Dr T Daniel Brennan PhD

• Postdoctoral Researcher – University of California San Diego, USA 2022-2025
• Mafalda and Reinhard Oehme Postdoctoral Research Fellowship – University of Chicago, USA 2019-2022
• PhD in Theoretical Physics, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, USA 2019
• BS in Physics, University of Maryland 2014
• BS in Mathematics, University of Maryland 2014

Dr Brennan joined the University of Birmingham in 2025 and is a mathematical physicist in the Geometry and Mathematical Physics group. He obtained his PhD from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in 2019 under the direction of Gregory Moore, focusing on the study of supersymmetric gauge theories in 4d. He went on to hold postdoctoral positions at the University of Chicago and the University of California in San Diego.

His main areas of research are under the general umbrella of applying techniques from mathematical physics to the study of quantum field theory (QFT). This includes supersymmetry, generalized symmetry, string theory, and topological quantum field theory (TQFT).

Research Themes

• Generalized Symmetry
• Supersymmetry
• Topological Quantum Field Theory
• Monopoles and Vortices
• Gauge Theory
• String Theory

Research Overview

Gauge theories are the class of quantum field theories (QFTs) that describe most of the fundamental forces of nature. Despite being one of the most precisely tested theories in science (electro-weak interaction), there is much we do not understand about gauge theories. The fundamental reason is that there are important non-perturbative effects such as instanton and monopole contributions which become important in strongly interacting gauge theories (such as quantum chromodynamics). The problem of understanding these non-perturbative effects in gauge theory is emblematic of the general problem of trying to understand strongly interacting quantum field theories where the standard techniques based on perturbation theory fail. The arena of gauge theories in QFT provides an excellent theoretical laboratory for which we can approach the larger problem of understanding non-perturbative effects in strongly interacting QFTs.

 

Professor Brennan’s research specializes in understanding these non-perturbative effects by applying techniques from mathematical physics such as semiclassical analysis of solitons, supersymmetry, string theory, and generalized symmetry.