Title: Quadratic reciprocity from a family of adelic conformal field theories Abstract: We consider a deformation of the 2d free scalar field action by raising the Laplacian to a positive real power. It turns out that the resulting non-local generalized free action is invariant under two commuting actions of the global conformal symmetry algebra, although it’s no […]
The methods of topology have been applied to condensed matter physics in the study of topological phases of matter. Topological states of matter are new quantum states that can be characterized by their topological properties. For example, the first topological states of matter discovered were the integer quantum Hall states. The two dimensional integer quantum […]
During the 2021–22 academic year, the CMSA will be hosting a Colloquium, organized by Du Pei, Changji Xu, and Michael Simkin. It will take place on Wednesdays at 9:30am – 10:30am (Boston time). The meetings will take place virtually on Zoom. All CMSA postdocs/members are required to attend the weekly CMSA Members’ Seminars, as well as the weekly CMSA […]
Speaker: Boyu Zhang, Princeton University Title: The smooth closing lemma for area-preserving surface diffeomorphisms Abstract: In this talk, I will introduce the smooth closing lemma for area-preserving diffeomorphisms on surfaces. The proof is based on a Weyl formula for PFH spectral invariants and a non-vanishing result of twisted Seiberg- Witten Floer homology. This is joint work […]
Member Seminar Speaker: Max Wiesner Title: Light strings, strong coupling, and the Swampland Abstract: In this talk, I will start by reviewing central ideas of the so-called Swampland Program. The Swampland Program aims to identify criteria that distinguish low-energy effective field theories, that can be consistently coupled to quantum gravity, from those theories that become inconsistent […]
Speaker: Aavishkar Patel (UC Berkeley) Title: Metals with strongly correlated electrons: quantum criticality, disordered interactions, Planckian dissipation, and scale invariance Abstract: Metals that do not fit Landau’s famous Fermi liquid paradigm of quasiparticles are plentiful in experiments, but constructing their theoretical description is a major challenge in modern quantum many-body physics. I will describe new […]
Title: Markov chains, optimal control, and reinforcement learning Abstract: Markov decision processes are a model for several artificial intelligence problems, such as games (chess, Go…) or robotics. At each timestep, an agent has to choose an action, then receives a reward, and then the agent’s environment changes (deterministically or stochastically) in response to the agent’s action. […]
Member Seminar Speaker: Daniel Junghans Title: AdS with Scale Separation Abstract: I will talk about Anti-de Sitter solutions in string theory with a parametric separation between the AdS curvature scale and the Kaluza-Klein scale. In particular, I will discuss recent progress on computing backreaction corrections in such solutions, and I will explain how to construct solutions without […]
Abstract: Recent years have seen tremendous advances in our understanding of perturbative quantum field theory—fueled largely by discoveries (and eventual explanations and exploitation) of shocking simplicity in the mathematical form of the predictions made for experiment. Among the most important frontiers in this progress is the understanding of loop amplitudes—their mathematical form, underlying geometric structure, and […]
During the 2021–22 academic year, the CMSA will be hosting a Colloquium, organized by Du Pei, Changji Xu, and Michael Simkin. It will take place on Wednesdays at 9:30am – 10:30am (Boston time). The meetings will take place virtually on Zoom. All CMSA postdocs/members are required to attend the weekly CMSA Members’ Seminars, as well as the weekly CMSA […]
Speaker: Samir Mathur (Ohio State University) Title: The black hole information paradox Abstract: In 1975, Stephen Hawking showed that black holes radiate away in a manner that violates quantum theory. Starting in 1997, it was observed that black holes in string theory did not have the form expected from general relativity: in place of “empty space will […]