iTHEMS Theoretical Physics Seminar
126 events
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Seminar
Non-perturbative geodesic length in JT gravity and universal time evolution of holographic complexity
March 2 (Mon) 16:00 - 17:00, 2026
Shono Shibuya (Ph.D. Student, Nagoya University)
The interplay between black hole interior dynamics and quantum chaos provides a crucial framework for probing quantum effects in quantum gravity. According to the holographic "Complexity=Volume" proposal, we investigated non-perturbative generating function of geodesic length in Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity to uncover universal signatures of quantum chaos and quantum complexity. We observed that the generating function interpolates between two major probes of quantum chaos - spectral form factor and complexity - highlighting its utility as a probe of chaotic spectrum in quantum gravity. Generalizing the result to general chaotic systems, we demonstrated that time evolution of the complexity is universally governed by a certain pole structure of observables, suggesting a validity of wide class of observables as a probe of quantum chaos in quantum gravity.
Venue: via Zoom
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Noninvertible symmetry protected topological phases on lattice
February 25 (Wed) 10:30 - 11:30, 2026
Weiguang Cao (PD, Centre for Quantum Mathematics, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark)
The recent discovery of noninvertible symmetries—a radical extension of conventional symmetry—has challenged long-standing paradigms in condensed matter physics and quantum information and opened new territory in both theory and technology. Unlike ordinary symmetries, which can be inverted, these symmetries behave like projections (one-way operations) yet still strongly constrain quantum dynamics and enable new classes of phases and phase transitions. However, their role in organizing and stabilizing novel quantum phases remains poorly understood. One important example is a symmetry protected topological (SPT) phase, characterized by nontrivial edge modes and potential applications in quantum information. In this talk, I will discuss the classification of noninvertible symmetry-protected topological (NISPT) phases in both closed and open quantum systems using a duality-based method, and present concrete lattice realizations. These lattice models provide controlled playgrounds in which the physics of noninvertible symmetry can be explored numerically and, potentially, experimentally.
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Tunneling with physics-informed renormalisation group flows in the anharmonic oscillator
February 20 (Fri) 10:00 - 11:00, 2026
Friederike Ihssen (Postdoctoral Fellow, Physics, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany)
The resolution of strongly correlated physical systems is computationally hard, but can be simplified enormously by a formulation in terms of suitable dynamical degrees of freedom. Within the functional renormalisation group framework, physics-informed renormalisation group flows (PIRG flows) [1] implement scale-dependent coordinate transformations that can be used to devise optimal expansion schemes around such degrees of freedom. Recently, we have applied PIRG flows to the anharmonic oscillator, with an emphasis on the weak coupling regime with its instanton-dominated tunnelling processes [2]. We show that the instanton physics behind the exponential decay of the energy gap is already covered in the first order of the derivative expansion of the PIRG. The crucial new ingredients in the present analysis are the use of the ground state expansion within PIRG flows, as well as precision numerics based on Galerkin methods. Our result a_inst = 1.910(2) for the decay constant is in quantitative agreement with the analytic one, a_inst = 1.886 with a deviation of 1%. This illustrates very impressively the capacity of the PIRG for fully capturing non-perturbative physics already in relatively simple approximations.
Venue: via Zoom / #359, Main Research Building
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Classical Spinning Black Hole Scattering from Quantum Amplitudes
January 15 (Thu) 14:00 - 15:30, 2026
Dogan Akpinar (Ph.D. Student, Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, UK)
Scattering amplitudes have recently become a powerful tool for extracting classical observables in two-body gravitational dynamics, with direct relevance for current and future gravitational-wave experiments. In this talk, I will review how quantum scattering amplitudes can be used to obtain classical black hole scattering observables. A key focus will be the inclusion of spin effects, modelled by treating black holes as point particles in fixed-spin representations. This approach introduces a subtle ambiguity in the separation between classical and quantum information, which we resolve using our spin interpolation method. Leveraging this, we obtain, for the first time, the classical two-loop amplitude accurate to quartic order in spin, from which we extract physical observables such as linear and angular impulses using covariant Dirac brackets. Remarkably, the resulting amplitude obeys a spin-shift symmetry, remaining invariant under a shift of the black hole spin by the momentum transfer in the scattering process. Motivated by this structure, we examine the conserved quantities governing scattering and show that—at least asymptotically—the probe dynamics remain integrable through quartic order in spin. Under this asymptotic integrability, together with the spin-shift symmetry, we demonstrate that the quartic-in-spin radial action is fully determined by the aligned-spin sector. Taken together, these results advance our understanding of spinning black hole scattering and illuminate new structural features of Kerr dynamics.
