Non-perturbative Studies of JT Gravity and Supergravity using Minimal Strings

Various Jackiw–Teitelboim (JT) gravity and supergravity theories have been shown (by Saad, Shenker and Stanford, and by Stanford and Witten) to have double scaled random matrix model descriptions, capturing the (spacetime) topological perturbative expansion of the partition function using beautiful recursive methods developed by Mirzakhani and others. I will describe an alternative method for building the matrix model description, using techniques from minimal string theory. This method is particularly useful for supplying non-perturbative definitions of the physics. I apply this to computing - for the first time - the non-perturbative spectral density and spectral form factor for several examples.