Instructor Insights

Instructor Insights pages are part of the OCW Educator initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of OCW for educators.

Course Overview

This page focuses on the course 8.821 String Theory and Holographic Duality as it was taught by Professor Hong Liu in Fall 2014.

During the last fifteen years, string theory has revealed a surprising and deep connection between gravity and many-body physics under the name of holographic duality. The duality brings together many previously seemingly unconnected subjects including quantum gravity/black holes, QCD at extreme conditions, exotic condensed matter systems, and quantum information in an extremely elegant yet still mysterious manner. It also opens up new powerful approaches for studying these subjects from completely different perspectives. This course brings students to the forefront of this exciting field.

Course Outcomes

Course Goals for Students

  • Understand that holographic duality is a rapidly developing field
  • Gain an introduction to holography and general aspects of duality
  • Learn about holographic renormalization group flows
  • Gain insight into many-body systems
  • Learn what questions in the area of quantum gravity are still outstanding
  • Apply understanding of holographic duality in problem solving

Possibilities for Further Study/Careers

This course prepares students to complete doctoral thesis research.

Curriculum Information

Prerequisites

Requirements Satisfied

8.821 String Theory and Holographic Duality can be applied toward a doctoral degree in Physics.

Offered

On a variable schedule

 

Instructor Insights

I found it very rewarding to introduce students to holographic duality because it’s a field that is still rapidly developing.

—Hong Liu

Below, Professor Hong Liu describes various aspects of how he taught 8.821 String Theory and Holographic Duality in Fall 2014.

I found it very rewarding to introduce students to holographic duality because it’s a field that is still rapidly developing. It was exciting to bring students to the forefront of this active research arena. I think students found it to be an enriching experience, as well.

One challenge I faced in teaching the course was organizing the materials in an effective way. I addressed this challenge by identifying the most essential concepts and techniques students would need to know in order to being doing research in this area and organized the course around those topics.

 

Course Team Roles

Main Instructor

  • Planned and delivered lectures
  • Responded to student questions during lectures

Teaching Assistant

  • Provided solutions to and graded students’ problem sets

The Classroom

  • Four rows of narrow grey tables with wooden chairs. Blackboards at the back and side of the room

    Room 1 of 1

    Lecture

    Lectures were held in a classroom with a seating capacity of 40 and moveable furniture.

 

Assessment

The students' grades were based on the following activities:

The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by Problem Sets. 75% Problem Sets
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by the Final Project. 25% Final Project
 

Instructor Insights on Assessment

I do not give exams in 8.821 String Theory and Holographic Duality. Rather, I strongly encourage students to ask questions during our class sessions and these questions help me gauge how well they understand the material.

Student Information

24 students took this class in Fall 2014

Breakdown by Year

80% Graduate Students, 20% Seniors

Breakdown by Major

Mostly Physics

Typical Student Background

Typically, students have taken classes in Quantum Field Theories and General Relativity. Many tend to be theoretically-minded.

 

How Student Time Was Spent

During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:

Lecture

3 hours per week

Met 2 times per week for 1.5 hours per session; 27 sessions total.

 

Out of Class

9 hours per week

Out of class, students completed problems sets and worked on their final projects.

 

Semester Breakdown

WEEK M T W Th F
1 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
2 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
3 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
4 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled Assignment Due. No session scheduled.
5 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
6 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled Assignment Due. No session scheduled.
7 No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
8 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled Assignment Due. No session scheduled.
9 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
10 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
11 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Assignment Due.
12 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
13 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
14 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Assignment Due.
15 Lecture Scheduled No session scheduled. Lecture Scheduled Student Presentations No classes throughout MIT.
16 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
Displays the color and pattern used on the preceding table to indicate dates when classes are not held at MIT. No classes throughout MIT
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when lecture sessions are held. Lecture session
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when students presentations are held. Student Presentations
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when no class session is scheduled. No class session scheduled
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate dates when assignments are due. Assignment due date