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
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
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Seminar
The Functional Renormalisation Group: From the physics of strongly correlated systems to generative models
December 5 (Fri) 10:30 - 12:00, 2025
Jan Martin Pawlowski (Professor, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Heidelberg, Germany)
In the past decades, the functional renormalisation group (fRG) has matured into a comprehensive approach to strongly-correlated (non-perturbative) systems, covering quantitatively both universal and non-universal phenomena. The fRG also constitutes an ideal approach for unravelling structural aspects of quantum field theories. This is not only interesting for studies in mathematical physics, but also guides systematic diagrammatic expansion schemes. It is also used to set up novel statistical (lattice) approaches to non-perturbative phenomena. In the present talk I survey these advances and illustrate the progress with selected examples ranging from ultracold atoms, QCD and quantum gravity to novel generative architectures for lattice simulations and beyond.
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Towards the prediction of clusters of primordial black holes
November 7 (Fri) 16:00 - 17:30, 2025
Danilo Artigas (JSPS Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Physics Ⅱ, Division of Physics and Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University)
Primordial black holes (PBHs) are a major candidate for dark matter, expected to form from the collapse of large density fluctuations generated during inflation. Their abundance is highly sensitive to non-linear effects, some of which can be described through the δN formalism. This approach models the universe as a set of locally homogeneous patches evolving independently throughout inflation. However, accounting for the spatial correlations between these patches is crucial to predicting the spatial distribution of PBHs and the formation of clusters. In this talk, after reviewing the δN formalism, I will show how to include spatial correlations within this framework. As an illustration, I will discuss the ultra-slow-roll model and compute the curvature perturbation ζ — necessary to determine PBH formation — and its spatial correlations at the end of inflation. In the future, this could enable the prediction of PBH binaries and clusters, which may leave observable imprints such as gravitational waves.
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Topological Field Theory Coupled to Parameter Spaces
October 15 (Wed) 13:30 - 15:00, 2025
Takamasa Ando (Ph.D. Student, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University)
Topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) describe the IR fixed points of wide classes of gapped theories and are useful for studying many-body quantum phases of matter. In this talk, I will talk about TQFTs coupled to parameter spaces. I first explain the motivation for studying such TQFTs with parameter spaces from two perspectives: generalizing the description of the partition function with background gauge fields, and generalizing to invariants of many-body gapped phases over parameter spaces, known as the Berry phase. Then I will explain how these two are related by showing two physically motivated maps that connect them. The construction of these maps provides physical evidence for the Cobordism Hypothesis. I also discuss other related topics, such as the bulk-boundary correspondence. The talk is based on my ongoing work with Ryan Thorngren (UCLA).
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Quantum tunneling in the curved spacetime
October 2 (Thu) 13:30 - 15:00, 2025
Masahide Yamaguchi (Director, Center for Theoretical Physics of the Universe, Institute for Basic Science, Republic of Korea)
False vacuum decay is theorized to have occurred frequently throughout the history of the universe, particularly during first-order phase transitions associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking. The decay rate of such a vacuum is governed by Euclidean bounce solutions, which can exhibit a wide range of configurations, even under fixed boundary conditions. In the absence of gravitational effects, it was established over four decades ago—under reasonable assumptions—that the most symmetric bounce solution, namely the O(4)-symmetric one, minimizes the Euclidean action. This renders it the dominant tunneling path in flat spacetime. However, when gravitational effects are taken into account—as is essential in cosmological settings—all prior studies have assumed, without rigorous proof, that the O(4)-symmetric bounce continues to minimize the action. This has remained a longstanding unresolved problem for more than forty years. In this work, we address this issue by employing the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence to determine the configuration with the lowest Euclidean action in a metastable AdS false vacuum. Within the Euclidean formalism of Callan and Coleman, we identify the most probable decay channel of the AdS vacuum. The AdS/CFT duality enables us to sidestep the technical challenges intrinsic to metastable gravitational systems. We demonstrate that the Fubini bounce in conformal field theory—which is dual to the Coleman–de Luccia (CdL) bounce in AdS—indeed minimizes the Euclidean action among all finite bounce solutions in a conformal scalar field theory. Consequently, under certain conditions, we establish that the CdL bounce yields the lowest action among all relevant configurations, including both large and thin-wall limits. Time permitting, we also discuss the prefactor of the decay rate, as obtained from one-loop quantum corrections.
