Talks

On Tuesday, M. Schiavina laid out the theoretical framework for the symplectic reduction of gauge theories in the presence of corners. In this talk I will apply this theoretical framework to Yang-Mills theory on a null boundary and show how a pair of soft charges controls the residual (corner) gauge symmetry after the first-stage symplectic reduction, and therefore the superselection structure of the theory after the second-stage symplectic reduction. I will also discuss the subtleties of the gauge A_u = 0, the interpretation of electromagnetic memory as superselection, and how the nonlinear structure of the non-Abelian theory complicates this picture.

After reviewing the constrained Hamiltonian analysis of geometric actions, the construction is applied to the case of the BMS group in four dimensions, where it yields two plus one dimensional BMS4 invariant field theories. (Based on work done in collaboration with K. Nguyen and R. Ruzziconi)

This talk focuses on classical features of asymptotic QED, i.e. the limit of QED at null and time-like infinity. The BV-BFV formalism allows one to view this as a boundary theory of bulk QED and carries a natural notion of what it means to be a symmetry of the model. I will make the connection between this perspective and the earlier findings of Herdegen (JMP 1996) and Strominger et.al. (JHEP 2014) concerning large gauge symmetries in QED. This is based on a joint paper with Michele Schiavina (CMP 2021).

We construct a Hermitian random matrix model that provides a stable non-perturbative completion of Cangemi-Jackiw (CJ) gravity, a two-dimensional theory of black holes in asymptotically flat spacetimes. The matrix model reproduces, to all orders in the topological expansion, the Euclidean partition function of CJ gravity with an arbitrary number of boundaries. The non-perturbative completion enables the exact computation of observables in flat space quantum gravity which we use to explicitly characterize the Bondi Hamiltonian spectrum. We discuss the implications of our results for the flat space S-matrix and black holes.

Google's TPUs were exclusively designed to accelerate and scale up machine learning workloads, amid the ongoing planet-wide race to build faster specialized hardware for artificial intelligence. But one must surely be able to use this hardware for other challenging computational tasks, right? We explored how to turn a TPU pod (2048 TPU v3 cores) into a dense linear algebra supercomputer to e.g. multiply two matrices of size 1,000,000 x 1,000,000 in just 2 minutes. We then used this power to perform a number of quantum physics and quantum chemistry computations at scale. For instance, we recently completed two largest-ever computations: a Density Functional Theory DFT computation of electronic structure (with N = 248,000 orbitals), and a Density Matrix Renormalization Group DMRG computation (with bond dimension D = 65,000). Cloud-based TPU pods and GPU pods are accessible to anyone and are poised to revolutionize the scientific supercomputing landscape.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/97006251134?pwd=WHhLa2pRUno0LzJjbzVnL2tsdGhOUT09

Celestial Holography proposes a duality between gravitational scattering in asymptotically flat spacetimes and a conformal field theory living on the celestial sphere. The main motivation for this program comes from the connection between soft theorems and asymptotic symmetries in asymptotically flat spacetimes, and our ability to recast soft operators as currents in a codimension 2 CFT. We present a streamlined route from asymptotic symmetries in 4D asymptotically flat spacetimes to currents in a 2D celestial CFT in a manner that makes their relation to QFT soft theorems manifest. We use this to re-examine the bulk picture of radial evolution in the 2D theory and reconcile the construction of charges in CCFT with the more familiar construction from AdS/CFT, despite the differing codimension. In the process, we point out how the Carrollian and Celestial perspectives amount to slicing the bulk and boundary in different ways — our celestial slices cut through the usual corner! — and emphasize how these perspectives inform each other. Based on 2201.06805, 2202.11127 and 2205.10901

The advent of precise measurements of neutron star properties has led to an explosion in "nuclear astrophysics": studying the properties of high-density matter using astrophysical phenomena.  Remarkably, constraints provided by nuclear theory and experiment and high-energy astrophysical observations are now competitive (and often complementary) in constraining the equation of state (EoS) of matter at supernuclear densities.  On the astrophysical side, data have provided a clearer picture how these constraints are affected by the choice of modeling the EoS.  Specifically, the nuclear EoS in astrophysical analyses is usually modeled phenomenologically, and often using ad hoc assumptions.  I will discuss why these ad hoc assumptions will likely cause problems, considering the deluge of coming neutron-star measurements, by comparing these approaches to a data-driven, "nonparametric", model.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/94435348102?pwd=OHF2MkNMWStNTlhmdkRQaElNL1M1Zz09

We analyze, first from a geometric point of view, the behavior of dynamical horizons. We then connect with Carrolian fluids and discuss potential phenomena stemming from non-linearities in the resulting equations [This is joint work with Jaime Redondo Yuste]

I will construct explicit actions that are invariant under BMS/conformal Carroll symmetries. Over the last few years, we have developed a systematic procedure for constructing non-Lorentzian theories from limits and expansions of Lorentzian theories. To obtain explicit examples of candidate dual field theories for flat space holography, I apply this procedure to the conformally coupled scalar action, which leads to two classes of actions that are invariant under conformal Carroll symmetries. Time permitting, I will briefly mention ongoing work on the computation and classification of Weyl anomalies in such theories.

In this talk, I will describe celestial higher spin charges as corner integrals, and their relationship with gravitational multipole moments. I will then explain that these charges uniquely label gravitational vacua and the corresponding flux-balance equations describe the transition caused by gravitational radiation among different vacua. This tak is based on arXiv:2206.12597.

In this talk, I will present an updated account on the prescription for BMS fluxes in asymptotically flat spacetimes, including their split into hard and soft pieces and the associated symplectic structure. Implications for flat space holography will be discussed.

The AdS/CFT correspondence (Anti-de Sitter gravity/ conformal field theory correspondence), also referred to as holography, provides the first example of a duality relating a gravity theory to a quantum field theory without gravity. The gravity theory involved describes the hyperbolic bulk spacetime and the quantum field theory its boundary. This duality has its origin within string theory. Recent developments based on both quantum information theory and the physics of black holes raise the question if dualities of this type exist more generally, even beyond string theory. As a specific example, I will describe recent progress towards establishing a duality based on a discretisation of hyperbolic Anti-de Sitter space that is obtained by a regular tiling with polygons. I will explain how to obtain a dual Hamiltonian on the boundary that reflects properties of the bulk tiling, and describe its properties. This research direction is related to recent developments in mathematics, quantum information, condensed matter physics and electrical engineering, making it truly interdisciplinary. I will  conclude by giving an outlook on the next steps to be followed in view of obtaining a full discrete duality.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/95553458965?pwd=bHZIamd3Q1BNRjBhZGk5Y1BPK0d6QT09