Talks

We investigate the nature of the Giddings-Strominger wormhole in axion gravity, whose stability remains contested despite previous work in this direction. Unlike what is done in these works, we follow a Lorentzian approach which directly addresses the factorization problem. To probe the thermodynamic stability of wormholes in the gravitational path integral, we look for fixed-area saddle points. However, taking care to choose the appropriate boundary conditions, we find that there are no fixed-area axion wormholes in Lorentzian signature. We then discuss how we could go beyond this analysis, considering off-shell axion wormhole configurations with fixed-length.

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Zoom link https://pitp.zoom.us/j/98119789932?pwd=N1RCanJCdk56eWJ3RHJCRG5KU21lQT09

Abstract TBA

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Zoom link https://pitp.zoom.us/j/96982969023?pwd=MjgzaU5mZUVuV3pNVG11dHM2WUd4UT09

Major improvements in the theoretical aspects of Cosmology have been possible in recent years due to QFT-inspired methods, such as the effective field theory of large-scale structure (EFTofLSS). In this talk, I will explore further connections between high-energy physics and cosmology. I will present a systematic approach to renormalizing the galaxy bias parameters using path integrals and a finite cutoff scale Λ. I will derive the differential equations of the Wilson-Polchinski renormalization group that describe the evolution of the finite-scale bias parameters with Λ, analogous to the β-function running in QFT. I will then discuss how the RG-flow of EFTofLSS can lead to improvements in the extraction of cosmological parameters and also serve as a tool for sanity checks.

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Zoom link https://pitp.zoom.us/j/93248279658?pwd=Z1M1UnI3eVh3NTZ3NCt4NUtGaW5idz09

Spacetime inversion symmetries such as parity and time reversal play a central role in physics, but they are usually treated as global symmetries. In quantum gravity there are no global symmetries, so any spacetime inversion symmetries must be gauge symmetries. In particular this includes CRT symmetry (in even
dimensions usually combined with a rotation to become CPT), which in quantum field theory is always a symmetry and seems likely to be a symmetry of quantum gravity as well. I'll discuss what it means to gauge a spacetime inversion symmetry, and explain some of the more unusual consequences of doing this. In particular I'll argue that the gauging of CRT is automatically implemented by the sum over topologies in the Euclidean gravity path integral, that in a closed universe the Hilbert space of quantum gravity must be a real vector space, and that in Lorentzian signature manifolds which are not time-orientable must be included as valid configurations of the theory.

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Zoom link https://pitp.zoom.us/j/98089579253?pwd=NDBhUjBUTTEwT0R5YmhYVElZenJtZz09

Quantum error-correcting codes are a key pillar of quantum computing. They allow for the recovery of quantum information in the presence of noise. There are three main ways to depict a quantum code: by the list of codewords, by an encoding circuit, or by a stabilizer tableau. Although the latter is used most often, all three of these have pros and cons. In this talk, I will showcase ZX calculus, a graphical language that can be used to talk about quantum states, circuits, measurements, and importantly, codes. I will demonstrate its power and versatility and showcase a canonical form for states, circuits, and codes. The power of this theorem allows us to compile these quantum objects to a unique, elegant, and simple form which serves as a much better depiction than any of the three methods above.

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Zoom link https://pitp.zoom.us/j/91431057660?pwd=cW9xKzNXejdIekp3amFacFZ5OHN5dz09

We develop the theory of quantum scars for quantum fields. By generalizing the formalisms of Heller and Bogomolny from few-body quantum mechanics to quantum fields, we find that unstable periodic classical solutions of the field equations imprint themselves in a precise manner on bands of energy eigenfunctions. This indicates a breakdown of thermalization at certain energy scales, in a manner that can be characterized via semiclassics. As an explicit example, we consider time-periodic non-topological solitons in complex scalar field theories. We find that an unstable variant of Q-balls, called Q-clouds, induce quantum scars. Some technical contributions of our work include methods for characterizing moduli spaces of periodic orbits in field theories, which are essential for formulating our quantum scar formula. We further discuss potential connections with quantum many-body scars in Rydberg atom arrays. Based on work in arXiv:2212.01637 with Jordan Cotler.

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Zoom link https://pitp.zoom.us/j/91572728134?pwd=Q0Jzb0lwQW5VU0ptRnRWL2tOTTdLdz09

Frustrated quantum magnets provide a promising platform for realizing exotic phase transitions known as deconfined quantum critical points (DQCPs), where a conventional Landau-Ginzburg description fails and the resulting description involves emergent gauge fields. In the first part of my talk, I will propose a unified theory for describing a pair of continuous phase transitions numerically observed in the frustrated square lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet, where a spin liquid phase appears to emerge in between Neel and valence bond solid (VBS) phases. The proposed DQCPs exhibit a plethora of unconventional phenomena, including anisotropic fixed points and dangerously irrelevant perturbations. In the second part of my talk, I will describe recent work analyzing an effective model of triangular lattice antiferromagnetism which supports coplanar magnetic order as well as VBS and spin liquid phases. We show that this effective model is sign-problem-free and amenable to large-scale Monte Carlo simulations, which reveal a direct transition between magnetic and VBS phases.

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Zoom link https://pitp.zoom.us/j/98562300020?pwd=OXYrL0dJTGkzNk5memlVM0tqY3hNQT09