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
What constitutes a gravitational wave in an expanding universe?
October 1 (Wed) 16:00 - 17:30, 2025
Yi-Zen Chu (Professor, Department of Physics, National Central University, Taiwan)
Our understanding of gravitational waves produced by isolated astrophysical systems is primarily based on gravitational perturbation theory off a flat spacetime background. This leads to the common identification of gravitational radiation with massless spin-2 waves. In this talk, I will argue that gravitational waves may no longer be solely "spin-2" in character once the background spacetime is our expanding universe instead. As a result of the mixing between gravitational and other degrees of freedom, scalar "spin-0" gravitational waves may exist during the radiation-dominated epoch of our universe; as well as during its current accelerated expansion phase -- provided the main driver is not the cosmological constant, but some extra "Dark Energy" field. Moreover, during the radiation-dominated era, spin-0 Cherenkov gravitational waves may even be generated if its material source were traveling faster than 1/\sqrt{3}.
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Spontaneous quasiparticle creation in an analogue preheating experiment
September 30 (Tue) 10:00 - 12:00, 2025
Amaury Micheli (Postdoctoral Researcher, Division of Fundamental Mathematical Science, RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS))
Abstract: First, I will briefly outline the motivations and concepts that underpin the analogue gravity program. Next, I will provide a detailed description of a specific experiment designed to simulate various features of the cosmological reheating era. Finally, I will present our recent experimental results from this setup, where we demonstrated the parametric creation of quasiparticle pairs from the quantum vacuum, drawing an analogy with the preheating phase of reheating.
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
The QCD phase diagram at finite densities
September 29 (Mon) 13:30 - 15:00, 2025
Franz Sattler (Postdoc, Faculty of Physics, Bielefeld University, Germany)
I discuss recent progress towards calculating the QCD phase diagram at finite density using the functional Renormalisation Group (fRG). After introducing the fRG as applied to QCD, I explain some of the challenges encountered in functional approaches to the QCD phase diagram. Many of these can be resolved by recent developments of new numerical methods. In particular, the application of numerical hydrodynamics to RG flows and resolution of momentum dependences allow us to make progress towards quantitative access to the region of the conjectured critical end-point (CEP) of the QCD phase diagram. An interesting result is the appearance of new phases characterised by spatial modulations (the moat regime) and inhomogeneous condensates at high densities from a self-consistent first-principles calculation. For the near future, a clear program emerges to further pinpoint the CEP and its possibly modified nature using the fRG.
