Centre for Fundamental Physics | People | Prof Bill Spence |

Leadership Team
Academics

Prof Bill Spence

Professor of Theoretical Physics

School of Physical and Chemical Sciences
Queen Mary University of London

w.j.spence@qmul.ac.uk

www.qmul.ac.uk/spcs/staff/academics/profiles/wjspence.html

Centre for Fundamental Physics

Research
Publications
Grants

Research

Interests

My research interests are in string theory and its applications in physics and mathematics. Particular past areas of interest have been the geometry of branes in M theory, topological field theories, and manifolds of exceptional holonomy. More recently I have worked on applications related to twistor theory, on celestial amplitudes and on new results involving the double copy.

Publications

Publications of specific relevance to the Centre for Fundamental Physics

2024

Self-dual fields on self-dual backgrounds and the double copy
Brown GR, Gowdy J and Spence B
Physical Review D, American Physical Society (Aps) vol. 109 (2)

DOI 10.1103/physrevd.109.026009

QMRO

15-01-2024

2023

Celestial twistor amplitudes
Brown GR, Gowdy J and Spence B
Physical Review D, American Physical Society (Aps) vol. 108 (6)

DOI 10.1103/physrevd.108.066009

QMRO

14-09-2023

2021

Celestial superamplitudes
Brandhuber A, Brown GR, Gowdy J, Spence B and Travaglini G
Physical Review D vol. 104 (4)

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevD.104.045016

QMRO

31-08-2021

2020

Everything Is Now, Revolutionary Ideas from String Theory
Spence B

DOI 10.1201/9781003044031

27-10-2020

Weyl doubling
Spence W, Berman D and Alawadhi R
The Journal of High Energy Physics, Springer Verlag (Germany) vol. 127

DOI 10.1007/JHEP09(2020)127

QMRO

21-09-2020

S-duality and the double copy
Alawadhi R, Berman DS, Spence B and Veiga DP
The Journal of High Energy Physics, Springer Verlag (Germany) vol. 2020 (3)

DOI 10.1007/JHEP03(2020)059

QMRO

11-03-2020

2016

The connected prescription for form factors in twistor space
Brandhuber A, Hughes E, Panerai R, Spence B and Travaglini G
Journal of High Energy Physics vol. 2016 (11)

DOI 10.1007/JHEP11(2016)143

QMRO

23-11-2016

One-loop soft theorems via dual superconformal symmetry
Brandhuber A, Hughes E, Spence B and Travaglini G
Journal of High Energy Physics vol. 2016 (3)

DOI 10.1007/JHEP03(2016)084

QMRO

14-03-2016

2014

On super form factors of half-BPS operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills
Penante B, Spence B, Travaglini G and Wen C
Journal of High Energy Physics (4)

DOI 10.1007/JHEP04(2014)083

QMRO

11-04-2014

2011

Form factors in N=4 super Yang-Mills and periodic Wilson loops
Brandhuber A, Spence B, Travaglini G and Yang G
J High Energy Phys vol. 2011 (1)

DOI 10.1007/JHEP01(2011)134

01-01-2011

Tree-level formalism
Brandhuber A, Spence B and Travaglini G
Journal of Physics a-Mathematical and Theoretical vol. 44 (45)

DOI 10.1088/1751-8113/44/45/454002

01-01-2011

2010

A note on dual MHV diagrams in N=4 SYM
Brandhuber A, Spence B, Travaglini G and Yang G
J High Energy Phys (12)

DOI 10.1007/JHEP12(2010)087

01-12-2010

A surprise in the amplitude/Wilson loop duality
Brandhuber A, Heslop P, Katsaroumpas P, Nguyen D, Spence B, Spradlin M and Travaglini G
J High Energy Phys (7)

DOI 10.1007/JHEP07(2010)080

QMRO

01-07-2010

2009

One-loop N=8 supergravity coefficients from N=4 super Yang-Mills
Katsaroumpas P, Spence B and Travaglini G
J High Energy Phys (8)

DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2009/08/096

QMRO

01-08-2009

Two-loop polygon Wilson loops in N=4 SYM
Anastasiou C, Brandhuber A, Heslop P, Khoze VV, Spence B and Travaglini G
J High Energy Phys (5)

DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2009/05/115

01-05-2009

Four-point amplitudes in N=8 supergravity and Wilson loops
Brandhuber A, Heslop P, Nasti A, Spence B and Travaglini G
Nucl Phys B vol. 807 (1-2), 290-314.

