805 Heller
612-624-6418
amnounou@umn.edu

The core of my research interests comprises the exploration of the relation between mathematics and physics, on the one hand, along with the relation between theories of physics and the physical world, on the other. Through the use of the highly geometrical quantum field theories as case studies, the aim of my research is to help clarify the role that mathematical structures play in scientific endeavor and to shed light on their ontological status. Indeed, as quantum field theories developed in the second half of the 20th century, it became clear that although certain of their mathematical structures do not correspond directly to physical, measurable entities, yet they are indispensable in scientific explanations and predictions; hence there is a call for them to be comprehended in ways other than realistic ones.

Selected Publications

“On the Notion of Symmetry and the Role of Its Structures in Quantum Field Theories”, forthcoming, Deucalion, supplement issue on contemporary philosophy of physics, (2005).

Book review of Sunny Auyang’s How Is Quantum Field Theory Possible?, forthcoming, Nefsis, issue 14, (2004).

“A Fourth Way to the Aharonov-Bohm Effect”, in New Reflections on Symmetries, K. Brading, E. Kastellani, editors, Cambridge University Press (2003).