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Shape of Inner Space: String Theory and the Geometry of the Universe's Hidden Di |  |
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Shape of Inner Space: String Theory and the Geometry of the Universe's Hidden Di | |
What if you were told that we actually live in a 10-dimensional universe—but that only 4 are accessible to our everyday senses? How do we account for the other 6 dimensions? What do they look like, where are they hiding, and what, if anything at all, do they do? According to theorists the missing six are curled up into bizarre structures known as Calabi-Yau manifolds. Shing-Tung Yau, the man who proved that these manifolds exist argues that not only is geometry fundamental to string theory, it is also fundamental to the nature of our Universe.
For more than twenty years, Shing-Tung Yau has played a pivotal role in the geometrical development of string theory. His influence spans across the field and his insights have profoundly affected the subject. And all this after he won the Fields Medal for his research in pure mathematics (research that has turned out to have
crucial implications for physics as well). Yau’s decades-long journey through geometry is a fascinating one and is a story that I feel will have wide appeal to the science-reading public.”—Brian Greene, Professor of Physics and Mathematics, Columbia University
AUTHORS' STATEMENT by SHING-TUNG YAU and STEVE NADIS
There is a certain irony running through this book that one of the smallest things you can possibly imagine--six-dimensional geometric spaces that may be more than a trillion times smaller than an electron--could, nevertheless, be one of the defining features of our universe, exerting a profound influence that extends to every single point in the cosmos. This book is, in many ways, the story of those spaces, which physicists have dubbed "Calabi-Yau manifolds." It tells how one of us, Yau, managed to prove the existence, mathematically, of those spaces, despite the fact that he had originally set out to prove that such spaces could not possibly exist. It then goes on to explain how this mathematical proof, which had initially been ignored by physicists (partly because it was steeped in difficult, nonlinear arguments), nevertheless made its way into the center of string theory, which now stands as the leading theory of the universe and our best hope yet of unifying all the particles and forces observed--and yet to be observed--in nature.
BLURBS
Brian Greene, Professor of Mathematics & Physics, Columbia University; author of The Fabric of the Cosmos and The Elegant Universe
“The Shape of Inner Space provides a vibrant tour through the strange and wondrous possibility that the three spatial dimensions we see may not be the only ones that exist. Told by one of the masters of the subject, the book gives an in-depth account of one of the most exciting and controversial developments in modern theoretical physics.”
Joe Polchinski, Professor of Physics, University of California - Santa Barbara; author of String Theory, Vols. 1 & 2
“Einstein’s vision of physical laws emerging from the shape of space has been expanded by the higher dimensions of string theory. This vision has transformed not only modern physics, but also modern mathematics. Shing-Tung Yau has been at the center of these developments. In this ambitious book, written with experienced science writer Steve Nadis, Yau tells of his own mathematical experiences, and of the parallel efforts in string theory and in mathematics to understand the nature of space.”
Simon Donaldson, Royal Society Research Professor in Pure Mathematics and President of the Institute for Mathematical Science, ImperialCollegeLondon
“The Shape of Inner Space has a distinctive style: in part autobiography, in part an account of developments in geometric analysis and string theory over the past 40 years, and comments on future directions. It gives a unique insight into the thoughts of one of the most important and influential mathematicians of our times.”
Edward Witten, Professor, Institute for Advanced Study
“Shing-Tung Yau and Steve Nadis take the reader on a fascinating tour of many contemporary topics in geometry and physics. Readers will find many challenging ideas to explore in this book, and even specialists will enjoy Yau’s reminiscences about his education and work.”
Steven Strogatz, New York Times Opinionator contributor and professor of mathematics, Cornell University
“A fascinating first-hand account of how the math underlying string theory was discovered. Fields medalist Yau and ace science writer Nadis have teamed up to show the rest of us the deep geometry that just might lie at the heart of the universe. It’ll twist you into knots of pleasure!”
John Coates, Sadleirian Professor of Pure Mathematics, University of Cambridge
"This extraordinary book by Shing-Tung Yau and Steve Nadis gives the layman a remarkable glimpse into the mysterious inner world of one of the most beautiful and important parts of mathematics."
Andrew Strominger, Professor of Physics, Harvard University
“This book tells an inspiring story about how progress in science is made by breaking traditional boundaries in disciplines. It's really the only book of its kind—and, of course, written by someone who not only witnessed but also inspired and produced many of the major developments in this field over an exhilarating period of four decades.”
David Gross, Frederick W. Gluck Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of California – Santa Barbara; Nobel Prize-winning physicist
“The Shape of Inner Space takes one on a marvelous journey that explores many beautiful areas of modern geometry and physics, and the people behind recent discoveries. It is a journey that I highly recommend to the intellectually curious.”
