Symmetry and Gravity: From Einstein to Today with Jake McNamara скачать в хорошем качестве

Symmetry and Gravity: From Einstein to Today with Jake McNamara

Symmetry and Gravity: From Einstein to Today Jake McNamara from the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics Live from the Flug Forum, Aspen Center for Physics in Aspen, CO. Wednesday, February 11, 2026 In 1915, Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of gravity, space, and time with his general theory of relativity. Einstein’s breakthrough was based on a recognition of new, fundamental symmetries of nature, and since then, symmetry has been a guiding principle in our search for a complete quantum mechanical theory of gravity. In the past decade, based on developments in the mathematical field of category theory, we have seen an explosion of more general notions of symmetry in physics than we might have ever imagined. These exciting new notions of symmetry have led to significant research efforts, including the Simons Collaboration on Global Categorical Symmetries and the Swampland Program, dedicated to understanding their implications for gravity and physics in our universe. This talk will tell the story of symmetry in theoretical physics, and its interplay with developments in our understanding of gravity over the years. In this talk, we will explore the power of symmetry as a tool for building physical theories, and how the recent explosion of generalized notions of symmetry has led to concrete, specific predictions about our universe. ABOUT JAKE Jake McNamara is a theoretical physicist who works at the intersection of modern mathematics and quantum gravity. He completed both his undergraduate and graduate studies at Harvard University, working under the supervision of Professor Cumrun Vafa as a graduate student within the broader research community of the Swampland Program. After completing his Ph.D. in 2022, he joined the Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics at Caltech as a Dubridge Fellow for three years. In Fall 2025, he became a Research Assistant Professor at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook University. His recent research has focused on new notions of symmetry and their application to quantum gravity, holography, and string theory.