Disappointing Composition Of Top-Cited 2016 Hep Papers

Stephen Hawking celebrated his 75th birthday yesterday, congratulations! Lots of other websites remind yous of the basic facts. He's well-known to the physicists primarily for the Hawking radiations of dark holes in addition to related insights well-nigh dark hole thermodynamics; but also for his in addition to Penrose's singularity theorems in addition to other things. He's also revolutionized the pop physics volume market. As Hawking mentioned, he has sold to a greater extent than books well-nigh physics than Madonna has well-nigh sex.

The experimental counterpart of this disceptation isn't quite true. We convey observed fewer evaporating dark holes than Madonna's sexual practice scenes, however, namely zero.

I constitute it interesting to facial expression at the 2016 information papers on high unloose energy physics that already convey over 100 citations according to INSPIRE, the database of particle physics papers. This particular search finds 126 papers correct now.




The commencement of the listing of the papers looks similar "almost everything would locomote experimental papers". But later on a few dozens, yous must alter your mind. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 bulk of the papers is well-nigh the \(750\GeV\) diphoton excess that was exciting many particle physicists a yr ago. Recall that it was announced inwards Dec 2015 in addition to earlier the to a greater extent than than 4-sigma excess seen both yesteryear CMS in addition to ATLAS was buried yesteryear the novel information published inwards Summer 2016, hundreds of papers – oft interesting papers – were written to offering possible explanations of this possible novel phenomenon.




Many of these papers rightfully cited their counterparts which is why dozens of them convey surpassed the threshold of 100 citations yesteryear now. Needless to say, non it looks rather clear that in that place are no novel uncomplicated particles of volume to a greater extent than or less \(750\GeV\) – to tell the least, no novel particles of this volume are equally easily visible equally nosotros could imagine ane yr ago.

So this tremendous activity was a form of a bet on an trial that couldn't convey been predicted. Those who invested their fourth dimension in addition to unloose energy convey basically lost the bet. The particle isn't there, later on all. But exactly because they lost the bet doesn't hateful that the fourth dimension in addition to unloose energy were completely wasted or that it was torture for the physicists to practise the work.

Instead, the physicists were really excited yesteryear the gamble for a novel uncovering in addition to when a physicist (or individual else) is excited, the locomote is much easier. And fifty-fifty though the particle isn't there, the papers convey clearly articulated in addition to sharpened the details amongst which diverse theoretically intriguing models could explicate a similar novel upshot if ane turned out to locomote real.

But aside from the papers on the \(750\GeV\) diphoton excess, most of the top-cited papers are experimental, indeed. Something similar five papers inwards the listing are analyses yesteryear the LIGO collaboration of their exciting straight detection of the gravitational waves, peculiarly GW150914, which allowed us to listen the Universe. Many physics pundits convey identified this uncovering equally the most of import evolution inwards physics inwards 2016 in addition to I would belike agree.

Additional top-cited experimental papers include the novel Review of Particle Physics in addition to articles yesteryear the teams at the LHC, Fermi (the \({\rm GeV}\) galactic excess is an intriguing theme of ane of the papers), in addition to the terrestrial searches for nighttime matter, peculiarly LUX in addition to XENON. None of these experimental papers has made a clear experimental uncovering but that's non necessarily the error of the experimenters.

Formal theoretical papers – or, almost equivalently, theoretical papers later on the diphoton models are subtracted – are rare. One successful newspaper is well-nigh tetraquarks in addition to pentaquarks. I regain these QCD outflow states rather messy yet tiresome but they correspond serious plough over messy in addition to tiresome topics.

One newspaper yesteryear Strominger in addition to 2 junior colleagues is well-nigh dS/CFT applied to Vasiliev's higher-spin theory. The holographic model living on the "far future" dS boundary includes anticommuting scalars amongst a symplectic symmetry. I haven't discussed that newspaper but the grade of item they may deduce for this dS holographic duality makes the whole locomote persuasive in addition to intriguing.

most truthful quantum gravity experts regain them flawed, too.

Maldacena, Shenker, in addition to Stanford convey proposed a real interesting general outflow on chaos.

Several top-cited papers inwards the listing are older in addition to exclusively got in that place that they were published inwards newspaper journals inwards 2016. If yous intend that I should convey discussed some newspaper inwards the list, or some newspaper is missing for some undeserved reasons, allow me know.

I regain it unfortunate that for a few years, in that place hasn't been a likewise specific "fad" or concentrated activity inwards formal theoretical particle physics – string theory etc. – that would larn inwards to such lists. Well, exactly to locomote sure, several papers inwards a higher house could locomote viewed equally representatives of the "information inwards quantum gravity" subindustry but I intend that this theme is likewise broad to locomote called a "fad". Apparently, in that place aren't whatever realistic problems that could locomote solved – or looming discoveries that could locomote made – that are eagerly expected yesteryear a pregnant fraction of the world's elite theoretical physicists correct now. So I intend that if in that place are some ingenious undergraduate seniors at a academy anywhere inwards the world, they convey a much harder fourth dimension to plough into stars than inwards other periods of the history of physics.

This negative province of affairs may locomote partly due to historical coincidences, partly due to the decreased funding of the theorists inwards recent years, in addition to partly due to the hostility towards theoretical physics that became rather widespread inwards the same years. I intend that it's obvious yesteryear at in ane trial that the jihadists who convey fought against string theory in addition to supersymmetry, amidst related telephone commutation disciplines, convey fought against theoretical physics equally a whole – only because in that place aren't whatever enterprise yet exciting ideas inwards the champaign that would locomote quite independent of string theory – in addition to I intend that they convey harmed the field, indeed – well, at to the lowest degree sufficiently for them to deserve a severe punishment.