already turned away from experiment before string theory was recast as a potential unified quantum gravity theory. With the formulation of dual resonance models (the “hadronic string theory”), physicists were able to determine almost all of the models' parameters on the basis of theoretical reasoning. It was this commitment to “non-arbitrariness”, i.e., a lack of free parameters in the theory, that initially drove string theorists away from experimental input, and not the practical inaccessibility of experimental data in the context of quantum gravity physics. This is an important observation when assessing the role of experimental data in string theory.

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从 S 矩阵理论到弦:散射数据与非任意性承诺
弦理论的早期历史以从强相互作用物理学转向量子引力为标志。20 世纪 60 年代末和 70 年代初,在强相互作用 S 矩阵计划的背景下提出了第一个弦模型和相关理论框架。20 世纪 70 年代中期,这些模型被重新诠释为统一四种基本力的潜在理论。本文对弦理论如何从 S 矩阵物理学中发展出来进行了历史分析,旨在阐明现代弦理论作为一种脱离实验数据的理论,是如何从强烈依赖于可观测量的 S 矩阵计划中发展出来的。令人惊讶的是,在弦理论被重塑为潜在的统一量子引力理论之前,物理学家的理论实践就已经脱离了实验。随着双共振模型("强子弦理论")的提出,物理学家能够根据理论推理确定模型的几乎所有参数。正是这种对 "非任意性 "的承诺,即理论中缺乏自由参数,最初驱使弦理论学家远离实验输入,而不是量子引力物理学中实验数据的实际不可得性。在评估实验数据在弦理论中的作用时,这是一个重要的观察结果。
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来源期刊
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 管理科学-科学史与科学哲学
CiteScore
2.50
自引率
10.00%
发文量
166
审稿时长
6.6 weeks
期刊介绍: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science is devoted to the integrated study of the history, philosophy and sociology of the sciences. The editors encourage contributions both in the long-established areas of the history of the sciences and the philosophy of the sciences and in the topical areas of historiography of the sciences, the sciences in relation to gender, culture and society and the sciences in relation to arts. The Journal is international in scope and content and publishes papers from a wide range of countries and cultural traditions.
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