Conference/School

Perimeter Institute is happy to host the inaugural summer school for the Simons Collaboration on Celestial Holography July 22-26 in Waterloo, ON. The program will feature lectures on background material relevant for graduate students and postdocs interested in this emerging subfield, paired with vision talks on exciting future research directions.

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Recent years have seen a flood of new data, from gravitational wave observations of merging black holes and neutron stars to precision probes of cosmology, which allow for unprecedented tests of our understanding of gravity. Going hand-in-hand with this, there has been significant recent progress on the theoretical side in terms of formulating modified theories of gravity, and using them to make detailed predictions, including in the nonlinear and dynamical regime, which can be confronted with the observations. 

We are excited to announce a landmark conference that plans to delve into the forefront of research on modified theories of gravity and brings together leading experts from different disciplines including observational astrophysicists, numerical relativists, cosmologists and mathematical physicists to explore the present status of modified theories of gravity and envision their future theoretical development and implications for observations.

This conference is also timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of pioneering work in this area carried out by Gregory Horndeski in the Waterloo Mathematical Physics Community. Hosted jointly by Perimeter Institute and the University of Waterloo, this conference will serve as a forum for researchers from different disciplines to exchange ideas at the cutting
edge of gravitational physics.
 

Presented by:


 

Sponsored in part by Gravity Theory Trust

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Topics:
• Modified Gravity Theories: Theoretical Framework and Models
• Tests of modified Gravity with Gravitational Waves (LIGO/LISA/PTA)
• Astrophysical/cosmological tests of gravity
• Mathematical structure of Modified gravity
• Observational tests of quantum gravity
• Modified gravity in the early universe

Conference Structure:
The conference will feature a balanced blend of plenary sessions (invited Speakers), contributed talks, panel discussions and poster presentations for students.
• Keynote presentations by renowned physicists in the field, discussing the impact of Horndeski theories and other modified theories of gravity on cosmology, dark energy, and black hole physics.
• Contributed talks: prioritizing early-career researchers
• Panel discussions on emerging research directions, unresolved questions, and potential applications of Horndeski theories.
• Poster sessions for early-career researchers and graduate students to showcase their work and receive feedback from senior scientists.

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Scientific Organizers:

• Ghazal Geshnizjani (Perimeter Institute, SOC Chair)
• William East (Perimeter Institute)
• Levon Pogosian (Simon Fraser University, Perimeter Institute Affiliate)
• Niayesh Afshordi (Perimeter Institute, U Waterloo, LOC Chair)
• Will Percival (Perimeter Institute, U Waterloo)
• Florian Girelli (U Waterloo, Perimeter Institute Affiliate)
• Jerome Quintin (U Waterloo, Perimeter Institute)
• Alex Krolewski (U Waterloo, Perimeter Institute, CITA)

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PSIons celebrate 15 years of Perimeter Scholars International with the first ever PSI reunion event! 

Join us for 3 days that include:

• 3 former PSI Keynote Speakers in Industry 
• 3 former PSI Speakers in Academia
• A chance to win 1 of 7 Grants of up to 5000 CAD each for a PSI class project to be developed and presented at the reunion (see Call for Projects for details)
• Social events with your cohorts and PSI special guests
• Lots of time to connect with classmates and PSIons, while immersing yourself in Perimeter’s lively research and collaboration environment. 

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The Perimeter Scholars International (PSI) Master's program is offered in collaboration by Perimeter Institute and the University of Waterloo.

The dialogue between quantum information and quantum matter has fostered notable progress in both fields. Quantum information science has revolutionized our understanding of the structure of quantum many-body systems and novel forms of out-of-equilibrium quantum dynamics. The advances of quantum matter have provided novel paradigms and platforms for quantum information processing.
This conference aims to bring together leading experts at the intersections of quantum information and quantum matter. Key topics include: (i) quantum error correction, (ii) quantum dynamics, and (iii) quantum simulation.

Organizers:

Timothy Hsieh, Perimeter Institute
Beni Yoshida, Perimeter Institute
Zhi Li, Perimeter Institute
Tsung-Cheng Lu, Perimeter Institute
Meenu Kumari, National Research Council Canada

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The dynamic field of quantum physics and artificial intelligence is expanding across both academic and industrial landscapes. This mini-course offers an introduction to computational techniques currently utilized in the quantum sector, highlighting non-academic career paths for individuals interested in quantum physics and machine learning. The program features two lecture series: one on generative modeling - covering topics (such as restricted Boltzmann machines, recurrent neural networks, and transformers) - and the other on quantum machine learning algorithms. Participants will also benefit from practical coding tutorials, networking opportunities, and related events about the landscape of Quantum and AI.

