Events at 402 Physics South Hall, Campus

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Abstract:  Wilsonian effective theories are valid for low energy experiments. Semiclassical gravity, while an effective theory, seems different, requiring more than a low energy restriction: experiments also cannot be too complex. The formalism for such a low-complexity effective theory is much less understood. In this talk I’ll present progress closing this gap, developing models of novel low-complexity effective theories.

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Abstract: The finite N BPS spectrum of the symmetric orbifold CFT of K3 contains “polar” states below the black hole threshold whose holographic origin has remained unclear. We propose a bulk prescription for computing these degeneracies exactly at finite N, given by a sum over one-loop partition functions of the IIB theory on spectrally-flowed (AdS3 x S3)/Z_K x K3 orbifold … Read More

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The inherent noise in the intensity of light from astrophysical sources imprints correlations in photon arrival times, forming the very signal of intensity interferometry. Recent technological advances are reviving intensity interferometers as capable tools for high-precision astronomical measurements. I will propose a technique called the “expanding ejecta method” (EEM) to determine angular diameter distances to supernovae based purely on geometry, … Read More

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Abstract: We provide a proposal generalizing the asymptotic Euclidean state preparation to a state preparation by the deformation of a partial Cauchy slice in Lorentzian spacetime. With a proper choice of boundary conditions, we claim that the state forms a Hilbert space $\bf{H}_\sigma$ associated to the boundary $\sigma$ of the partial Cauchy slice.  Assuming that $\bf{H}_\sigma$ factorises over connected components of … Read More