Scientific Series

In this work-in-progress, we study the quantization of singular configuration spaces, generalizing the canonical structures of smooth quantum mechanics. We develop a framework for constructing a Hilbert space of quantum states, generalized position and momentum operators, a kinetic-plus-potential…

Any quantum system can be closely approximated by a quantum circuit with spatially-localized qubits. We analyze such quantum circuits and present evidence that the local weak values comprise a covariant tensor associated with each individual qubit. Even if the state is massively entangled, these…

As quantum processors scale, robust and scalable tools to characterize gate-level noise become indispensable. Randomized benchmarking (RB) and its many variants have emerged as the go-to protocols in practice: they yield a single number to characterize a gate set, the average gate fidelity, per…

The assignment of scattering data to monopoles is a classical construction in gauge theory useful to understand the geometry of monopole moduli spaces; from the modern perspective, it is of interest because monopole scattering matrices are quasiclassical limits of R-matrices of shifted Yangians. I…

In Einstein's theory of general relativity, the causal structure of spacetime is itself dynamical. Causality is encoded into the geometry of light cones that bend under the influence of gravity. Quantum theory, on the other hand, tells us that nature is intrinsically probabilistic. A sharply defined…

Quantum inference usually begins by measuring quantum data and converting it into classical information. In this talk, I will consider a different setting in which the desired output remains quantum, allowing coherence to be preserved throughout the inference process. Examples include quantum purity…

The next era of collider physics will be limited less by what we can measure than by what we can reliably predict. The cascades of QCD radiation that fill every collision are typically simulated at the lowest orders in perturbation theory, with correspondingly large uncertainties. Hadronization is…

Despite its extraordinary success, the Standard Model leaves unanswered some of the deepest questions in fundamental physics. In this talk I will discuss how advances in astrophysical observations and precision flavor experiments are creating new opportunities to test proposed solutions to two of…

Gravitational-wave lensing has the potential to open a new observational window onto compact objects, dark matter, and the large-scale structure of the Universe. As gravitational waves propagate across cosmological distances, lensing effects can imprint subtle distortions onto the observed signals…

The asymptotic symmetries of null infinity in asymptotically flat spacetimes can be enhanced to a w1+∞ algebra, when restricting to a single graviton helicity sector. These symmetries were first extracted from the operator product expansion (OPE) of conformal gravitons in celestial holography. They…

Over the last half decade, the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) have leapt from preschooler to graduate student and beyond. This talk reviews recent progress in teaching LLMs to do science and reasoning, and speculates as to what it will mean for the future of theoretical physics if…

For decades, we have known that most of the matter in the Universe is invisible. This unseen component—dark matter—accounts for roughly 85% of all matter and plays a central role in shaping cosmic structure. Yet, despite decades of experimental effort and remarkable ingenuity, its fundamental nature…