[FPSPACE] String Theory euphoria

[Jens Kieffer-Olsen]

 Although cosmology and physics may seem somewhat off-topic
 to fpspace, I gather that the below article is of interest
 to more subscribers than just myself. 

 
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/07/06/physical.reality.string.theory.d
emonstrated

 An extract:

 Leiden theoretical physicists have now for the first time used
 string theory to describe a physical phenomenon. Their discovery
 has been reported in Science Express. 'This is superb. I have
 never experienced such euphoria.' Jan Zaanen makes no attempt to
 hide his enthusiasm. Together with Mihailo Cubrovic and Koenraad
 Schalm, he has successfully managed to shed light on a previously
 unexplained natural phenomeon using the mathematics of string
 theory. 
 ...

 Because of Zaanen's interest in string theory, he and string
 theoreticist Koenraad Schalm soon became acquainted after Schalm's
 arrival in Leiden. Zaanen had an unsolved problem and Schalm was
 an expert in the field of string theory. Their common interest
 brought them together, and they decided to work jointly on the
 research. They used the aspect of string theory known as AdS/CFT
 correspondence. This allows situations in a large relativistic
 world to be translated into a description at minuscule quantum
 physics level. This correspondence bridges the gap between these
 two different worlds. By applying the correspondence to the
 situation where a black hole vibrates when an electron falls into
 it, they arrived at the description of electrons that move in and
 out of a quantum-critical state. 

 After days and nights of hard grind, it was a puzzle that fitted.
 'We hadn't expected it to work so well,' says a delighted Zaanen.
 'The maths was a perfect fit; it was superb. When we saw the
 calculations, at first we could hardly believe it, but it was
 right.' 

--
Jens Kieffer-Olsen
Slagelse, Denmark