String (physics)

In physics, a string is a physical phenomenon that appears in string theory and related subjects. Unlike elementary particles, which are zero-dimensional or point-like by definition, strings are one-dimensional extended objects. Theories in which the fundamental objects are strings rather than point particles automatically have many properties that some physicists expect to hold in a fundamental theory of physics. Most notably, a theory of strings that evolve and interact according to the rules of quantum mechanics will automatically describe quantum gravity.

In string theory, the strings may be open (forming a segment with two endpoints) or closed (forming a loop like a circle) and may have other special properties. Prior to 1995, there were five known versions of string theory incorporating the idea of supersymmetry, which differed in the type of strings and in other aspects. Today these different string theories are thought to arise as different limiting cases of a single theory called M-theory.

In theories of particle physics based on string theory, the characteristic length scale of strings is typically on the order of the Planck length, the scale at which the effects of quantum gravity are believed to become significant. On much larger length scales, such as the scales visible in physics laboratories, such objects would be indistinguishable from zero-dimensional point particles, and the vibrational state of the string would determine the type of particle. Strings are also sometimes studied in nuclear physics where they are used to model flux tubes.

As it propagates through spacetime, a string sweeps out a two-dimensional surface called its worldsheet. This is analogous to the one-dimensional worldline traced out by a point particle. The physics of a string is described by means of a two-dimensional conformal field theory associated with the worldsheet. The formalism of two dimensional conformal field theory also has many applications outside of string theory, for example in condensed matter physics and parts of pure mathematics.

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