Cosmological correlators beyond the de-Sitter invariance

December 24 (Wed) 15:00 - 17:00, 2025

Zhu Yuhang (Postdoctoral Researcher, Particle Theory and Cosmology Group, Center for Theoretical Physics of the Universe (CTPU), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Republic of Korea)

Cosmological correlators serve as powerful probes of the physics that governed the Universe in its earliest moments. Yet analytic calculations of correlators involving massive spinning fields are highly challenging. Recent progress in the cosmological bootstrap program has greatly deepened our understanding of these correlators. In this talk, we will show how to extend the bootstrap program beyond exact de Sitter invariance by studying two types of symmetry breaking: explicit scale-invariance breaking and boost breaking. We will present the boundary differential equations that characterise correlators in these settings and highlight the rich phenomenology that emerges. Finally, we will also show recent developments in approximation methods, based on the combination of exact WKB and saddle-point method, which provide a precise, efficient, and physically transparent way to capture and classify the non-analytic features of correlators.

Venue: via Zoom / Seminar Room #359

Event Official Language: English

Topological Image Analysis

December 25 (Thu) 12:00 - 13:00, 2025

Shizuo Kaji (Professor, Institute of Mathematics for Industry, Kyushu University)

Topological Data Analysis (TDA) applies algebraic topology to the study of data such as point clouds. When applied to image and volumetric data, TDA provides a way to capture the topological features that characterise shapes and spatial structures. In this talk, I will outline the strengths and limitations of TDA for image analysis, and compare its capabilities with those of deep neural networks. I will also present hands-on examples using our open-source software Cubical Ripser. Finally, I will highlight a new direction in the use of TDA for image processing.

Venue: Room C501, West Zone 1 Building D, Ito Campus, Kyushu University, SUURI-COOL (Kyushu) (Main Venue) / via Zoom

Event Official Language: English

Invitation to Random Tensor Models: from random geometry, enumeration of tensor invariants, to characteristic polynomials

January 6 (Tue) 13:30 - 14:30, 2026

Reiko Toriumi (Associate Professor, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST))

I will introduce random tensor models by first reviewing their motivation coming from random geometric approach to quantum gravity. Then, I will selectively present some of the interesting research results, by highlighting recent results on enumeration of graphs representing tensor invariants, and reporting our recent work on a new notion of characteristic polynomials for tensors via Grassmann integrals and distributions of roots of random tensors. The latter two are based on arXiv:2404.16404[hep-th] and arXiv:2510.04068[math-ph]

Venue: #359, 3F, Main Research Building (Main Venue) / via Zoom

Event Official Language: English

Higher Gauge Structures and Invariant Action Principles

January 6 (Tue) 15:15 - 16:15, 2026

Sebastián Salgado (External Researcher, Instituto de Alta Investigacion, Universidad de Tarapaca, Chile)

I present the systematic construction of gauge theories based on free differential and L-infinity algebras. This provides a consistent algebraic framework for constructing gauge-invariant theories whose field content is extended by higher-degree differential forms as gauge potentials. I derive explicit expressions for the corresponding extended Chern-Simons actions and the generalized anomaly terms that emerge from them. Possible applications to gravity and supergravity will also be discussed.

Venue: Seminar Room #359 (Main Venue) / via Zoom

Event Official Language: English

Median-based estimators for randomized quasi-Monte Carlo integration

January 9 (Fri) 15:00 - 17:00, 2026

Kosuke Suzuki (Associate Professor, Yamagata University)

