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| J. M. Maldacena | |
|---|---|
| Name | Juan Martín Maldacena |
| Birth date | 1968 |
| Birth place | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Nationality | Argentine, American |
| Fields | Theoretical physics, String theory, Quantum gravity |
| Alma mater | University of Buenos Aires, Princeton University |
| Doctoral advisor | Curtis Callan |
| Known for | AdS/CFT correspondence |
J. M. Maldacena is an Argentine-American theoretical physicist noted for proposing the AdS/CFT correspondence, a conjecture that links anti-de Sitter space and conformal field theory and has reshaped research in string theory, quantum gravity, and high energy physics. His work has influenced studies at institutions such as Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, and Princeton University, and has earned recognition from organizations including the National Academy of Sciences, the Kavli Foundation, and the Breakthrough Prize. Maldacena's research connects ideas from black hole thermodynamics, quantum field theory, AdS/CFT correspondence, holographic principle, and superstring theory with applications in condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, and mathematical physics.
Maldacena was born in Buenos Aires and attended the Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini before studying physics at the University of Buenos Aires, where he interacted with researchers connected to CENTRO ATOMICO Constituyentes and Argentine branches of international collaborations. He moved to the United States for graduate study at Princeton University, completing a Ph.D. under the supervision of Curtis Callan while engaging with groups at Institute for Advanced Study, California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and visiting scholars from Stanford University and Yale University. His dissertation involved topics related to string theory, black hole entropy, and elements from the Standard Model literature discussed at conferences like the Strings Conference and workshops at CERN.
After his doctorate Maldacena held positions at Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, and later as a professor at Harvard University before returning to the Institute for Advanced Study as a permanent faculty member. He collaborated with researchers from Rutgers University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Cambridge, Oxford University, Columbia University, Tel Aviv University, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, contributing to programs organized by Simons Foundation, National Science Foundation, and the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics. Maldacena has given invited lectures at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, École Normale Supérieure, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, and plenary talks at the International Congress on Mathematical Physics and Strings Conference.
Maldacena's 1997 conjecture proposed a duality between type IIB superstring theory on AdS5 × S5 and N=4 supersymmetric Yang–Mills theory, drawing on earlier ideas from the holographic principle proposed by Gerard 't Hooft and developed by Leonard Susskind. The proposal unified aspects of anti-de Sitter space, conformal field theory, supersymmetry, and D-branes introduced by Joseph Polchinski, relating gravitational dynamics studied by Stephen Hawking and Jacob Bekenstein to quantum field theoretic techniques used by Kenneth Wilson and Alexander Polyakov. Maldacena's formulation catalyzed follow-up work by researchers such as Edward Witten, Gubser, Klebanov and Polyakov, Juan Maldacena (author), Lisa Randall, Nima Arkani-Hamed, and Leonard Susskind and has been tested through calculations involving entanglement entropy inspired by Ryu–Takayanagi proposal and connections to black hole information paradox debates involving Samir Mathur and Ahmed Almheiri.
Beyond the original AdS/CFT conjecture, Maldacena has contributed to the understanding of black hole microstates, entanglement, quantum chaos, and holographic descriptions of condensed matter systems and quark–gluon plasma studied at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and Large Hadron Collider. He explored links between matrix models, Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model, two-dimensional gravity, and chaotic dynamics characterized by the Lyapunov exponent discussed by Jorge Sachdev and Subir Sachdev. His collaborations extended to scientists at Perimeter Institute, Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics, Cambridge University Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht. The conceptual framework influenced mathematical research by Maxim Kontsevich, Edward Frenkel, Pierre Deligne-inspired directions, and contributed to computational techniques used in AdS/CMT and studies by Sachdev, Subir Sachdev, Andrei Starinets, and Sean Hartnoll.
Maldacena has received numerous honors, including the Gribov Medal, the Dirac Medal, the Heineman Prize, the Fundamental Physics Prize (Breakthrough Prize), the Oskar Klein Medal, election to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and prizes awarded by institutions such as Royal Society-affiliated bodies and the European Physical Society. He has been a speaker at the Nobel Symposium, recipient of medals linked to the Institute of Physics, and recognized by prizes associated with the Simons Foundation and Kavli Prize-sponsored events.
Maldacena maintains ties with academic centers in Argentina and the United States, mentors students from Princeton University and Harvard University, and participates in public lectures at venues including Perimeter Institute, Royal Institution, and outreach programs run by Simons Foundation and The World Science Festival. He has contributed to popular science expositions connected with themes found in works by Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking, Sean Carroll, and Carlo Rovelli and supports initiatives linking theoretical physics departments across Latin America and North America.
Category:Theoretical physicists Category:String theorists Category:Argentine scientists Category:Harvard University faculty Category:Institute for Advanced Study faculty