| Friday, April 19, 2024 |
| Strings From Feynman Diagrams | |
| Edward Mazenc, ETH Zurich | |
| Event Type: Informal HEP Talk | |
| Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | |
| Location: 726 Broadway, 940, CCPP Seminar | |
| Abstract: How are bulk strings related to boundary Feynman diagrams? I will give an overview of my work with Rajesh Gopakumar on deriving the closed string dual to the simplest possible gauge theory, a Hermitian matrix integral. Working in the conventional ‘t Hooft limit, we extract topological string theories which replace the minimal string away from the double-scaling limit. We show how to exactly reconstruct both the closed string worldsheet and its embedding into the emergent target space, purely from the matrix Feynman diagrams. Along the way, we will encounter the notion of open-closed-open triality which allows us to establish this dictionary, and predicts multiple open string descriptions of the same bulk physics. I’ll close by embedding our results in the broader context of AdS/CFT. | |
| The new science of life's origins and distribution in the universe | |
| John Eiler, Caltech | |
 Event Type: Special Seminar | |
| Time: 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM | |
| Location: 726 Broadway, 940, CCPP Seminar | |
| Abstract: The study of the origins of life and its possible existence beyond the earth has long lived in the liminal space between science, quasi-scientific speculation, and nonsense. Nevertheless, the questions that motivate this field are among the greatest unanswered problems in the natural sciences and human thought more broadly. The modern era of this subject began in the 1990’s with a wave of top-down funding agency investments and several highly visible and equally ludicrous false starts. But recently this subject has transformed its scope, methods and opportunities, and has radically expanded and re-organized its connections to more established, rigorous fields, including astronomy, synthetic chemistry, geology, geochemistry, and the biological ‘omics’ disciplines. The last decade has seen dramatic progress on several interconnected fronts, yet the field remains ravenous for its first truly transformative discovery. The central questions remain: What will constitute definitive evidence of life’s origins on earth and existence in the wider universe; and, how should we best seek that evidence? | |
| Zare | |
| Event Type: HEP Discussion Sessions | |
| Time: 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM | |
| Location: 726 Broadway, 902, Lg Conf | |