Thumbnail Image
Item

How research programs come apart : The example of supersymmetry and the disunity of physics

Title / Series / Name
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Authors
Gautheron, Lucas
Omodei, Elisa
Editors
Keywords
citation networks
high-energy physics
scientific pluralism
topic models
trading zones
Analysis
Numerical Analysis
Cultural Studies
Library and Information Sciences
Show all metadata
Files
Thumbnail Image
Omodei-Elisa1_2023.pdf
Adobe PDF, 1.34 MB
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/26756
Abstract
According to Peter Galison, the coordination of different “subcultures” within a scientific field happens through local exchanges within “trading zones.” In his view, the workability of such trading zones is not guaranteed, and science is not necessarily driven towards further integration. In this paper, we develop and apply quantitative methods (using semantic, authorship, and citation data from scientific literature), inspired by Galison’s framework, to the case of the disunity of high-energy physics. We give prominence to supersymmetry, a concept that has given rise to several major but distinct research programs in the field, such as the formulation of a consistent theory of quantum gravity or the search for new particles. We show that “theory” and “phenomenology” in high-energy physics should be regarded as distinct theoretical subcultures, between which supersymmetry has helped sustain scientific “trades.” However, as we demonstrate using a topic model, the phenomenological component of supersymmetry research has lost traction and the ability of supersymmetry to tie these subcultures together is now compromised. Our work supports that even fields with an initially strong sentiment of unity may eventually generate diverging research programs and demonstrates the fruitfulness of the notion of trading zones for informing quantitative approaches to scientific pluralism.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2023-12-08
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1162/qss_a_00262
Publisher link
Unit
Collections
Network and Data Science