DOI 10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2008.09.010

21-01-2009

2007

One-loop MHV rules and pure yang-mills
Brandhuber A, Spence B, Travaglini G and Zoubos K
J High Energy Phys (7)

DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2007/07/002

01-07-2007

Twistor inspired methods in gauge theory and gravity
Brandhuber A, Spence B and Travaglini G
Contemp Phys vol. 48 (3), 131-142.

DOI 10.1080/00107510701546947

01-05-2007

Recursion relations for one-loop gravity amplitudes
Brandhuber A, McNamara S, Spence B and Travaglini G
J High Energy Phys (3)

DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2007/03/029

01-03-2007

Amplitudes in pure Yang-Mills and MHV diagrams
Brandhuber A, Spence B and Travaglini G
J High Energy Phys (2)

DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2007/02/088

01-02-2007

2006

Finite N effects on the collapse of fuzzy spheres
McNamara S, Papageorgakis C, Ramgoolam S and Spence WJ
J High Energy Phys (5)

DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2006/05/060

QMRO

01-05-2006

From trees to loops and back
Brandhuber A, Spence B and Travaglini G
J High Energy Phys (1)

DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2006/01/142

01-01-2006

2005

Loop amplitudes in pure Yang-Mills from generalised unitarity
Brandhuber A, McNamara S, Spence B and Travaglini G
J High Energy Phys (10)

DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2005/10/011

01-10-2005

A recursion relation for gravity amplitudes
Bedford J, Brandhuber A, Spence B and Travaglini G
Nucl Phys B vol. 721, 98-110.

DOI 10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2005.05.016

15-08-2005

Non-supersymmetric loop amplitudes and MHV vertices
Bedford J, Brandhuber A, Spence B and Travaglini G
Nucl Phys B vol. 712 (1-2), 59-85.

DOI 10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2005.01.032

18-04-2005

One-loop gauge theory amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills from MHV vertices
Brandhuber A, Spence B and Travaglini G
Nucl Phys B vol. 706 (1-2), 150-180.

DOI 10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2004.11.023

31-01-2005

A twistor approach to one-loop amplitudes in N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory
Bedford J, Brandhuber A, Spence B and Travaglini G
Nucl Phys B vol. 706 (1-2), 100-126.

DOI 10.1016/j.nuclphys.2004.11.031

31-01-2005

One-loop gauge theory amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills from MHV vertices
Spence WJ, TRAVAGLINI G and Brandhuber A
Nuc. Phys. B vol. 706

DOI 10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2004.11.023

01-01-2005

A recursion relation for gravity amplitudes
Spence WJ, TRAVAGLINI G, Brandhuber A and Bedford J
Nuclear Physics B vol. B721, 98-110.

DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2007/03/029

01-01-2005

Non-supersymmetric loop amplitudes and MHV vertices
Spence WJ, TRAVAGLINI G, Brandhuber A and Bedford J
Nuc. Phys. B vol. B712
01-01-2005

A Twistor Approach to One-Loop Amplitudes in N=1 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory
Spence WJ, BRANDHUBER A, Travaglini G and Bedford J
Nuclear Physics vol. B706

DOI 10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2004.11.031

01-01-2005

2004

Resolving brane collapse with 1/N corrections in non-Abelian DBI
Ramgoolam S, Spence B and Thomas S
Nucl Phys B vol. 703 (1-2), 236-276.

