https://youtu.be/EYi-eu4ADl0 Topological Quantum Matter Seminar Speaker: Yizhuang You, UC San Diego Title: Symmetric Mass Generation Abstract: Symmetric mass generation (SMG) is a novel mechanism for massless fermions to acquire a mass via a strong-coupling non-perturbative interaction effect. In contrast to the conventional Higgs mechanism for fermion mass generation, the SMG mechanism does not condense any […]
New Technologies in Mathematics Seminar Speaker: Antonia Creswell, DeepMind Title: Towards Faithful Reasoning Using Language Models Abstract: Language models are showing impressive performance on many natural language tasks, including question-answering. However, language models – like most deep learning models – are black boxes. We cannot be sure how they obtain their answers. Do they reason […]
Colloquium Speaker: Patrick Lopatto (Brown) Title: The Mobility Edge of Lévy Matrices Abstract: Lévy matrices are symmetric random matrices whose entry distributions lie in the domain of attraction of an alpha-stable law; such distributions have infinite variance when alpha is less than 2. Due to the ubiquity of heavy-tailed randomness, these models have been broadly […]
Speaker: Leonid Rybnikov, Harvard CMSA/National Research University Higher School of Economics Title: Quantum magnet chains and Kashiwara crystals Abstract: Solutions of the algebraic Bethe ansatz for quantum magnet chains are, generally, multivalued functions of the parameters of the integrable system. I will explain how to compute some monodromies of solutions of Bethe ansatz for the Gaudin magnet […]
Algebraic Geometry in String Theory Seminar Speaker: Daniel Pomerleano, UMass Boston Title: Singularities of the quantum connection on a Fano variety Abstract: The small quantum connection on a Fano variety is one of the simplest objects in enumerative geometry. Nevertheless, it is the subject of far-reaching conjectures known as the Dubrovin/Gamma conjectures. Traditionally, these conjectures are […]
Colloquium Speaker: James Cummings,Carnegie Mellon University Title: Complete disorder is impossible: Some topics in Ramsey theory Abstract: The classical infinite Ramsey theorem states that if we colour pairs of natural numbers using two colours, there is an infinite set all of whose pairs get the same colour. This is the beginning of a rich theory, […]
https://youtu.be/NbjuY80nWgM Topological Quantum Matter Seminar Speaker: Jennifer Cano (Stony Brook and Flatiron Institute) Title: Engineering topological phases with a superlattice potential Abstract: We propose an externally imposed superlattice potential as a platform for manipulating topological phases, which has both advantages and disadvantages compared to a moire superlattice. In the first example, we apply the superlattice […]
Swampland Seminar Speaker: Aasmund Folkestad (MIT) Title: The Penrose Inequality as a Constraint on Low Energy Quantum Gravity Abstract: In this talk, I argue that the Penrose inequality (PI) can be used to constrain low energy theories compatible AdS/CFT, and possibly also quantum gravity in flat space. Focusing on AdS/CFT, it is shown that the PI can be […]
Member Seminar Speaker: Zhigang Yao Title: Principal flow, sub-manifold and boundary Abstract: While classical statistics has dealt with observations which are real numbers or elements of a real vector space, nowadays many statistical problems of high interest in the sciences deal with the analysis of data which consist of more complex objects, taking values in spaces which […]
Algebraic Geometry in String Theory Seminar Speaker: Sam Bardwell-Evans, Boston University Title: Scattering Diagrams from Holomorphic Discs in Log Calabi-Yau Surfaces Abstract: In this talk, we construct special Lagrangian fibrations for log Calabi-Yau surfaces and scattering diagrams from Lagrangian Floer theory of the fibers. These scattering diagrams recover the algebro-geometric scattering diagrams of Gross-Pandharipande-Siebert and […]
General Relativity Seminar Speaker: Uri Kol, CMSA Title: Duality in Einstein’s Gravity Abstract: Electric-Magnetic duality has been a key feature behind our understanding of Quantum Field Theory for over a century. In this talk I will describe a similar property in Einstein’s gravity. The gravitational duality reveals, in turn, a wide range of new IR phenomena, including […]
https://youtu.be/-Kjl8WehIPw Colloquium Please note this colloquium will be held at a special time: 4:00-5:00 pm. Speaker: Subir Sachdev (Harvard) Title: Quantum statistical mechanics of charged black holes and strange metals Abstract: The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model was introduced as a toy model of interacting fermions without any particle-like excitations. I will describe how this toy model yields […]