弦论之争与新物理学范式的变革

The Debate on Strings Theory and the Revolution of New Physics Paradigm

近年来,弦论作为最有希望的统一理论,在理论物理学中占据着主导性的地位,得到霍金等一大批物理学家们的极大推崇。不过到目前为止,弦论并没有得到经验的验证,也没有发展成为完备的形式。对于弦论的争议仍旧处于激烈的辩论之中。值得强调的是,弦论所代表的已经不仅仅是一个理论,而是代表着高能物理学在实验越来越困难的情况下,用高度抽象的数学工具来求解疑难,寻求理论统一的新物理学范式。弦论作为一个理论是可以被证伪的,但是作为一种新的研究范式是不可证伪的。文章将从范式变革的角度,对弦论范式形成的背景和特征进行论述,打破传统的关于弦论科学性的争论,以期对当下物理学研究的现状和趋势有更深入的认识。

In recent years,String theory occupies a dominant position in theoretical physics as the most promising unity theory,and is highly respected by a large number of physicists,such as Hawking.But so far,String theory has not been verified by experience,nor has developed into a complete formation.The debate on the String theory is very intense.It is worth emphasizing that the String theory is not just a theory,but a new physics paradigm with a high degree of abstract mathematical tools to seek a theoretical unity under a more and more difficult circumstance in the high-energy physics experiment.String theory can be falsified as a theory,but not as a new paradigm.This article will discuss the background and characteristics of the paradigm of String theory from the perspective of the history of science,breaking the traditional debate on the scientific nature of the String theory,to have a better understanding of the situation and trend of the current physics.