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Lecture 2 on "Modular Structures in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory"
September 19 (Fri) 14:30 - 17:30, 2025
Daniele Dorigoni (Associate Professor, University of Durham, UK)
In this lecture series we present recent results in the study of exact correlation functions of half-BPS operators in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM) averaged over the space-time insertion points. After presenting some basic properties of 1/2-BPS operators in N=4 SYM, we review how these integrated correlation functions can be obtained from a matrix model formulation of the N=4 path-integral. We then move to present two different integrated correlation functions of four superconformal primary operators of the stress-tensor multiplet which are holographically related to scattering amplitudes of 4-gravitons in type IIB superstring theory on an AdS_5 x S^5 background. We derive exact expressions both in the number of colours N, as well as in the complexified Yang-Mills coupling \tau. A key player in our discussion is electro-magnetic duality of N=4 SYM which provides strong constraints on the coupling dependence of such observables which, in particular, have to be real-analytic modular invariant functions of \tau. We then discuss the large-N fixed-\tau limit to show how these results can be interpreted on the dual stringy side. We also present some details on how these integrated correlator can be used to supplement the standard bootstrap approach leading to exciting coupling dependent bounds on the anomalous dimensions of non-protected operators in N=4 SYM, such as the Konishi operator. Lastly, we discuss an integrated correlation function involving two superconformal primary operators in the stress tensor multiplet in the presence of a half-BPS line defect operator, such as a Wilson line. Electro-magnetic duality is again fundamental in understanding the exact dependence from the coupling constant \tau. [OPTIONAL: If time and energy permit, I can also present some new results regarding integrated correlation functions of two light operators, dual to gravitons on the holographic side, and heavy giant graviton operators, dual to D3 branes extended on the background geometry]
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Lecture 1 on "Modular Structures in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory"
September 18 (Thu) 14:30 - 17:30, 2025
Daniele Dorigoni (Associate Professor, University of Durham, UK)
In this lecture series we present recent results in the study of exact correlation functions of half-BPS operators in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM) averaged over the space-time insertion points. After presenting some basic properties of 1/2-BPS operators in N=4 SYM, we review how these integrated correlation functions can be obtained from a matrix model formulation of the N=4 path-integral. We then move to present two different integrated correlation functions of four superconformal primary operators of the stress-tensor multiplet which are holographically related to scattering amplitudes of 4-gravitons in type IIB superstring theory on an AdS_5 x S^5 background. We derive exact expressions both in the number of colours N, as well as in the complexified Yang-Mills coupling \tau. A key player in our discussion is electro-magnetic duality of N=4 SYM which provides strong constraints on the coupling dependence of such observables which, in particular, have to be real-analytic modular invariant functions of \tau. We then discuss the large-N fixed-\tau limit to show how these results can be interpreted on the dual stringy side. We also present some details on how these integrated correlator can be used to supplement the standard bootstrap approach leading to exciting coupling dependent bounds on the anomalous dimensions of non-protected operators in N=4 SYM, such as the Konishi operator. Lastly, we discuss an integrated correlation function involving two superconformal primary operators in the stress tensor multiplet in the presence of a half-BPS line defect operator, such as a Wilson line. Electro-magnetic duality is again fundamental in understanding the exact dependence from the coupling constant \tau. [OPTIONAL: If time and energy permit, I can also present some new results regarding integrated correlation functions of two light operators, dual to gravitons on the holographic side, and heavy giant graviton operators, dual to D3 branes extended on the background geometry]
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Multi-strangeness matter from ab initio calculations
September 16 (Tue) 13:30 - 15:00, 2025
Hui Tong (Post-doctoral Fellow, Helmholtz-Institut für Strahlen- und Kernphysik, University of Bonn, Germany)
Hypernuclei and hypernuclear matter connect nuclear structure in the strangeness sector with the astrophysics of neutron stars, where hyperons are expected to emerge at high densities and affect key astrophysical observables. We present the first ab initio calculations that simultaneously describe single- and double- hypernuclei from the light to medium-mass range, the equation of state for -stable hypernuclear matter, and neutron star properties. Despite the formidable complexity of quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations with multiple baryonic degrees of freedom, by combining nuclear lattice effective field theory with a newly developed auxiliary-field QMC algorithm we achieve the first sign-problem free ab initio QMC simulations of hypernuclear systems containing arbitrary number of neutrons, protons, and hyperons, including all relevant two- and three-body interactions. This eliminates reliance on the symmetry-energy approximation, long used to interpolate between symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter. Our unified calculations reproduce hyperon separation energies, yield a neutron star maximum mass consistent with observations, predict tidal deformabilities compatible with gravitational-wave measurements, and give a trace anomaly in line with Bayesian constraints. By bridging the physics of finite hypernuclei and infinite hypernuclear matter within a single ab initio framework, this work establishes a direct microscopic link between hypernuclear structure, dense matter composition, and the astrophysical properties of neutron stars.
Venue: Seminar Room #359 (Main Venue) / via Zoom
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Exciting Possibilities of Multi-Messenger Windows on Cosmic Accelerators
September 9 (Tue) 13:30 - 15:00, 2025
Koichiro Yasuda (Ph.D. Student, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, USA)
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) jets are among the most extreme particle accelerators in the universe and are thought to play a key role in the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. Yet, the physical processes inside these jets, particularly those involving heavy nuclei, remain poorly understood. In this talk, I will explore how nuclear and atomic processes in AGN jets can leave distinctive multi-messenger signatures, from neutrino production via nuclear decays to characteristic gamma-ray features from nuclear excitations. These phenomena offer a new window into the microscopic physics of nuclei under astrophysical extreme conditions, while also serving as macroscopic probes of jet composition and acceleration mechanisms. I will also discuss how upcoming observations, including neutrino flavor studies and MeV gamma-ray missions, could provide critical tests of these ideas and shed light on the role of nuclear physics in shaping cosmic accelerators.
