Burt Ovrut

I am a high energy particle physicist with strong interests in cosmology. My early research involved the introduction of supersymmetry and supergravity into particle physics theories. Some of my key contributions were the introduction of Wilson lines in string vacua to break gauge symmetry to the standard model, a five-dimensional superspace called heterotic M-theory that serves as a string vacuum for realistic models of particle physics and the development of algebraic geometric methods necessary for the construction of gauge connections and explicit evaluation of the low energy spectrum. Within this context, I constructed heterotic vacua with exactly the particle spectrum of the minimal supersymmetric standard model with right-handed neutrinos. These theories were applied to cosmology, where a new theory of the early universe– ekpyrotic cosmology –was introduced based on colliding branes. More recently, I have given detailed renormlization group analyses of realistic superstring particle theories, studying phase transitions in the gauge group and explored their low energy predictions for the LHC. Within this context I has also consider aspects of late-time cosmology, including gauge domain walls, dark matter and baryogenesis.

To explore the mathematical foundations of realistic superstring vacua and to further expand research into ekpyrotic cosmology, I created both the Penn Math/Physics Research Group http://www.physics.upenn.edu/mprg  and the internationally funded research program entitled "The Particle Physics and Cosmology of Supersymmetry and String Theory". In addition, I have discussed string theory and cosmology in multiple television presentations, including on the NOVA program entitled "the Elegant Universe".