Tag - Quantum field theory

Marius Junge: Complexity and dynamics in finite and infinite dimension

26th May, 2023

In recent joint work with Yidong Chen, we discovered spectral gap estimates and concentration inequalities for for dynamics with few generators. Some of these estimates are dimension free and then can be used to feed in the recent theory of complexity initiated by Lloyd and Jaffe, and adapted more recently for specific resources. The goal is to find a viable theory of complexity which holds in type II1 and III1 von Neumann algebras, both of which come naturally in quantum field theory and Witten's take on black holes.

Scott Sheffield: An Introduction to Random Surfaces

28th November, 2022

The theory of 'random surfaces' has emerged in recent decades as a significant field of mathematics, lying somehow at the interface between geometry, probability, and mathematical physics. I will give a friendly (I hope) colloquium-level overview of the subject with lots of pictures. Topics will include random planar maps (interpreted as discrete random surfaces), Liouville quantum gravity surfaces, conformal field theory. and the random fractal curves produced from the Schramm-Loewner evolution.  Many of these topics are motivated by physics (statistical physics, string theory, quantum field theory, etc.) but they also have simple mathematical definitions that can be understood without a lot of physics background.