Land Acknowledgement

In the spirit of understanding and learning from what has come before, Perimeter Institute respectfully acknowledges that we are located on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron, Anishnaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples.

Perimeter is situated on the Haldimand Tract, land promised to Six Nations, which includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. As settlers, we thank all the generations of people who have taken care of this land for thousands of years. We are connected to our collective commitment to make the promise and the challenge of Truth and Reconciliation real in our communities.

The second annual SciComm Collider workshop will bring together a group of the most innovative science communicators helping to connect the public with topics in physics and astronomy for a three-day workshop aimed at sharing ideas, creating new collaborations, and exploring ways to more effectively engage the public with the most exciting ideas in science. The workshop will consist of short seminars, interactive sessions, and opportunities to brainstorm new ideas with fellow communicators and creators, as well as venues for interaction between invited science communicators and Perimeter outreach/communications team members and researchers.

The workshop marks the halfway point of the similarly named (FoQaCiA, pronounced "focaccia") collaboration between researchers in Canada and Europe, funded as part of a flagship partnership between NSERC and Horizon Europe. 

https://www.foqacia.org/

The goal of FoQaCiA is to develop new foundational approaches to shed light on the relative computational power of quantum devices and classical computers, helping to find the "line in the sand" separating tasks admitting a quantum speedup from those that are classically simulable.

The workshop will focus on the four central interrelated themes of the project:
1. Quantum contextuality, non-classicality, and quantum advantage
2. The complexity of classical simulation of quantum computation
3. The arithmetic of quantum circuits
4. The efficiency of fault-tolerant quantum computation

Our view is that the future success of quantum computing critically depends on advances at the most fundamental level, and that large-scale investments in quantum implementations will only pay off if they can draw on additional foundational insights and ideas

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Scientific Organizers:

Rui Soares Barbosa (INL - International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory)
Anne Broadbent (University of Ottawa)
Ernesto Galvão (INL - International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory)
Rob Spekkens (Perimeter Institute)
Jon Yard (Perimeter Institute)

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FoQaCiA is funded by:

Quantum phases have become a staple of modern physics, thanks to their appearance in fields as diverse as condensed matter physics, quantum field theory, quantum information processing, and topology. The description of quantum phases of matter requires novel mathematical tools that lie beyond the old symmetry breaking perspective on phases. Techniques from topological field theory, homotopy theory, and (higher) category theory show great potential for advancing our understanding of the characterization and classification of quantum phases. The goal of this workshop is to bring together experts from across mathematics and physics to discuss recent breakthroughs in these mathematical tools and their application to physical problems. 

Scientific Organizers

Lukas Mueller
Alex Turzillo
Davide Gaiotto
 

Sponsored in part by the Simons Collaboration on Global Categorical Symmetries 

New observational programs and techniques are opening a window to the first galaxies in the universe and bringing surprises along the way. In this workshop, we'll explore how dark matter phenomenology may have impacted the first stars and galaxies, focusing on how improved modeling and simulations can allow us to use new and upcoming high-redshift data to gain insight into dark matter's fundamental nature.

Sponsored in part by:

Unraveling the quantum nature of gravity is one of the most pressing problems of theoretical physics. Several ideas have been put forward and resulted in a number of theories of quantum gravity. While these theories have explored different facets of the “quantum gravity landscape”, all viable approaches should ultimately make contact with observations, and answer exciting questions in cosmology and black-hole physics.

Sharing knowledge, exchanging ideas, and building a dictionary between different theories are crucial steps toward answering these questions, efficiently contrasting different theories, and ultimately reaching a deeper understanding of our Universe.

This conference will contribute to these goals by bringing together leading experts in different approaches to quantum gravity, gravitational effective field theory, black-hole physics, and cosmology. We will focus on specific puzzles in quantum gravity and their resolutions within different approaches. The conference will be highly interactive, with plenty of time to discuss common problems, understand the big picture, and develop novel connections between fields.

Registration: Registration is now open, and both in-person and virtual participation is welcome. Online participants will be able to interact on an equal footing in question sessions and discussions. In-person attendance is limited and will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis. Talks are by invitation only, but in-person participants are encouraged to apply to present a poster.

Spam warning: There is an increasing number of scam agencies reaching out to conference speakers and attendees. Perimeter Institute does not use third-party agencies. We advise speakers and attendees to ignore emails and not to provide any details to anyone who is not from Perimeter Institute.  

