Physics professor returns to teaching after a year-long sabbatical studying string theory

After two semesters of sabbatical, a Utah State University physics professor is back to teaching.

Oscar Varela spent the past year intently focused on quantum gravity.

“Gravity is the oldest interaction to be understood at the classical level,” Varela said, “but it remains to be understood quantum mechanically.”

Varela is studying a theory of quantum gravity, or string theory, which treats fundamental objects such as electrons, protons and quarks not as point particles but as vibrating strings.

With his research partners in Europe, he co-authored a paper on the subject in May.

Unconventional perspectives like string theory are important for looking at questions in new ways, Varela said.

“If you want to think about a problem that you don’t know how to solve,” Varela said, “try to find a way around the problem that might look very, very different.”

String theory associates vibrating strings with a hypothetical particle, graviton, which carries gravitational force.

Developing a viable theory explaining quantum gravity is necessary for physicists to understand phenomena where particles are densely packed, such as black holes or even plasma.

“We will need that theory to make new predictions or understand what is going on,” said Maria Rodriguez, another assistant professor at USU and Varela’s colleague.

String theory has become especially popular among theoretical physicists in recent years and is studied worldwide.

“It is the future of what we need to do for advancing the understanding of how to describe things,” Rodriguez said.

Theoretical physics is a more abstract approach than experimental physics for describing natural phenomenon.

“If you look back 100 years ago, Einstein was doing the theory of general relativity, and it didn’t make too much sense at that time,” Rodriguez said, “but nowadays you see all the applications that it has and all the corrections in our practical world.”

Varela’s research is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation to which he will apply for an extension in the fall of 2020.