DOI 10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2004.10.012

QMRO

20-12-2004

2003

Four-dimensional topological Einstein-Maxwell gravity
de Medeiros P and Spence B
Classical Quant Grav vol. 20 (11), 2075-2086.

DOI 10.1088/0264-9381/20/11/309

07-06-2003

2002

Conformal topological Yang-Mills theory and de Sitter holography
de Medeiros P, Hull C, Spence B and Figueroa-O'Farrill J
J High Energy Phys (8)

DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2002/08/055

01-08-2002

2001

Fallback options
SOLOVIEV O, Spence W and Russakovskii A
VIII International Conference: Forecasting Financial Markets, London 30 May to 01 June, 2001.
30-05-2001

1991

Gauge symmetries for (p, q) supersymmetric sigma models
Hull CM, Papadopoulos G and Spence B
Nuclear Physics B, Elsevier vol. 363 (2-3), 593-621.

DOI 10.1016/0550-3213(91)80035-k

01-10-1991

COUPLING THE WESS-ZUMINO-WITTEN MODEL TO YANG-MILLS FIELDS
HULL CM and SPENCE B
Modern Physics Letters A, World Scientific Publishing vol. 6 (11), 969-976.

DOI 10.1142/s0217732391001019

10-04-1991

The geometry of the gauged sigma-model with wess-zumino term
Hull CM and Spence B
Nuclear Physics B, Elsevier vol. 353 (2), 379-426.

DOI 10.1016/0550-3213(91)90342-u

01-04-1991

The geometry of quantum gauge theories: A superspace formulation of BRST symmetry
Hull CM, Spence B and Vázquez-Bello JL
Nuclear Physics B, Elsevier vol. 348 (1), 108-124.

DOI 10.1016/0550-3213(91)90224-l

01-01-1991

1990

The (2, 0) supersymmetric Wess-Zumino-Witten model
Hull CM and Spence B
Nuclear Physics B, Elsevier vol. 345 (2-3), 493-508.

DOI 10.1016/0550-3213(90)90398-w

01-12-1990

N = 2 current algebra and coset models
Hull CM and Spence B
Physics Letters B, Elsevier vol. 241 (3), 357-364.

DOI 10.1016/0370-2693(90)91656-v

01-05-1990

1989

The gauged nonlinear sigma model with Wess-Zumino term
Hull CM and Spence B
Physics Letters B, Elsevier vol. 232 (2), 204-210.

DOI 10.1016/0370-2693(89)91688-2

01-11-1989

1987

Consistency and component-field structure of gauge-invariant free open superstrings
Spence B and Thomas S
Nuclear Physics B, Elsevier vol. 286, 409-428.

DOI 10.1016/0550-3213(87)90448-2

01-01-1987

Grants

Grants of specific relevance to the Centre for Fundamental Physics

Amplitudes, Strings and Duality (CG 2022)
Andreas Brandhuber, David Berman, Matthew Buican, Rodolfo Russo, David Vegh, Sanjaye Ramgoolam, Gabriele Travaglini, Christopher White, Bill Spence, Congkao Wen, Constantinos Papageorgakis, Ricardo Monteiro and Malcolm Perry
£1,477,966 Science & Technology Research Council (STFC)
01-10-2023 - 30-09-2026

Amplitudes, Strings and Duality
Andreas Brandhuber, Bill Spence, Rodolfo Russo, Sanjaye Ramgoolam, Matthew Buican, Michael Green, Steven Thomas, Steven Thomas, Gabriele Travaglini, Congkao Wen, Constantinos Papageorgakis, David Berman, Christopher White, David Vegh, Ricardo Monteiro and Malcolm Perry
£890,210 Science & Technology Research Council (STFC)
01-10-2020 - 31-03-2024

Facility for Materials Engineering
Michael Reece and Bill Spence
£313,840 EPSRC Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
01-04-2015 - 31-03-2020