Scientific Series

I will describe some of the recent progress in quantum query complexity, including super-quadratic separations between classical and quantum measures for total functions, a better understanding of the power of some lower bound techniques, and insight into when we should expect exponential quantum speedups for partial functions.

Recent explorations of the space of quantum field theories have provided novel topological and geometric information about this space. This voyage has resulted in the solution of some long-standing questions:  the computation of sought-after topological invariants (Gromov-Witten invariants) by a new physics-based approach, the first instance of exact correlation functions in a four-dimensional QFT and the unearthing of the action of dualities on the basic observables of three dimensional gauge theories.

I will explain and prove the statement of the title. The proof relies on a recent result of Slofstra in combinatorial group theory and the hypergraph approach to contextuality.

Based on http://arxiv.org/abs/1607.05870.

Incommensurate charge order is a phenomenon in which the electrons in a crystal attempt to order with a period irrationally-related to that of

the lattice spacing. In the first half of this talk I will present recent work [1] in which we demonstrate that incommensurately charge-ordered systems can lower their free energy by forming quasicrystals: slices through higher-dimensional crystals with properties lying between  periodicity and disorder. The result potentially greatly increases the number of known, naturally-occuring quasicrystals from the two present examples, both of which were found in the same Siberian meteorite. In the second half I will present work from an ongoing experimental collaboration in which atomically-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy on semiconducting monolayers of molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) see conducting edge states along one-dimensional mirror twin boundaries. Remarkably, these edge states then develop their own energy gap via charge ordering [2]. We see a number of features suggestive of incommensurate order. By employing a simple analytical model we demonstrate that the effect is in fact a result of fine-tuning between charge ordering and quantum well physics coming from the small system size (on the order of thirty atoms).

[1] F. Flicker and Jasper van Wezel, Physical Review Letters 115, 236401

(2015), Natural 1D Quasicrystals from Incommensurate Charge Order

[2] S. Barja et al., Nature Physics 12, 751-757 (2016), Charge density

wave order in 1D mirror twin boundaries of single-layer MoSe2

We consider conformal blocks of two heavy operators and an arbitrary  number of light operators in a 1+1 dimensional CFT with large central charge. Using the monodromy method, these higher-point  conformal blocks are shown to factorize into products of 4-point conformal blocks in the heavy-light limit for a class of OPE channels. This result is reproduced by considering suitable worldline configurations in the bulk conical defect geometry. We apply the CFT results to calculate the entanglement entropy of an arbitrary number of  disjoint intervals for heavy states. The corresponding holographic entanglement entropy calculated via the minimal area prescription precisely matches these results from CFT.

We describe a new solution to the strong CP problem inspired by the massless up quark solution. At high energies, QCD is embedded in a SU(3)xSU(3)xSU(3) model, with each matter generation charged under a different site. Instanton effects are unsuppressed at the scale of Higgsing to the SM diagonal QCD, and a set of anomalous U(1)_PQ symmetries removes the low-energy strong CP phase. A non-zero theta parameter is generated at loop level near current bounds. Similar models can also lead to a heavy axion solution to the strong CP problem.

If heavy fields are present during inflation, they can leave an imprint in late-time cosmological observables. The main signature of these fields is a small amount of distinctly shaped non-Gaussianity, which if detected, would provide a wealth of information about the particle spectrum of the inflationary Universe. Here we investigate to what extent these signatures can be detected or constrained using futuristic 21-cm surveys. This part of my talk is based on 1610.06559. In the second part of my talk I will discuss how non-adiabatic production of heavy particles, as recently studied in 1606.00513, can generate an interesting and so far unconstrained class of non-Gaussianity in the CMB.   

Einstein's causality is one of the fundamental principles underlying modern physical theories. Whereas it is readily implemented in classical physics founded on Lorentzian geometry, its status in quantum theory has long been controversial. It is usually believed that the quantum nature of spacetime at small scales induces the breakdown of causality, although there is no empirical evidence that would support such a view. In my talk, I will argue that one can have a sound notion of causality even in a `quantum spacetime' -- understood as the space of states of an abstract algebra of observables. To this end I will draw from the mathematical richness of noncommutative geometry a la Connes. I will illustrate the general concept with an `almost commutative' toy-model and discuss the potential emprical consequences.

On September 14th and December 26th, 2015, the Advanced LIGO detectors observed two gravitational wave signals, each from the merger of stellar-mass black holes. These two observations have given us the first glimpse in to the population of stellar mass black holes. In this talk I will discuss these first detections of gravitational waves including the non-detection of gravitational waves from the merger of binary neutron star and neutron star black holes systems. I will also describe the LIGO interferometers, their current state and the future of this exciting new field of gravitational-wave astronomy.

In quantum information, we frequently consider (for instance, whenever we talk about entanglement) a composite system consisting of two separated subsystems. A standard axiom of quantum mechanics states that a composite system can be modeled as the tensor product of the two subsystems. However, there is another less restrictive way to model a composite system, which is used in quantum field theory: we can require only that the algebras of observables for each subsystem commute within some larger subalgebra. For finite-dimensional systems, these two axioms are equivalent, but this is not necessarily true for infinite-dimensional systems. Tsirelson's question (which comes in several variants) asks whether the correlations arising from commuting-operator models can always be represented by tensor-product models. I will give examples of linear system non-local games which cannot be played perfectly with tensor-product strategies, but can be played perfectly with commuting-operator strategies, resolving (one version of) Tsirelson's question in the negative. From these examples, we can also derive other consequences for the theory of non-local games, such as the undecidability of determining whether a non-local game has a perfect quantum strategy. 

What natural CFT quantities can “see” in the interior of the bulk AdS in a diffeomorphism invariant way? And how can we use them to learn about the emergence of local bulk physics? Inspired by the Ryu-Takayanagi relation, we construct a class of simple non-local operators on both sides of the duality and demonstrate their equivalence. Integrals of free bulk fields along geodesics/minimal surfaces are dual to what we will call “OPE blocks”: Individual conformal family contributions to the OPE of local operators. Our findings can be utilized to reconstruct local bulk operators and unify a number of previously disconnected AdS/CFT results. We extend this kinematic correspondence to incorporate gravitational interactions in AdS3 by relating geodesic operators to the Virasoro OPE blocks, hence providing a natural CFT prescription for “gravitational dressing”. We conclude with discussion of preliminary results on an interesting CFT structure that generalizes our dictionary to include arbitrary local bulk interactions. 

The precision of current and future cosmological observations at Megaparsec scales demands a detailed understanding of the effects of baryonic processes on the clustering of matter at these scales. In this talk, I will explore how to use measurements of cosmic shear to constrain the impact of these processes on the total matter power spectrum. I will present forecasts demonstrating that shear measurements from Stage III surveys (such as DES and HSC) and beyond will be able to strongly constrain (or even rule out) current simulation-based implementations of baryonic physics (such as AGN feedback). These forecasts make use of a model-independent parametrization of the impact of baryons on the matter power spectrum, and marginalize over several key observational and theoretical systematics. The results indicate that cosmic shear can likely be used as a robust probe of the physics of galaxy formation, and provide an important observational input for future simulations or modeling efforts.