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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/T031026/1
Title: Workshop "Twistor Theory and Beyond", 29 June - 1 July 2020, Cambridge
Principal Investigator: Monteiro, Dr R
Other Investigators:
Adamo, Dr T Dunajski, Professor M
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Physics
Organisation: Queen Mary University of London
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 25 February 2021 Ends: 24 December 2021 Value (£): 5,323
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Mathematical Physics
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
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Summary on Grant Application Form
Twistor theory was born out of Sir Roger Penrose's intuition that space-time is not the fundamental arena of physics. Instead, the fundamental arena is twistor space, and the space-time formulation of physics is emergent. The mathematical structure of twistor space, where light-rays rather than space-time points take the leading role, provides an ideal home for some of the most fundamental theories of physics, such as general relativity and gauge theory. The original idea was that important problems in theoretical physics, especially the problem of quantum gravity, would be clarified by a formulation of the laws of physics in twistor space.

As with many great ideas, twistor theory developed in a variety of directions in mathematics and physics, which were not anticipated by its original developers. On the mathematical side, its powerful methods have been applied to differential and integral geometry, to the analysis of differential equations and to representation theory. On the physics side, its application to general relativity and quantum field theory has been given a renewed impetus with the notion of string theories living in twistor space, as well as with the recent realisation that twistor variables simplify the description of certain experiments in particle scattering.

This vast range of applications provides a perfect ground for interdisciplinary collaboration among diverse research communities.
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