Talks

Galaxy clusters represent excellent laboratories to search for Axion-Like Particles (ALPs). They contain magnetic fields which can induce quasi-sinusoidal oscillations in the X-ray spectra of AGNs situated in or behind them. Ultra-deep Chandra observations of the Perseus cluster contain over 5 x 105 counts from the central NGC1275 AGN, and represent an extraordinary dataset for ALP searches. In this talk I will describe how we used these to search for spectral irregularities from the AGN. No irregularities were found at the ~30% level, allowing us to place leading constraints on the ALP-photon mixing parameter gaγγ  <1.5 × 10−12GeV−1 for ma < 10-12 eV. I will move on to discuss the upcoming Athena X-ray Observatory, due for launch in 2028. The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) instrument onboard will be far better able to constrain ALPs than Chandra, due to its excellent energy resolution. Using the SIXTE simulation software, we estimate that non-observation of spectral modulations for a 200ks observation of NGC1275 will constrain gaγγ  <1.5 × 10−13GeV−1 , an order of magnitude improvement over that derived from Chandra data.

Thermodynamics is a closed field of research. The laws of thermodynamics, established in the nineteenth century, are still standing unchallenged.  However, they do not include gravity. Inclusion of gravity into the thermodynamical system can significantly modify the expected behavior of the system. We will demonstrate that gravity dynamically induces a maximal temperature that can be reached in a gas of particles.  We will also show how gravity can significantly change the Poincare recurrence theorem, and sometimes even prevent the recurrence from happening.

I'll do my best to explain my approach to the BFN construction of (quantum) Coulomb branches.  This approach is based on viewing the BFN algebra as an endomorphism algebra in a larger category that's easier to present (and which we can draw some pretty pictures for).  In particular, this approach is helpful in understanding the representation theory of this algebra, and in constructing and analyzing tilting generators on Coulomb branches.

The Kovtun-Son-Starinets conjecture that the ratio of the viscosity to the entropy density was bounded from below by fundamental constants has inspired over a decade of conjectures about fundamental bounds on the hydrodynamic and transport coefficients of strongly interacting quantum systems.  I will present two complementary and (relatively) rigorous approaches to proving bounds on the transport coefficients of strongly interacting systems.   Firstly, I will discuss lower bounds on the conductivities (and thus, diffusion constants) of inhomogeneous fluids, based around the principle that transport minimizes the production of entropy.   I will show explicitly how to use this principle in classical theories, and in theories with a holographic dual. Secondly, I will derive lower bounds on sound velocities and diffusion constants arising from the consistency of hydrodynamics with quantum decoherence and chaos, in large N theories.   I will discuss the possible tension of such bounds with (some) holographic theories, and discuss resolutions to some existing puzzles.

Cosmic-ray anti-deuterium and anti-helium have long been suggested as probes of dark matter, as their secondary astrophysical production was thought extremely scarce. But how does one actually predict the secondary flux? Anti-nuclei are dominantly produced in pp collisions, where laboratory cross section data is lacking. We make a new attempt at tackling this problem by appealing to a scaling law of nuclear coalescence with the physical volume of the hadronic emission region. The same volume is probed by Hanbury Brown-Twiss (HBT) two-particle correlations. We demonstrate the consistency of the scaling law with systems ranging from central and off-axis AA collisions to pA collisions, spanning 3 orders of magnitude in coalescence yield. Extending the volume scaling to the pp system, HBT data allows us to make a new estimate of coalescence, that we test against preliminary ALICE pp data. For anti-helium the resulting cross section is 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than earlier estimates. The astrophysical secondary flux of anti-helium could be within reach of a five-year exposure of AMS02.

Entanglement and entropy are key concepts standing at the foundations of quantum and statistical mechanics, respectively. In the last decade the study of quantum quenches revealed that these two concepts are intricately intertwined. Although the unitary time evolution ensuing from a pure initial state maintains the system globally at zero entropy, at long time after the quench local properties are captured by an appropriate statistical ensemble with non zero thermodynamic entropy, which can be interpreted as the entanglement accumulated during the dynamics. Therefore, understanding the post-quench entanglement evolution unveils how thermodynamics emerges in isolated quantum systems. An exact computation of the entanglement dynamics has been provided only for non-interacting systems, and it was believed to be unfeasible for genuinely interacting models. Conversely, here we show that the standard quasiparticle picture of the entanglement evolution, complemented with integrability-based knowledge of the asymptotic state, leads to a complete analytical understanding of the entanglement dynamics in the space-time scaling limit. Our framework requires only knowledge about the steady state, and the velocities of the low-lying excitations around it. We provide a thorough check of our result focusing on the spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ chain, and considering quenches from several initial states. We compare our results with numerical simulations using both tDMRG and iTEBD, finding always perfect agreement.