High-dimensional numerical integration is a ubiquitous challenge across various fields, from mathematical finance to computational physics and Bayesian statistics. While standard Monte Carlo (MC) methods are robust, their probabilistic error convergence rate of $O(N^{-1/2})$ is often insufficient for demanding applications. In this talk, I will introduce Quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) and Randomized QMC (RQMC) methods, which offer a powerful framework for accelerating integration using low-discrepancy point sets. A key advantage of this deterministic approach is its ability to achieve a convergence rate of $O(N^{-1+\epsilon})$, significantly outperforming the standard MC rate. The second part of the talk will focus on the construction of point sets, specifically lattice rules and digital nets. I will explain how these methods achieve higher-order convergence rates, faster than $O(N^{-1})$, for sufficiently smooth integrands. I will also discuss their randomized variants and demonstrate how RQMC with mean-based estimators provides practical error estimation while maintaining high-order convergence. Finally, I will discuss recent progress in RQMC involving median-based estimators. I will highlight how these estimators achieve almost optimal convergence rates for various function spaces without requiring prior knowledge of the integrand.

Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359

Event Official Language: English

Measuring evolutionary forces of cultural change

January 13 (Tue) 14:00 - 15:30, 2026

Joshua B. Plotkin (Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor of the Natural Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, USA)

I will describe how to measure the forces that drive cultural change, using inference tools from evolutionary theory. We study time series data from large corpora of parsed English texts to identify what drives language change over the course of centuries. We also measure frequency-dependent effects in time series of baby names and purebred dog preferences. The form of frequency dependence we infer helps to explain the diversity distribution of names, and it replicates across the United States, France, Norway and the Netherlands. We find different growth laws for male versus female names, attributable to different rates of innovation, whereas names from the bible enjoy a genuine advantage at all frequencies. Frequency dependence emerges from a host of underlying social and cultural mechanisms, including a preference for novelty that recapitulates fashion trends in dog owners. Studying culture through the lens of evolutionary theory provides a quantitative account of social pressures to conform or to be different; and it provides inference tools that may be used in biology as genetic and phenotypic time series are increasingly available.

Venue: Okochi Hall (Main Venue) / via Zoom

Event Official Language: English

A one-world interpretation of quantum mechanics

January 16 (Fri) 14:00 - 16:00, 2026

Isaac Layton (Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo)

The measurement problem arises in trying to explain how the objective classical world emerges from a quantum one. In this talk I’ll advocate for an alternative approach, in which the existence of a classical system is assumed a priori. By asking that the standard rules of probability theory apply to it when it interacts with a system linearly evolving in Hilbert space, I’ll show that with a few additional assumptions one can recover the unitary dynamics, collapse and Born rule postulates from quantum theory. This gives an interpretation of quantum mechanics in which classically definite outcomes are always assigned probabilities, rather than superpositions, giving one-world instead of many. The main technical tool used is a change of measure on the space of classical paths, the functional form of which characterises the quantum dynamics and Born rules of a class of quantum-like theories. Time allowing, I will also discuss how these results clarify which additional assumptions must be accepted if one wishes to seriously consider classical alternatives to quantum gravity.

Venue: #445-447, 4F, Main Research Building / via Zoom

Event Official Language: English

New computational methods in quantum field theory 2026

January 26 (Mon) - 28 (Wed) 2026

Recent developments in quantum computers and related theoretical/technical advancements have brought attention to "new computational methods in quantum field theory" in the fields of high energy/nuclear physics. Main targets of this school are graduate students and postdocs. This school provides opportunities to discuss recent research trends and their applications through lectures by experts and presentations by participants. Lecturers: Junichi Haruna (University of Osaka) "Introduction to Quantum Error Correction (tentative)" Yoshimasa Hidaka (Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics/RIKEN iTHEMS) “Introduction to Hamiltonian Lattice Gauge Theory (tentative)” Tokiro Numasawa (University of Tokyo) "Open Majorana system (tentative)"

Venue: #435-437, 4F, Main Research Building

Event Official Language: English

iTHEMS Cosmology Forum n°5 - Effective Field Theory approaches across the Universe

January 29 (Thu) 10:00 - 17:00, 2026

Katsuki Aoki (Research Assistant Professor, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University)
Toshifumi Noumi (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo)
Lucas Pinol (CNRS Researcher, LPENS, CNRS/École Normale Supérieure, France)

