Superconformal Hassaan Profile picture
Ph.D. student at @ualbany NY | Theoretical Physics | QFT | String Theory and CFT | Educator
Jun 9 65 tweets 15 min read
This is a post to describe how we construct the standard model lagrangian and generate the masses for gauge bosons and fermions. I will assume basic familiarity with QFT, lagrangians, gauge transformations, and gauge groups (like U(1), and SU(2)).
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#physics #scicomm Image Recall that the mass term of a scalar field φ is simply proportional to φ2. Vector fields have similar mass terms. For fermions, the mass term is written in terms of their left handed part and right handed part. All of these forms are given in the picture below.
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#physics Image
Jun 5 23 tweets 6 min read
In this post, we will go through the reasoning that gives us the Schwarzchild solution of Einstein field equations. Prerequisites for this post include familiarity with Einstein field equations.
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#physics #scicomm Image We start with the Einstein field equation (EFE) and convert it to a form that is used to solve this equation. This form is called the trace reversed form and to derive it, we contract EFE with the metric tensor.
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#physics #scicomm Image
Jun 3 32 tweets 7 min read
In this small thread, I will show why the first few possible corrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action are the way they are. Basic familiarity with General Relativity is assumed. 🧵
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#physics #scicomm Image I will use the natural units (units used in high-energy physics) in this article. In these units, the unit of length is the inverse of the unit of energy (i.e. [Length]=[Energy]^(-1)).
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#physics #scicomm Image
Apr 19 69 tweets 9 min read
This is a long thread for a chapter-by-chapter review and a reading guide for volume 1 of Polchinski’s book on string theory. Familiarity with the basics of QFT and GR is required (you will need these pre-requisites to read the book anyway)
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#physics #scicomm Image A guide to this review

This is a review and a reading guide for Polchinski’s first volume. Polchinski’s two volumes on string theory are still considered to be the best and most comprehensive resources to learn string theory.
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#physics #scicomm
Dec 12, 2023 29 tweets 8 min read
This post summarizes the reasoning that goes into deriving Einstein’s field equation. There is more than one way to derive this field equation but I will focus on the most conventional path to derive it. 1/28
#Physics #scicomm Image For this post, a basic understanding of tensor analysis and special relativity is assumed to understand this post. 2/28
#Physics #scicomm Image
Dec 11, 2023 29 tweets 7 min read
This is a post about the generalization of the concept of global symmetries. This area has been a very active area of research for the last 8 years or so. 1/28
#Physics #scicomm #research Image A basic understanding of global symmetries unitary operators (acting on quantum states and operators) and local operators is required to read this post. This topic may look esoteric but it has applications in well-known theories of physics, including the standard model. 2/28 Image
Jun 13, 2023 41 tweets 7 min read
This is a brief post about nongeometric backgrounds in string theory. We will define these terms precisely in the following but naively, these can be thought of as "spaces" on which a string moves that don't have a "geometric" interpretation. 1/n
#Physics #scicomm Image A basic understanding of field theory is required. I'll try to make it as accessible as I can (without distorting the results).
In QFT, the word "background" usually means a set of fields that are present in the theory but whose dynamics aren't part of the theory. 2/n
Jan 19, 2023 13 tweets 5 min read
Let's do a small thread on D-Branes and their charges. Before starting, let's review some familiar concepts so that it is easy to understand what follows. 1/13
#Physics #SciComm #Dbrane #strings #research In electrodynamics (using Newtonian space and time) the magnetic field is represented by a vector potential A. In order to describe the electric field, we need another scalar quantity called the scalar potential. 2/13