Tentative Schedule
January 25
Speaker: Prof. Igor Klebanov, Princeton University
Title: "Baryonic Chemical Potential in AdS/CFT"
Abstract:
We review the example of AdS/CFT correspondence coming from considering
the gauge theory on the stack of D3-branes placed at the tip of the
conifold. We then present new 3-brane solutions describing the
``conifold gauge theory'' at nonzero temperature and baryonic chemical
potential. These solutions are asymptotic to the product of 5-d Anti-de
Sitter space and the Einstein space T^{1,1}, the base of the conifold.
The baryon number is carried by D3-branes wrapping the topologically
non-trivial 3-cycle in T^{1,1}. Of particular interest is the
low-temperature limit where we find a new kind of weakly curved
near-horizon geometry; it is a warped product AdS_2 x R3 x T^{1,1} with
warp factors that are powers of the logarithm of the AdS radius. Thus,
our solution encodes a new type of emergent quantum near-criticality.
February 1
Speaker: Jeff Murugan, Cape Town University
Title: "The Emergence of Spacetime"
Abstract:
The idea that geometry, topology and even spacetime are "emergent"
properties of some more fundamental theory of quantum gravity is making
more and more of an impact into contemporary scientific thinking. In
this talk I give an introductory account of the AdS/CFT correspondence
in the 1/2 BPS sector of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. I also review
some recent advances in our understanding of how six of the dimensions
of the string theory are encoded in the Yang-Mills theory, and suggest
how local geometry and topology emerge.
February 15
Speaker: Prof. Robert Mawhinney, Columbia University
Title: "Results of Simulations Exploring the Phases of Nf = 8 and Nf = 12 QCD"
February 22
Speaker: Can Kilic, Rutgers University
Title: "Vectorlike Confinement and its signatures at the LHC"
Abstract:
I will present a broad class of vectorlike confining gauge theories
which interact with the Standard Model predominantly via gauge
interactions. These theories have a rich phenomenology at the LHC if
confinement occurs at the TeV scale, while ensuring negligible impact
on precision electroweak and flavor observables. Spin-1 bound states
can be resonantly produced via their mixing with Standard Model gauge
bosons. The resonances promptly decay to pseudo-Goldstone bosons, some
of which promptly decay to a pair of Standard Model gauge bosons, while
others are charged and stable on collider time scales. I will focus on
two benchmarks as they are representative of the most typical final
states in this setup, and highlight the signatures that are unique to
vectorlike confinement: 1) A model that is only charged under the
electroweak sector, with CHAMP and multi-photon final states, 2) A
model that carries QCD charge, with R-hadron and multi-jet final states.
March 8
Speaker: Peter Petreczky, BNL
Title: "Heavy quarks as probes of Quark Gluon Plasma"
Abstract:
I will discuss how heavy quarks can be used to study the properties of
quark gluon plasma (QGP). I will present recent lattice study of color
screening in QGP as well as calculations of the quarkonium spectral
functions. In addition lattice calculations of charm fluctuations and
their implications for in-medium properties of charm quarks will be
discussed.
March 22
Speaker: Raphael Bousso, University of California, Berkeley
Title: "The Entropic Landscape"
Abstract:
We initiate a quantitative exploration of the entire landscape. Predictions thus far have focused on subsets of landscape vacua that share most properties with our own. Using the entropic principle (the assumption that entropy production traces the formation of complex structures such as observers), we derive six predictions that apply to
the whole landscape. Typical observers find themselves in a flat universe, at the onset of vacuum domination, surrounded by a recently produced bath of relativistic quanta. These quanta are neither very dilute nor condensed, and thus appear as a roughly thermal background.Their characteristic wavelength is of order the inverse fourth root of the vacuum energy. These predictions hold for completely arbitrary observers, in arbitrary vacua with potentially exotic particle physics and cosmology. They agree with observation: We live in a flat universe at the onset of vacuum domination, whose dominant entropy production process (the glow of galactic dust) has recently produced a radiation bath (the cosmic infrared background). This radiation is marginally dilute, relativistic, and has a wavelength of order 100 microns, as predicted.
March 29
Speaker: Andreas Ross, Yale University
Title: "Precision Gravity and Effective Field Theories"
Abstract:
The effective field theory description yields a systematic treatment of Gravitational bound states such as binary systems. Gravitational waves emitted from binaries are one of the prime event candidates at direct detection experiments such as LIGO, VIRGO etc. Due to the multiple scales involved in the binary problem, an effective field theory treatment yields many advantages in perturbative calculations. My talk will review the setup of the effective field theory framework and report on recent progress in gravitational wave phenomenology.
April 5
Speaker: Hooman Davoudiasl, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Title: "The Galactic 511-keV Signal, Hidden Valleys, and Supernovae"
Abstract:
We examine under what circumstances the INTEGRAL/SPI 511 keV signal can
originate from decays of MeV-scale composite states produced by: (A)
thermonuclear (type Ia) or (B) core collapse supernovae. The requisite
dynamical properties that would account for the observed data are quite
distinct, for cases (A) and (B). We determine these requirements in
simple hidden valley models, where the escape fraction problem is
naturally addressed, due to the long lifetime of the new composite
states. The appearance of long-lived particles in typical models leads
to cosmological constraints and we address how a consistent cosmic
history may be achieved.
April 19
Speaker: Dam Thanh Son, University of Washington
Title: "Conformality Lost"
May 3
Speaker: Paolo Creminelli, Abdus Salam Center for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
Title: "Non-Gaussianities"
Abstract:
The initial perturbations giving rise to all the structures of our Universe follow, in first approximation, a Gaussian statistics. This indicates that the theory describing the early universe is rather weakly coupled. I will review the recent theoretical and experimental studies of the deviations from this simple picture: non-Gaussianities. I will show that they contain a wealth of information about the early phases of the Universe.
