Prof. James Sparks

MA, PhD (Cantab)

Head of Department

Pronouns

He / Him

Status

Academic Faculty

Head of Department
Professor of Mathematical Physics
Fellow, Oriel College

Contact form

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~math0391/index.html

+44 1865 273534

ORCID iD

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3699-5225

Research groups

Mathematical Physics

Address
Mathematical Institute
University of Oxford
Andrew Wiles Building
Radcliffe Observatory Quarter
Woodstock Road
Oxford
OX2 6GG

Highlighted publications

Accelerating black holes and spinning spindles

Ferrero, P Gauntlett, J Perez Ipina, J Martelli, D Sparks, J Physical Review D volume 104 (04 Aug 2021)

Localization of the action in AdS/CFT

Pietro Juan, P Sparks, J Journal of High Energy Physics volume 2019 issue 10 (25 Oct 2019)

A geometric dual of c-extremization

Couzens, C Gauntlett, J Martelli, D Sparks, J Journal of High Energy Physics volume 2019 issue 1 (29 Jan 2019)

The gravity dual of supersymmetric gauge theories on a squashed three-sphere

Martelli, D Passias, A Sparks, J Nuclear Physics B volume 864 issue 3 840-868 (21 Nov 2012)

Sasaki-Einstein manifolds and volume minimisation

Martelli, D Sparks, J Yau, S Communications in Mathematical Physics volume 280 issue 3 611-673 (01 Jun 2008)

Gauge theories from toric geometry and brane tilings

Franco, S Hanany, A Martelli, D Sparks, J Vegh, D Wecht, B Journal of High Energy Physics issue 1 3295-3334 (10 Apr 2006)

Sasaki-Einstein metrics on S^2 x S^3

Sparks, J D. Martelli D. Waldram J.P. Gauntlett Advances in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics volume 8 issue 4 711-734 (Aug 2004)

Major / recent publications

My publications may be found on SPIRES.

Research interests

Mathematical physics, theoretical physics, geometry. More specifically I work on supersymmetric field theories, supergravity, and the how these are related via the AdS/CFT correspondence. I'm also interested in geometric structures that arise in string theory and theoretical physics more broadly, notably special holonomy manifolds, Sasaki-Einstein manifolds, and generalized geometry.

Recent publications

Multicharge accelerating black holes and spinning spindles

Ferrero, P Martelli, D Inglese, M Sparks, J Physical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology volume 105 (01 Jun 2022)

Supersymmetric spindles

Ferrero, P Gauntlett, J Sparks, J Journal of High Energy Physics volume 2022 issue 2022 (20 Jan 2022)

M5-branes wrapped on a spindle

Ferrero, P Gauntlett, J Martelli, D Sparks, J Journal of High Energy Physics volume 2021 issue 11 (02 Oct 2021)

Twisted D3-brane and M5-brane compactifications from multi-charge spindles

Boido, A Perez Ipina, J Sparks, J The Journal of High Energy Physics volume 2021 issue 7 (29 Jul 2021)

D3-branes wrapped on a spindle

Ferrero, P Gauntlett, J Perez Ipina, J Martelli, D Sparks, J Physical Review Letters volume 126 issue 2021 (18 Mar 2021)

Teaching

In 2021/22 I will be lecturing Part A Quantum Theory and Part B Electromagnetism. I have previously lectured Prelims Dynamics and Part B Classical Mechanics. Lecture material may be found on my personal webpage, via the link on the left.