This fifth workshop will bring together researchers exploring the effective field theory (EFT) framework in diverse cosmological contexts. Topics will include EFT formulations of interacting dark matter and dark energy, open EFTs for gravity, and multi-field inflationary dynamics. By highlighting recent progress and open questions, the workshop seeks to bridge insights from the early and late universe through the unifying language of EFT. In addition to the invited talks, the workshop will feature a panel discussion designed to promote interaction between the speakers and participants. One of the key goals of this event is to foster collaboration among researchers working in neighboring fields, and to encourage participation from young and early-career researchers who are interested in, but may not yet have worked on, these themes. The workshop welcomes a broad audience with an interest in theoretical cosmology, gravitation, and quantum field theory. The workshops are organised by the Cosmology Study Group at RIKEN iTHEMS.

Venue: #435-437, 4F, Main Research Building

Event Official Language: English

Mathematical Application Research Team Meeting #12

February 6 (Fri) 14:00 - 15:30, 2026

Riccardo Muolo (Special Postdoctoral Researcher, Division of Fundamental Mathematical Science, RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS))

Mathematical Application Research Team invites Riccardo Muolo fom Division of Fundamental Mathematical Science to this meeting. You are welcome to join the meeting. Title: Dynamics beyond nodes: a topological framework for oscillatory dynamics on higher-order networks Abstract: In recent years, increasing attention has been given to dynamical processes taking place on higher-order networks, where interactions are not limited to links, but may involve also higher-dimensional simplices [1]. While classical network models assume that state variables live on nodes and interact through links, many real systems — including brain, climate, and transportation systems — cannot be fully described within this node-centric perspective [2]. In this seminar, I will introduce the framework of higher-order networks and the concept of topological signals, namely, dynamical variables defined on simplices of higher dimensions. I will briefly present the basic tools required for this setting, including elementary notions of discrete calculus, discrete topology and geometric algebra, which serve as the mathematical foundation for modeling dynamical processes beyond the node-based paradigm. Next, I will discuss models of oscillatory dynamics extended to this framework. First, I will present the topological Kuramoto model [3], in which phases are not restricted to nodes but may also be associated with links, and where the coupling arises from the combinatorial structure of the simplicial complex. Then, I will introduce the discrete Hodge Laplacian and the Dirac-Bianconi operator [4], the former generalizing diffusive interactions to the higher-order setting, while the latter provides cross-talk between signals defined on simplices of different dimensions. Finally, I will introduce the notion of Dirac-Bianconi driven oscillators, where the dynamics of node- and link-signals coexist, interact and may give rise to collective oscillatory behaviors [5].

Venue: via Zoom

Event Official Language: English

What can we learn from kilonovae about nucleosynthesis and high-density matter?

February 9 (Mon) 14:00 - 15:15, 2026

Oliver Just (Postdoctoral Researcher, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Germany)

The electromagnetic transients accompanying neutron-star mergers (NSMs), called kilonovae, are powered by the radioactive decay of freshly synthesized heavy elements. As such they should contain rich information about the ejected matter and the properties of the extremely dense meta-stable neutron-star remnant formed right after the collision. However, extracting such information from observed kilonova light curves and spectra remains a challenging endeavor, which requires sophisticated models of various hydrodynamic processes and neutrino transport effects, detailed knowledge of nuclear and atomic physics, as well as complex radiative transfer calculations. In this talk I will report recent efforts from our "HeavyMetal" collaboration aimed at deciphering kilonovae.

Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359

Event Official Language: English

RIKEN iTHEMS-Kyoto University joint workshop on Asymptotics in Astrophysics and Cosmology

March 2 (Mon) - 4 (Wed) 2026

This joint workshop will bring together physicists and mathematicians who work with asymptotics and perturbation theory techniques. This includes theorists in cosmology, high energy physics, quantum gravity, solar physics, astrophysics. Workshop overview Over three days, there will be approximately 15 invited (1 hour slot) or contributed (20-30 min slot) talks about: Fundamental asymptotics and perturbation theory techniques used in theoretical physics. Various applications of asymptotics and perturbation theory techniques in (wave transport or oscillation related) astrophysics and cosmology eigenvalue problems. The workshop will also feature hands-on Mathematica and Python tutorials introducing: Practical use of WKB methods in applied mathematics for any “Schrodinger-like” wave equations, Resummation methods in high energy theory, Deriving normal modes in stars, and their application to tidal evolution in binary star or planet systems, Eigenvalue problems in core collapse supernova theory.

