Theoretical Physics

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds the research activities of Professors Igor Klebanov, Simone Giombi, and Herman Verlinde at Princeton University. The unification of Quantum Mechanics and Special Relativity has produced the powerful apparatus of Quantum Field Theory. It has applications in a variety of fields of physics, ranging from elementary particles to critical phenomena. A much more difficult problem is Quantum Gravity, the unification of Quantum Mechanics with General Relativity, which is important for addressing the mysteries of black-hole physics. Remarkably, there are precise relations between Quantum Gravity and Quantum Field Theory, and deepening our fundamental understanding of these theories is one of the key goals of this research. Another goal is the application of these theories to specific models and exploration of their connections with Quantum Information theory. This research is therefore in the national interest in that it helps to advance fundamental scientific progress in the United States. Postdocs and students will be very important for carrying out this research program; educating and mentoring such students thus constitutes its key broader impact. At a more technical level, the research will aim to shed new light on the conformal field theories in various spacetime dimensions. This includes non-unitary models which sometimes have simple formulations in statistical mechanics. Via the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory duality, the models with a large number of degrees of freedom can teach us more about the quantum theory of gravity, including the higher-spin fields. The project also includes the exploration of Quantum Field Theories in the presence of boundaries and defects, such as the study of Wilson loops in gauge theory and of theories with boundary interactions. The research on Quantum Gravity in model black-hole, wormhole and cosmological spacetimes will aim to address some of the deep mysteries in fundamental physics. This research also offers prospects of cross-fertilization with condensed-matter physics and Quantum Information theory through the exploration of lattice Hamiltonians for interacting qubits. Of particular interest are the quantum many-body scar states that can avoid thermalization and decoherence; in some models they can be constructed using the methods of Group Theory. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.