Guest Editorial: Truth, beauty, and supergravity

Journal Article · 16 October 2017 · American Journal of Physics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1119/1.4994807 · OSTI ID:1597680

Deser, Stanley ^[1]

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1. California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Brandeis Univ., Waltham, MA (United States); Caltech

Here, I use Supergravity as a test case to study the role and uses of elegance/simplicity in formulating and evaluating physical models, whose sole criterion is of course truth: an observationally confirmed description of Nature within a certain range of scales.

• Research Organization: California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP) (SC-25)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0011632
• OSTI ID: 1597680
• Journal Information: American Journal of Physics, Journal Name: American Journal of Physics Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 85; ISSN 0002-9505
• Publisher: American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English