Confirmed Speakers and Panelists:

• Abhay Ashtekar (Penn State University)
• Robert Brandenberger (McGill University)
• Luca Buoninfante (Nordita)
• Xavier Calmet (University of Sussex)
• Francesco di Filippo (Kyoto University)
• Bianca Dittrich (Perimeter Institute)
• John Donoghue (University of Massachusetts)
• Astrid Eichhorn (CP3-origins)
• Johanna Erdmenger (Würzburg University)
• Ghazal Geshnizjani (Perimeter Institute)
• Ruth Gregory (King's College)
• Lavinia Heisenberg (Heidelberg University)
• Bob Holdom (University of Toronto)
• Benjamin Knorr (Nordita)
• Renate Loll (Radboud University Nijmegen)
• Miguel Montero (IFT Madrid)
• Rob Myers (Perimeter Institute)
• Sabrina Pasterski (Perimeter Institute)
• Fernando Quevedo (Cambridge University)
• Lisa Randall (Harvard University)
• Kasia Rejzner (York University)
• Mairi Sakellariadou (King's College)
• Lee Smolin (Perimeter Institute)
• Kellogg Stelle (Imperial College)
• Sumati Surya (Raman Research Institute)
• Andrew Tolley (Imperial College)
• Neil Turok (University of Edinburgh)
• Pedro Vieira (Perimeter Institute)
• Yasaman Yazdi (Imperial College)

Territorial Land Acknowledgement

Perimeter Institute acknowledges that it is situated on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples.

Perimeter Institute is located on the Haldimand Tract. After the American Revolution, the tract was granted by the British to the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation as compensation for their role in the war and for the loss of their traditional lands in upstate New York. Of the 950,000 acres granted to the Haudenosaunee, less than 5 percent remains Six Nations land. Only 6,100 acres remain Mississaugas of the Credit land. 

We thank the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples for hosting us on their land.

Quantum position verification (QPV) schemes use the properties of quantum information and the relativistic signalling bound to verify the location of an object (sometimes called a “tag”) to distant observers in an environment that may contain would-be spoofers. The guarantee is based on the assumptions of the underlying security model; various theoretically and practically interesting security models have been proposed. The area is attracting increasing interest, with new theoretical developments in security analyses, emerging experimental studies of QPV systems, and recently discovered surprising and intriguing connections to topics in quantum gravity. A workshop on QPV will be held at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

The workshop will cover topics related to all aspects of QPV, including, but not limited to:

• Theoretical developments related to the security of QPV schemes, including development or refinement of security models, proofs of security within given models, tradeoffs between security and efficiency, and Experimental studies of QPV and theoretical work aimed at developing practical QPV schemes.
• QPV’s relationship to other cryptographic tasks and primitives.
• QPV’s relationship to holography and quantum gravity.

Sponsored in part by:  

Territorial Land Acknowledgement

Perimeter Institute acknowledges that it is situated on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples.

Perimeter Institute is located on the Haldimand Tract. After the American Revolution, the tract was granted by the British to the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation as compensation for their role in the war and for the loss of their traditional lands in upstate New York. Of the 950,000 acres granted to the Haudenosaunee, less than 5 percent remains Six Nations land. Only 6,100 acres remain Mississaugas of the Credit land. 

We thank the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples for hosting us on their land.

The final meeting of It from Qubit: Simons Collaboration on Quantum Fields, Gravity, and Information will be devoted to recent developments at the interface of fundamental physics and quantum information theory, spanning topics such as

• chaos and thermalization in many-body systems and their realization in quantum gravity;
•  information-theoretic constraints on quantum field theories and their RG flows and symmetries;
• gravitational wormholes and their information-theoretic implications;
• calculable lower-dimensional models of quantum gravity; the entanglement structure of semi-classical states in quantum gravity;
•  quantum error-correcting codes in quantum field theory and quantum gravity;
• complexity in field theory and gravity;
• the black-hole information puzzle;
• quantum simulation of quantum field theories and quantum gravity.

Recorded talks: https://pirsa.org/C23021 

Territorial Land Acknowledgement

Perimeter Institute acknowledges that it is situated on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples.

Perimeter Institute is located on the Haldimand Tract. After the American Revolution, the tract was granted by the British to the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation as compensation for their role in the war and for the loss of their traditional lands in upstate New York. Of the 950,000 acres granted to the Haudenosaunee, less than 5 percent remains Six Nations land. Only 6,100 acres remain Mississaugas of the Credit land. 

We thank the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples for hosting us on their land.