Venue: 8F, Integrated Innovation Building (IIB)

Event Official Language: English

KEK-iTHEMS Workshop “Concepts of Quantum and Spacetime”

March 9 (Mon) - 12 (Thu) 2026

The two fundamental questions—“What is quantum?” and “What is spacetime?”—are deeply intertwined. On one hand, the formulation and interpretation of quantum theory depend both implicitly and explicitly on our conceptions of time and space. On the other hand, we believe that fully taking into account the quantum character of nature will force us to revise our understanding of spacetime. These two conceptual problems lie at the heart of the unsolved challenge of how to quantize classical spacetime, and conversely, how (semi-) classical descriptions of spacetime emerge from quantum theory. Furthermore, if the entire matter-spacetime system is a kind of quantum many-body system, thermodynamics—which governs its statistical behaviors—should play a key role in elucidating these problems. This workshop will discuss the question “How can quantum theory and spacetime be understood in a consistent manner?” from a fundamental and broad perspective. To tackle this challenge, we gather researchers in foundations of quantum theory, quantum gravity, and related fields from around the world, providing a "space and time" to share various ideas with open minds and engage in lively discussions. By exploring new concepts and principles, we hope to uncover directions to guide quantum theory over the next 100 years. This workshop covers… Foundations of quantum theory Quantum gravity and emergence of spacetime Formulation of semi-classical gravity Experimental aspects of fundamental properties in nature and quantum gravity Foundations of quantum many-body systems and thermodynamics Other related topics are welcome. We welcome short talk presentations and poster presentations. This event is a workshop jointly organized by KEK Theory Center and RIKEN iTHEMS.

Venue: Seminar Hall, Building 3, KEK

Event Official Language: English

Perspectives and applications of Koopman Operator Theory

March 19 (Thu) 9:00 - 18:00, 2026

Yoshihiko Susuki (Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University)
Hiroya Nakao (Professor, Department of Systems and Control Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo)
Alexandre Mauroy (Associate Professor, Mathematics, University of Namur, Belgium)
Yuzuru Kato (Associate Professor, Department of Complex and Intelligent Systems, School of Systems Information Science, Future University-Hakodate)

Venue: Room 535-537, 5F, Main Research Building

Event Official Language: English

Clumpy Outflows from Super-Eddington Accreting Black Holes

April 10 (Fri) 14:00 - 15:15, 2026

Haojie Hu (JSPS Research Fellow, University of Tsukuba)

Recent advances in X-ray spectroscopic observation have enabled researchers to reveal distinct clumpy structures in the super-Eddington outflows from the supermassive black hole in PDS 456 (XRISM Collaboration 2025), initiating detailed investigation of fine-scale structures in accretion-driven outflows. In this talk, I will introduce our high-resolution, two-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulations with time-varying and anisotropic initial and boundary conditions that reproduce clumpy outflows from super-Eddington accretion flows. The resulting clumpy outflows extend across a wide range of radial distances and polar angles, exhibiting typical properties such as a size of ~10 rg (where rg is the gravitational radius), a velocity of ~0.05–0.2 c (where c is the speed of light), and about five clumps along the line of sight. Although the velocities are slightly smaller, these characteristics reasonably resemble those obtained from the XRISM observation. The gas density of the clumps is on the order of 10^-13–10^-12 g cm^-3, and their optical depth for electron scattering is approximately 1–10. The clumpy winds accelerated by radiation force are considered to originate from the region within <300 rg.

Venue: #220, 2F, Main Research Building (Main Venue) / via Zoom

Event Official Language: English