.High Energy Theory Events
Spring 2022
Automorphic Spectra and the Conformal Bootstrap
Speaker: Sridip Pal (Institute for Advanced Study)Host: Anindya Sengupta
We point out that the spectral geometry of hyperbolic manifolds provides a remarkably precise model of the modern conformal bootstrap. As an application, we use conformal bootstrap techniques to derive rigorous computer-assisted upper bounds on the lowest positive eigenvalue **\lambda_1(X)** of the Laplace-Beltrami operator on closed hyperbolic surfaces and 2-orbifolds [...]
January 31, 2022
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (CDT)
Symmetries and Anomalies at the IR Fixed Point of Gravity
Speaker: Kurt Hinterbichler (Case Western Reserve University)Host: Daniel Butter
I will discuss symmetries that arise at the infrared fixed point of the RG flow of Einstein gravity, including conformal vs. scale invariance in various dimensions, as well as 1-form generalized global symmetries and new anomalies that arise among them.Aspects of the Black Hole/String Transition
Speaker: Yiming Chen (Princeton University)Host: Haoyu Zhang
It has long been speculated that a black hole in string theory turns into highly excited strings close to the Hagedorn temperature. Gravitational attraction pulls different parts of the string together, forming a star-like configuration. In this talk, I will review the properties of a concrete solution of this kind, [...]Strong Cosmic Censorship Versus Λ
Speaker: Mihalis Dafermos (University of Cambridge & Princeton University)Host: Christopher Pope
The strong cosmic censorship conjecture is a fundamental open problem in classical general relativity, first put forth by Roger Penrose in the early 70s. This is essentially the question of whether general relativity is a deterministic theory. Perhaps the most exciting arena where the validity of the conjecture is challenged [...]
February 21, 2022
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (CDT)
Bootstrap of the KLT Double-Copy
Speaker: Henriette Elvang (University of Michigan)Host: Christopher Pope
In field theory, the "double copy" can be thought of as a multiplicative map between tree amplitudes of two field theories into tree amplitudes of another theory. The origin of the map is string theory, but from a bottom-up Effective Field Theory approach, a natural question is if there exists other [...]
February 28, 2022
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (CDT)
Emergent Cosmology from Matrix Theory
Speaker: Robert Brandenberger (McGill University)Host: Ergin Sezgin/Ali Kaya
I will argue that standard Effective Field Theory techniques are inapplicable to describe the very early universe, and that we hence need to turn to a non-perturbative approach. The BFSS (Banks, Fischler, Shenker and Susskind) matrix model is a proposed non-perturbative definition of superstring theory. It is a quantum mechanical [...]Hidden Symmetries and Static Response of Black Holes
Speaker: Riccardo Penco (Carnegie Mellon University)Host: Christopher Pope
Black holes in 4D General Relativity have the remarkable property that they lack any form of static linear response. At length scales much larger than the Schwarzschild radius, where black holes can be described as point particles, their linear response is captured by an infinite number of Wilson coefficients in [...]Constraining Couplings of End-of-the-World Branes
Speaker: Dominik Neuenfeld (Perimeter Institute)Host: Daniel Butter
End-of-the-world (ETW) branes are used in shedding light on Page curve computations, model black hole microstates, and embedding cosmology into holography. I will review braneworld constructions and discuss a mechanism for how the effective theory on the brane arises from a reorganization of UV data. Oftentimes it is useful (as [...]
March 25, 2022
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (CDT)
News on Supermembrane Theory
Speaker: Hermann Nicolai (Albert Einstein Institute)Host: Christopher Pope
The maximally supersymmetric supermembrane theory in space-time dimension D = 11 is a model ‘beyond’ string theory that incorporates D = 11 supergravity as a `low energy limit', and is thus a candidate theory for a non-perturbative formulation of superstring theory. In this talk I will review some basic features, [...]BPS and Near-BPS Black Holes in AdS_5 and Their Spectrum in N=4 SYM
Speaker: Luca Iliesiu (Stanford University)Host: Aritra Saha
We study quantum corrections in the gravitational path integral around nearly 1/16-BPS black holes in asymptotically AdS5 × S 5 space, dual to heavy states in 4D N = 4 super YangMills. The analysis provides a gravitational explanation of why 1/16-BPS black holes exhibit an exact degeneracy at large N [...]Asymptotic Einstein’s Equations and Celestial Symmetries
Speaker: Daniele Pranzetti (Perimeter Institute)Host: Daniel Butter
I will first show how the leading Einstein equations in a large-r expansion around null infinity can be derived and recast in a compact form by relying uniquely on the transformation properties under the corner symmetry group at scri, the so-called Weyl BMS group. In addition to the to spin-0 and [...]Complex Saddles and Euclidean Wormholes in the Lorentzian Path Integral
Speaker: Gary Shiu (University of Wisconsin-Madison)Host: Ergin Sezgin
We study complex saddles of the Lorentzian path integral for 4D axion gravity and its dual description in terms of a 3-form flux, which include the Giddings-Strominger Euclidean wormhole. Transition amplitudes are computed using the Lorentzian path integral and with the help of Picard-Lefschetz theory. The number and nature of saddles is shown to [...]Discrete Symmetries and Twisted Dimensional Reductions in F-theory
Speaker: Lara Anderson (Virginia Tech)Host: Anindya Sengupta
Within string compactifications, geometry and field theory are intertwined in deep ways, with classifications of geometry leading to new characterizations of field theories. Calabi-Yau elliptic fibrations play a key role in characterizing and classifying broad classes of string compactifications. In this talk, I will discuss compactifications of F-theory to 6-dimensions [...]