Talks

We consider half BPS operators in maximally supersymmetric Yang Mills (SYM) in p+1 dimensions. These operators satisfy trace relations that are identical to those discussed in the p=3 case (N = 4 SYM). Nevertheless, the bulk explanation of these trace relations must differ from the p = 3 case as their holographic duals are not AdS spacetimes. We identify giant graviton solutions in the dual holographic backgrounds for -1 <= p <= 4. In the ’t Hooft limit, these giants are D(6-p) branes that wrap the internal sphere. We also follow the giants into the strong coupling region where they become other branes. Despite propagating in a non-AdS geometry, we find that the branes “feel” like they are in AdS. This is closely related to the emergent scaling symmetry present in these boundary theories.(based on https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.14249)

Measurements of the flavor structure of the Standard Model can be precise probes of physics beyond it. In this talk, we describe two implications of various flavor physics measurements. First, we discuss the use of Froggatt-Nielsen (FN) models for explaining the Standard Model flavor hierarchy. We define wrinkles, extra suppression or enhancement factors which modify the expected scaling of coupling sizes from FN models. We show how wrinkles can change the expected size of couplings to new physics in FN models, and how they naturally appear in various models, as well as discuss the example of the recent B->K\nu\nu measurement. In the second half of this talk, we use a SMEFT approach to illustrate the complementarity between future muon colliders and precision experiments for probing lepton flavor violation.

In this episode, we continue our exploration of Lie Groups and weight diagrams of their representations as a means of understanding the very specific field content and Gauge Groups of the Standard Model. Previously we presented a novel perspective of the Electroweak sector of the Standard Model as a shadow of 3 dimensional polytopes, which correspond to representations of a rank 3 group, and who's shadow corresponds to a specific embedding of the Electroweak Gauge Group. While interesting, we highlighted the theories inability to include colour as a simple extension, which motivated our search for higher rank unifying groups. Today, we present an algorithm for determining the Gauge quantum numbers of all SM chiral fermions from nothing but a projection of a 5 dimensional cube. We will discuss how previous unifications such as Georgi-Glashow, Pati-Salam, and others can be seen as different aspects of this rank 5 group and what conditions are used to fix the embedding corresponding to unbroken symmetries of the Standard Model. While our approach does violate common necessary conditions for Grand Unification, we use these difficulties to motivate our search for connections between the violation of spacetime symmetries such as Parity, and symmetry breaking in the Gauge sector.