August 18, 2020

Second NSF research grant awarded to Dr. Anber

Anber received a three-year, $135,000 National Science Foundation grant for his proposed project, “RUI: Higher-form ‘t Hooft Anomalies, Information Theory, and Continuity in Gauge Theories.”

Assistant Professor of Physics Dr. Mohamed Anber received a three-year, $135,000 National Science Foundation grant for his proposed project, “RUI: Higher-form ‘t Hooft Anomalies, Information Theory, and Continuity in Gauge Theories.” This competitive grant was awarded through the NSF’s Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) and Elementary Particle Physics Theory programs. The RUI program supports the integration of transformative research with undergraduate education. The Elementary Particle Physics program “encompasses different theoretical tools for understanding the interaction of elementary particles at different energy scales”, including Quantum Field Theory and Lattice Field Theory.

Dr. Anber’s work explores a broad range of topics, including quantum field theory, gravity, and cosmology. This NSF-funded research will advance knowledge about the higher-form ‘t Hooft anomalies and entanglement entropy, which are recent developments in classifying the phases of matter beyond the Landau symmetry-breaking theory. The specific goals of this project are to develop novel techniques that will shed light on these developments, as well as the linkages between them, and involve at least four Lewis & Clark undergraduate students in meaningful research. Engaging in projects based on Monte Carlo simulations and numerical solutions of partial differential equations will prepare these students for careers in theoretical research and other STEM fields. In addition, this research will have a curricular impact on students who take the statistical mechanics course; Dr. Anber and his undergraduate research assistants plan to develop a Jupyter Notebook that will enable course participants to simulate various statistical mechanical systems. This new, innovative component will enhance students’ learning of advanced concepts in statistical mechanics.

August 2020