Archive of IAS Physics Group Meetings

Apr
06
2016

Physics Group Meeting

Quantum Statistics and Spacetime Topology
Discussion Group led by Juven Wang
1:30pm|Bloomberg Hall Physics Library
I will discuss the recent work on the quantum statistics of particle and loop-like string excitations in 3+1D.It is known that the quantum statistics of particles in 2+1D begets
Mar
30
2016

Physics Group Meeting

Tensor Networks and Spacetime Geometry
Discussion Group
1:30pm|Bloomberg Hall Physics Library
Some papers:
Mar
23
2016

Physics Group Meeting

Categorification of Chern-Simons Partition Function
Discussion Group led by Pavel Putrov
2:00pm|Bloomberg Hall Physics Library
I would like to discuss the problem of categorification of Chern-Simons partition function on closed 3-manifolds. Physics constructions of Khovanov knot homology, which categorifies Jones polynomial, suggests that there should be a generalization to...
Mar
16
2016

Physics Group Meeting

ER=EPR and Copenhagen-Everett Duality
Discussion Group led by Leonard Susskind
1:30pm|Bloomberg Lecture Hall
Quantum mechanics is distinguished by three essential features: the Hugeness of Hilbert Space, I.e., the capacity for exponential complexity; the phenomenon of Entanglement; and the duality between Wave Function Collapse and Everett's
Mar
09
2016

Physics Group Meeting

Integration By Parts for Feynman Integrals
Discussion Group led by David Kosower
1:30pm|Bloomberg Hall Physics Library

In this discussion I will present the background to the integration-by-parts (IBP) machinery as used for Feynman integrals, and its applications. I will also discuss recent work linking IBP to some aspects of the algebraic geometry underlying...

Mar
02
2016

Physics Group Meeting

Looking for a Bulk Point
Discussion Group led by David Simmons-Duffin
1:30pm|Bloomberg Hall Physics Library

This discussion will focus on the question of how locality on distance scales smaller than the AdS radius can emerge from a CFT. We will introduce Landau singularities as a sign of locality in QFT, and discuss the extent to which they are present...

Feb
24
2016

Physics Group Meeting

Gauged Linear Sigma Models, B-branes and Hemispheres
Discussion Group led by Mauricio Romo
1:30pm|Bloomberg Hall Physics Library

I'll start reviewing some aspects of my paper with K. Hori [1] about localization of Gauged Linear Sigma Models (GLSM) on a disc/hemisphere. The focus is on a special class of boundary conditions corresponding to B-branes. I'll then review the...

Feb
17
2016

Physics Group Meeting

Entanglement and Gravity
Discussion Group led by Jennifer Lin
1:30pm|Bloomberg Hall Physics Library

I would like to discuss the idea that CFT entanglement explains gravity in AdS/CFT. van Raamsdonk et al. [1] showed that the linearized Einstein equations about the AdS vacuum are equivalent to the entanglement first law in CFT’s, assuming the Ryu...

Feb
10
2016

Physics Group Meeting

Entropy Bounds
Discussion group led by Aron Wall
1:30pm|Bloomberg Hall Physics Library

I will discuss the status of the controversial "entropy bounds" proposed by Bekenstein and Bousso, as well as the reinterpretation of these bounds by Casini and others which made them actually true in QFT.

Old View:

* Wall, arXiv:0901.3865 [review...

Feb
03
2016

Physics Group Meeting

Continued: The Diphoton Excess and Physics Beyond the Standard Model
Discussion group led by Nima Arkani-Hamed
1:30pm|Bloomberg Hall Physics Library
Assuming the diphoton excess at 750 GeV is real (a big assumption!), we will have a discussion of various theoretical possibilities for what the underlying physics might be. Some refs are 1512.04933, 1512.07904, 1512.07733
Physics