Scientific Series

Axions are some of the best-motivated beyond the Standard Model particle candidates at present. These ultralight particles may account for the cosmological dark matter and explain other outstanding problems in nature, such as the strong-CP problem; they also are now known to emerge generically in…

We give the first instance-optimal sample complexity bounds for shadow tomography using few-copy measurements in the high-precision regime. More concretely, we study the problem of learning expectation values of a given set of observables of an unknown quantum state to precision $\epsilon$ in $L_p$…

As little as five years ago, the image of 'AI for Math' focused on specialty models that could discover interesting examples or constructions, for example, graphs with interesting parameters, where our intuition might be lacking but computer checking is simple. With large language models this has…

Quantum Field Theory (QFT) on hyperbolic space can be characterized by a set of numbers that we call QFT data. For simplicity, we focus on two dimensional QFTs and derive a universal set of first order Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) that encode the variation of the QFT data under an…

Axions, grand unification, and string theory are each compelling extensions of the Standard Model. I will show that combining these frameworks imposes strong constraints on the QCD axion mass. Using unitarity arguments and explicit string compactifications - such as those from the Kreuzer-Skarke (KS…

Studying low-redshift analogues of phenomena in the early Universe is an established method for getting a closer look at intriguing physics. However, determining when a local analogue functions well to represent distant systems, and what limitations need to be kept in mind, can be challenging…

The range of possible masses of particle dark matter spans over many orders of magnitude. The extremes of the mass range -- so-called ''superheavy'' and ''ultralight'' dark matter candidates -- are increasingly attracting attention due to their novel phenomenology and new developments in production…

Since the detection of GW150914 a decade ago, ground based gravitational wave detectors have detected hundreds of compact binary coalescences, offering myriad insights into the universe. These include precise measurements of the masses and spins of compact objects, as well as searches for phenomena…

I will discuss some surprising examples of quantum circuits that can be realized in constant T-depth. Some of these constructions, such as single-qubit rotation and its programmable variants, as well as quantum part of Shor's factoring algorithm, require a catalyst state. But there are also other…

I'll discuss four-point functions of CFT operators with infinite scaling dimension, which arise ubiquitously in both holographic and non-holographic CFTs in general dimension, as well as in the flat space limit of rigid QFTs on AdS. The space of these correlators is poorly understood, due to both…

Galaxy formation in the first billion years marks a time of great upheaval in our cosmic history: the first sources of light in the Universe, these galaxies ended the 'cosmic dark ages' and produced the first photons that could break apart the hydrogen atoms suffusing all of space starting the…

Formulations of gravity as a constrained topological theory not only help us understand its variables and symmetries, but also are especially useful for quantization. In the first part of this talk, I will present the EPRL (Engle-Pereira-Rovelli-Livine) model, which is a spinfoam quantization of the…