Event Details

The Physics & Astronomy Department presents a seminar titled "Electric-Magnetic Duality and its Modern Descendants," by Dr. Kevin Setter, Visiting Assistant Professor, Haverford College. 

In the subject of electromagnetism, we learn that space is filled with a set of two arrows, the electric field and the magnetic field, the fluctuations of which are governed by a set of four Maxwell Equations. The form of these equations remains almost the same if one exchanges the electric field everywhere with the magnetic field. This simple observation turns out to lead to far-reaching implications for both modern physics and modern mathematics. In my talk, I will discuss the phenomenon of electric-magnetic duality, its generalization to nonabelian gauge theories, and surprising interconnections between physics and mathematics that have been uncovered in recent years. 

Snacks at 3 PM