Michael D. Smith, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, John H. Finley, Jr. Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
“Though this wonderful new book helped me to better understand the discoveries underpinning string theory, what I enjoyed most was what it reveals about the beauty of mathematical inquiry. This book shares a very human process of thought, discussion, and wonder that is enormously appealing, in addition to being quite obviously fertile ground for discovery. Words from Yau’s poem from the front pages—‘Inexhaustible, lovely in every detail’—provide an apt description of the book itself. Well done!”
Nature Physics
“An engaging exposition of elegant relations between geometry, topology, fields and strings, the book is also part memoir and part speculation about connections to physics…. Written with an easygoing sense of humour, and conscious of the distance between its subject and the daily concerns of the ‘average citizen’, the book in the end offers cautious optimism about the future of this ambitious programme of theoretical research. Altogether, Yau and Nadis’s effort covers some central developments in mathematical physics, and is well worth perusal by widely interested scientists as well as lay readers.”
REVIEWS
Publishers Weekly
“With the help of Astronomy magazine contributing editor Nadis, Yau relates the saga of [his] groundbreaking work which provided the foundations of string theory. Yau confidently draws readers into a realm of abstract concepts, from multiple dimensions to the exotic spaces called ‘manifolds,’ or Calabi-Yau spaces, whose curvature gives space its shape. From here it’s a hop, skip, and a jump to the geometry of space around the Big Bang, black holes, and the end of the universe.”
New Scientist
“It is a testimony to [Yau’s] careful prose (and no doubt to the skills of co-author Steve Nadis) that this book so compellingly captures the essence of what pushes string theorists forward in the face of formidable obstacles. It gives us a rare glimpse into a world as alien as the moons of Jupiter, and just as fascinating…. Yau and Nadis have produced a strangely mesmerizing account of geometry’s role in the universe.”
Nature
“Physicists investigate one cosmos, but mathematicians can explore all possible worlds. So marvels Fields medalist Shing-Tung Yau…. Relating how he solved a major theoretical problem in string theory in the 1970s, Yau explains how the geometries of the vibrating multidimensional strings that may characterize the Universe have implications across physics.”
Science Books & Films
“Concepts are introduced in a clear way, preceding more detailed discussions. The subjects examined include topology, geometries, general relativity, quantum physics, the standard model of particles, and other topics relevant to the pursuit of the understanding of extra dimensions in our universe. Among the volume’s especially interesting discussions are the possible experimental tests of the theory, the potential semistability of our universe, the five candidate string theories, and black-hole entropy.”
David Eicher, Astronomy.com
“[A] masterwork on its subject…. The book is an entertaining read, written with the absorbing style that characterizes Nadis’ feature stories in Astronomy…. Those interested in cosmology and nature as a whole will be delighted with this new work!”
New York Journal of Books
“The Shape of Inner Space provides the opportunity to look over the shoulder of a giant in mathematics.”
MAA Reviews
“This fascinating book may well have a similar impact to Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time…. I found this introduction to string theory totally absorbing, and well worth re-reading.”
Shing-Tung Yau has been a professor of mathematics at Harvard since 1987 and is the current department Chair.Yau has won many awards over the course of his career, including the Fields Medal, the National Medal of Science, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Veblen Prize, and the California Scientist of the Year. A highly sought-after lecturer, Yau is frequently interviewed for radio, TV, and print media stories.
丘成桐（Shing-Tung Yau), 是当代最具影响力的数学家之一，他以证明“卡拉比猜想”而蜚声国际，是几何分析学科的主要奠基人。丘成桐还是数学界最高荣誉菲尔兹奖得主, 他已经囊括菲尔兹奖、沃尔夫奖、克莱福特奖这三个世界顶级大奖，丘成桐得奖还为沃尔夫奖创造了另一佳话：他是继自己的导师陈省身之后，第二位获得沃尔夫数学奖的华人。
丘成桐, 原籍广东省梅州蕉岭县，汉族客家人。1949年4月4日生于广东汕头，后全家移居香港。早年丧父，家境清贫，母亲克服种种困难供其上学。在香港培正中学就读时勤奋钻研数学，成绩优异。1966年入香港中文大学数学系，1969年提前修完四年课程，为美国伯克利加州大学陈省身教授所器重，破格录取为研究生。在陈省身指导下，1971年获博士学位。61岁的丘成桐现任哈佛大学数学系主任。2009年底，丘成桐应邀担任清华大学数学科学中心主任, 他在两岸三地创建了4个数学中心，他创建数学中心的目的就是为培养中国的一代年轻人，他把它作为自己一生事业的重点。
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