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Shadow formation in gravitational collapse: redshift and blueshift by spacetime dynamics
August 28 (Thu) 16:00 - 17:30, 2025
Yasutaka Koga (Assistant Professor, Department of Information and Computer Science, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Osaka Institute of Technology)
A black hole illuminated by a background light source is observed as a black hole shadow. For a black hole formed by the gravitational collapse of a transmissive object, redshift of light due to the spacetime dynamics is expected to play a crucial role in the shadow formation. In this talk, we investigate the redshift of light caused by the spacetime dynamics. First, we consider a spherical shell model. We see that the collapse of a shell typically leads to the redshift of light, while blueshift can be also observed in some cases. This result suggests that a shadow image is generally formed in the late stage of the gravitational collapse of a transmissive object. Second, we consider a general, dynamical, spherically symmetric spacetime and propose a new covariant formula for the redshift of light. This formula relates the dynamical redshift to the energy-momentum tensor of the background spacetime and provides its intuitive interpretation with Newtonian analogy.
Venue: via Zoom / Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Analysis of inflationary models in higher-dimensional uniform inflation
August 27 (Wed) 16:00 - 18:00, 2025
Hirose Takuya (Assistant Professor, Kyushu Sangyo University)
In this talk, we consider higher-dimensional uniform inflation, in which the extra dimensions expand at the same rate as three-dimensional non- compact space during inflation. We compute the cosmological perturbation in $D+4$ dimensions and derive the spectral index $n_s$ and the tensor- scalar ratio $r$. We analyze five inflationary models: chaotic inflation, natural inflation, quartic hilltop inflation, inflation with spontaneously broken SUSY, and $R^2$ inflation. By combining the results from these models with the Planck 2018 constraints, we discuss that it is not desirable for the extra-dimensional space to expand at the same rate as the three-dimensional non-compact space, except for the case of one extra dimension. This talk is based on arXiv:2501.13581[hep-ph].
Venue: Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Observational constraint of non-scalar phantom dark energies
August 26 (Tue) 16:00 - 17:30, 2025
Hsu-Wen Chiang (Postdoc, Department of Physics, Southern University of Science and Technology, China)
Recent observation of DESI strongly disfavors cosmological constant. Given the lack of constraint regarding the fundamental field that constitutes a dynamical dark energy, people traditionally resort on a hypothetical scalar field. We instead consider minimally coupled non-spinless field as alternative, specifically the extended Proca-Nuevo theory (spin-1) and 3-form field (spin-3). Both theories at the background level permit pure phantom (w < -1) and phantom crossing (w < -1 to w > -1) scenarios. Furthermore, with reasonable choice of EFT parameters we can decouple the scalar perturbation of the dark energy from the matter sector. However, the Lorentz constraint within the higher-spin field inevitably modifies the response of the scalar potential to the matter perturbation. This leads to an enhancement of the matter power spectrum most obvious in BAO fullshape analysis. We then perform MCMC analysis and show that the Hubble tension is alleviated, and the non-spin-0 models are preferred marginally over a cosmological constant.
Venue: Hybrid Format (3F #359 and Zoom), Seminar Room #359
Event Official Language: English
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Seminar
Cosmological Collider with Boundary Interactions
August 7 (Thu) 16:00 - 17:30, 2025
Yi Wang (Professor, Department of Physics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong)
We first review cosmological collider physics. Namely, how the mass, spin, width and parity of the primordial particles during inflation may be read off from the density correlations in the CMB and the Large Scale Structure of the universe, and how this can be related to particle physics such as the Standard Model. After that, we will introduce relations between bulk and boundary terms in cosmological collider physics, and highlight a class of interactions which were overlooked in the literature.
Venue: via Zoom
Event Official Language: English
126 events