QG group meeting: Symplectic reduction, asymptotic symmetries and edge modes

This is the weekly QG group meeting.
Speaker: Slava Lysov
Title: "Symplectic reduction, asymptotic symmetries and edge modes"

QG group meeting - the hidden heavy particles in higher-spin gravity

This is the weekly QG group meeting.
Speaker: Yasha Neiman
Title: "The hidden heavy particles in higher-spin gravity"

Journal club seminar: Batalin-Vilkoviski formalism and applications

Speaker: Slava Lysov

Title: Batalin-Vilkoviski formalism and applications.

Abstract : I am going to rewiev the Batalin-Vilkoviski (BV) formalinsm and discuaa some applications of it. The releveant papers are: classical paper on BV by A. Schwarz  "Geometry of Batalin-Vilkovisky quantization" and the paper by Gorodentsev, Krotov and Losev "Quantum Field Theory as Effective BV Theory from Chern-Simons".

Seminar "Tensionless Strings from worldsheet perspective" by Dr. Aritra Banerjee

Speaker: Dr. Aritra Banerjee, APCTP, South Korea

Journal club seminar: Replica Wormholes and the Entropy of Hawking Radiation

Speaker: Yasha Neiman

Title: Replica Wormholes and the Entropy of Hawking Radiation

Abstract :We are going to discuss the recent paper by Ahmed Almheiri, Thomas Hartman, Juan Maldacena, Edgar Shaghoulian and Amirhossein Tajdini  "Replica Wormholes and the Entropy of Hawking Radiation" 

[Seminar] "Out of time ordered effective dynamics of a quartic oscillator" by Dr. Bidisha Chakrabarty

Speaker: Dr. Bidisha Chakrabarty, ICTS-TIFR

Group Meeting: Review of Higher Spin Theories - Part 3

This will be the concluding part of the series of lectures on Higher Spin theories by Mirian Tsulaia. 

Abstract:  In today's talk we will discuss Vasiliev's formulation of Higher Spin theories, focussing in particular on the topic of free and nonlinear unfolded equations. 

Theoretical Physics Seminar: Seva Nikulin

Theoretical Physics Seminar.
Speaker: Seva Nikulin.
Title: "De Sitter space as a space of probability distributions".

Journal club seminar: Knots, the Jones Polynomial, and Khovanov homology

Speaker: Andrew Lobb

Title: Knots, the Jones Polynomial, and Khovanov homology.

Abstract : I shall give constructions of the Jones polynomial and of Khovanov homology.  These are both invariants of knots -- the former is a polynomial, the latter is a vector space.  They are interesting for many reasons and their construction is beautiful.  There are deep connections with physics on which I'm not really qualified to comment (apologies), but those able may try looking at Kauffman's book "Knots and Physics", Witten's "Quantum Field Theory and the Jones Polynomial", or Gukov-Schwarz-Vafa's "Khovanov-Rozansky homology and topological strings".  No knowledge of anything is assumed, and questions are encouraged.

[Seminar] "Making string theory great again" by Prof. Eoin Ó Colgáin

Speaker: Prof. Eoin Ó Colgáin from APCTP