These laws should encompass the smallest building blocks of matter and their interactions including gravity. Theorists are now trying to find the underlying explanation for this model and there is growing evidence that a theory that unifies all the basic interactions actually exists. A theory of this kind would then also be able to describe the origin of the universe and its early development. The groups at Chalmers have a long record of important contributions to this field, most notably in areas including string theory, supergravity and Kaluza-Klein theory.
Recent developments rest firmly on new and advanced mathematics and mathematical physics.
Certain mathematical issues in string theory have required a huge collaborative effort between theoretical physicists and mathematicians. This interaction is likely to be even more pronounced in the future. Unified theories for all fundamental interactions, especially superstring theory and the underlying supergravity theory, as well as extended solitary solutions to these theories, so-called branes. Fields, strings and branes in higher dimensions and their compactifications. Quantum field theory, especially supersymmetric gauge theories.