“We’ve Always Followed Our Faith”

Twins Eric and Hermann Verlind (60 years old) belong to the pinnacle of theoretical physics. Coincidentally, they are both now in Amsterdam at the same time. Their field represents major breakthroughs. “This is still a very exciting time.”

We say “Hi Eric”. It turned out to be Hermann.

A few minutes later, a second blue-beige statue appeared in the central hall of Science Park, the University of Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science. They have the same white paper bread bag on hand, and they both order cappuccino. Then the professors of theoretical physics try to get to the stairs, but the flight of twenty meters is difficult due to the constant interruptions; Many people talk to them.

Hermann Verlind is exceptionally located in the Netherlands. He usually walks around Princeton University in the United States. His brother Eric Verlind has been with the UvA since 2003.

The twins turned 60 this year. They look back and study a picture of themselves from 1988, at age 26, before a doctorate at Utrecht University. They were part of the research group of Gerard ‘t Hooft, the famous theoretical physicist who later won the Nobel Prize. The brothers themselves had already made an international name for themselves, and were about to go out into the world.

Why did you stand out so much in the Netherlands?

“It was a good time for us,” Hermann says. “There was no internet. It took about three months before you really heard what was happening on the other side of the ocean in Holland. This gave us the opportunity to define our own research path for a period of time. It has emerged. New ideas arose, it was clear that Eric had done them ourselves. ”

The brothers were fellow students of Robert Dijgraf, who was now Minister of Education, Culture and Science, and then a scientist as ambitious as them. The three were called the “Three Musketeers” – they were inseparable. Although they worked in the ‘t Hooft group, the Knights greatly preferred to operate independently of any form of authority.

“Gerard Hooft was critical of string theory,” Eric says. “He didn’t really believe in it, and he wasn’t alone. People sometimes wonder if it was wise to work hard on this topic. How long would it last? Who knows, string theory would collapse and be ready in five years. It was considered dangerous.”

“But we felt there was something inside of it. We always felt we ought to follow our faith. And so it became very clear to the outside world that we did it independently of the moderators: our posts contained only our names.”

Were you contradicting?

“Robert called us the rebel club,” Eric says. “The institute in Utrecht has been fairly traditional, but we’re still going in the direction of string theory.”

Hermann: “We basically wanted to forge our own identity. After a few weeks of being advised not to work on string theory, I decided not to listen to it. We learned from ‘t Hooft that we wanted to go our own way. He has always been a pioneer and a role model for us” .

In his third year of doctoral research, Hooft traveled across the United States. At universities, people rolled up their sleeves: “We would like these PhD students to be there.” On their return, Hooft advised the brothers to complete their doctoral research – there was little point in staying for another year.

Theoretical physics was immature when I left for the United States. How did you see the field grow?

Eric: “After the promotion, we were able to go to Princeton. We immediately found ourselves in the Mecca field. String theory had just gone through a revolution, and suddenly everyone started studying it. We were able to participate in it. But it is not yet clear whether the field is capable of fulfilling all Its promises. The great thing is that this field has already fulfilled many of its promises. Our view of the relationship between quantum mechanics and gravity is now much further away.”

Hermann: “The period after Princeton was also very special. After seven years, we all returned to Holland. Then, around 1995, everything started to go downhill. The field matured thanks to the work done in previous years. Hooft and Stephen Hawking were working on problems Black holes for a long time, and then it turned out that there were answers to the questions. And we organized the conference. ”

Refers to a poster on the wall. “Series “97” on him. With a beautiful illustration: the reflection of Amsterdam houses in the undulating water, as if a pebble had just been thrown into it. Drawing by Robert Decgrave.

For the first time, a conference on string theory was not held in the United States, but in Europe with big names. We had a kind of casual style, with a lecture in the morning and a long time for discussion afterwards. Reception at West-Indisch Huis. Top hats were interviewed and made headlines. Stephen Hawking himself scored – he was welcome. This really gave the Amsterdam group of theoretical physics more insight. We are now 25 years later and the conference is still held every two years in Europe. This year in Vienna.

You turned 60 this year, is it time to think about what you would like to achieve in science?

Hermann: “The great thing is that the steps taken in the 1990s are suddenly very important. We live in the information age, and thanks to the rules of physics, the world of ‘quantum information’ is now beginning to emerge. A lot of the questions that have been asked for a long time about black holes have to do with It’s out too. It’s still a very exciting time.”

Eric: “The field has evolved tremendously, but fundamental questions remain important. How should you think about black holes? About cosmology? I see so many developments that I hope I can contribute a lot to get closer to the answer. In fact, I think we’re on the cusp of Getting a new answer to the big gravity questions—maybe in twenty or thirty years. I still want to try that.”