Title: When black hole perturbation theory meets scattering amplitudes and conformal field theory Abstract: The study of black hole perturbation theory has seen a resurgence in recent years after the observation of the gravitational waves generated by the coalescence of binary black holes. In this talk, I will summarize some of the recent progress in […]
Title: Topological Resummation in Quantum Gravity, Abstract: The gravitational path integral remains one of the most elusive constructs in quantum gravity, particularly in regimes dominated by topological fluctuations. In this talk, I will present recent progress in Jackiw–Teitelboim (JT) gravity, where the sum over geometries can be made precise. We demonstrate that in a low-temperature […]
Title: Topological defects in liquid crystals, Abstract: I will present an introduction to the theory of topological defects in materials, giving an intuitive overview of homotopy theory and exploring how it is used to understand physically (and often visually!) observable quasiparticles. I will focus primarily on nematic liquid crystals, while highlighting analogous phenomena in other […]
Title: Tracing light: on Linear and Nonlinear Terahertz Polaritonics in Quantum Paraelectrics, Abstract: The advancement of high-speed data processing and signal manipulation technologies has pushed the frontier into the terahertz (THz) frequency range, raising a fundamental challenge: how to efficiently control electromagnetic fields at these frequencies. This issue, often referred to as the "THz gap" in optical and […]
Title: Flowing behind the horizon, Abstract: Considering an analytic continuation of holographic Renormalization Group flows opens up the possibility of defining a monotonic a-function along all the flow, including the region behind the horizon. While the precise field-theoretical interpretation of such a monotonic function is an open question, holographically, thermal RG flows offer a natural […]
"Thinking about 10 TeV pCM Colliders," Abstract: Today, we have a "Standard Model" of particle physics that is in excellent agreement with experiment. In particular, a central feature of this model -- a phase transition in the early universe to a state of spontaneously broken symmetry --- was confirmed by the discovery of the Higgs […]
Title: Scalar Relics from a Hot Big Bang in Theories of Fifth Forces, Abstract: Fifth force and equivalence principle tests search for new interactions by precisely measuring forces between macroscopic collections of atoms and molecules and their properties under free fall. In contrast, the early Universe plasma probes these interactions at a more fundamental level. […]
Order from disorder: Designing sequence-programmable protein condensates, Abstract: Biology provides numerous examples of phase-separated protein and nucleic acid condensates, which establish distinct compartments for spatially organizing biomolecules within living cells. This mechanism of spatial organization relies on the ability of biomolecular systems to navigate high-dimensional phase diagrams by tuning the interactions among proteins and […]
Theoretical approaches to cosmic tensions, Abstract: The Hubble and weak-lensing S8 tensions in cosmology perhaps hint at new physics beyond LCDM. I have extensively investigated these anomalies, proposing the early dark energy (EDE) solution to the Hubble tension. Although EDE has had some successes, there are challenges yet - improving EDE's underlying fundamental model, constraining […]
TITLE: Viable qubits in noisy and strongly interacting systems, ABSTRACT: Quantum sensors and qubits are usually two-level systems, quantum analogs of classical bits assuming binary values ‘0' or ‘1'. They are useful to the extent to which superpositions of ‘0’ and ‘1’ persist despite a noisy environment. The standard prescription to avoid decoherence of solid-state […]
Title: Local Probes of Spin Excitations in Quantum Matter, Abstract: Major scientific discoveries are often enabled by new measurement capabilities that provide novel perspectives into complex physical problems. Recent advances and discoveries made on quantum materials have challenged experimentalists to come up with new ways to probe their intrinsic properties. In this talk I will […]
Kramers Nodal Lines, Weyl Fermions and Large Anomalous Hall Effect in SmAlSi and InxTaS2 Kramers nodal lines (KNLs) are a special type of Weyl line degeneracies that connect time reversal invariant momenta (TRIM). KNLs are robust to spin orbit coupling (SOC), and are inherent to all non-centrosymmetric achiral crystal structures. In this talk, I will […]