Michael Atiyah and Physics: the Later Years

TL;DR

This paper reviews Michael Atiyah's recent contributions to fundamental physics, highlighting how his later work influenced the field and contrasting it with the impact of his earlier mathematical research.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of Atiyah's late-career physics research and its significance in the context of his overall scientific legacy.

Findings

Atiyah's later work advanced understanding in fundamental physics.

His mathematical insights had an inadvertent impact on physics.

The paper contrasts his deliberate physics research with early mathematical influence.

Abstract

I review aspects of Michael Atiyah's research in fundamental theoretical physics during the last ten years of his life, and contrast his deliberate interest in physics during this period with the inadvertent impact on physics of his early mathematical work.