Useless Science & Art: The Value of “Useless” Science and Art

March 21 (Sat) 14:00 - 15:30, 2026

Satoshi Iso (Director, RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS))
Tetsuo Hatsuda (Executive Director of Science, RIKEN)
Yoshihiro Kozuka (Creative Director, ADK Marketing Solutions Inc.)
Haruka Kodama (Experience Designer, ADK Marketing Solutions Inc.)

A talk event exploring the relationship between science and art will be held, inspired by the artwork “Black Hole Recorder,” which draws on ideas from quantum black hole theory. Using this work as an entry point, scientists and creators will engage in dialogue on topics ranging from the 100-year history since the birth of quantum mechanics, to cutting-edge research in quantum cosmology, and even the question: “What should we leave for the future 1,500 years from now?” Research and artistic expression that may at first seem impractical have, over long periods of time, often led to transformative innovations for the future. How do scientists’ curiosity about the unknown and artists’ imagination intersect to generate new ideas? The event will introduce the concept and creative background of “Black Hole Recorder,” as well as recent developments in quantum black hole research. Through perspectives from both science and art, participants will discuss possibilities for the future. There will also be a special session where visitors can experience audio recordings made with the Black Hole Recorder itself. We warmly invite you to join this unique dialogue where science and art meet.

Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

Mouse Limb Bud Skeletal Patterning Description and Modelling

March 19 (Thu) 13:00 - 14:00, 2026

Laura Aviñó Esteban (Ph.D. Candidate, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Barcelona, Spain)

Understanding how complex organs reliably form during development remains a key question in biology. In this talk, I discuss how gene regulatory networks may generate skeletal patterns in the vertebrate limb, using Sox9 expression as a proxy, as it marks the earliest stages of cartilage formation. To address this, I developed new computational tools for reconstructing spatiotemporal gene expression and built models ranging from machine learning approaches to mechanistic frameworks. These analyses reveal that limb patterning cannot be explained by a single universal mechanism. Instead, different regions of the limb appear to use distinct regulatory strategies, uncovering an unexpected qualitative modularity in skeletal development. Together, these findings lead to a new hypothesis in which other systems, such as the vasculature may actively shape skeletal spacing in specific limb regions.

Venue: via Zoom / Seminar Room #359

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)

PROGRAM: 9h45 - 10h15 Registration & Coffee 10h15 - 10h20 Opening Remarks - Satoshi Iso (RIKEN), Director of iTHEMS 10h20 - 11h20 SESSION 1 - Chair: Tetsuo Hatsuda (RIKEN) Yoshihiko Susuki (Kyoto University): Koopman resolvents in dynamical systems and control 11h20 -11h40 Free Discussions 11h40 - 13h00 Lunch Break & Discussions 13h00-14h00 SESSION 2 - Chair: Narumi Fujii (Institute of Science Tokyo) Alexandre Mauroy (University of Namur, Belgium): Analytic EDMD method for spectral analysis of fixed point dynamics 14h00 - 14h30 Coffee Break & Discussions 14h30 - 15h30 SESSION 3 - Chair: Tetsuo Hatsuda (RIKEN) Hiroya Nakao (Institute of Science Tokyo): Koopman operator analysis of coupled oscillator systems 15h30 - 16h00 Coffee Break & Discussions 16h00 - 17h00 SESSION 4 - Chair: Riccardo Muolo (RIKEN) Yuzuru Kato (Future University Hakodate): Analysis of quantum nonlinear oscillators on the basis of Koopman operator theory 17h00 - 17h05 Closing Remarks - Tetsuo Hatsuda, Chair of the Workshop 17h05 - 18h00 Free Discussions

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

Event Official Language: English

Critical Phenomena on the Bethe Lattice

March 18 (Wed) 16:00 - 18:00, 2026

Saswato Sen (Ph.D. Student, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST))

We investigate the critical behavior of a family of Z2-symmetric scalar field theories on the Bethe lattice (the tree limit of regular hyperbolic tessellations) using both the non-perturbative Functional Renormalization Group and perturbation theory. Due to the hyperbolic nature of Bethe lattices, the Laplacian lacks a zero mode and exhibits a spectral gap. We demonstrate that closing the spectral gap via a modified Laplacian leads to novel critical behavior governed by interacting fixed points. This stands in contrast to the nearest-neighbor Ising model, which exhibits a phase transition with mean-field critical exponents. We further comment on the possible reasons for such a deviation.

Venue: via Zoom / #359, Main Research Building

Event Official Language: English

Testing the quantum nature of gravity "ab absurdo"

March 18 (Wed) 14:00 - 16:00, 2026

Emanuele Panella (Postdoctoral Researcher, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy)

The quest for a quantum description of gravity has been long, diverse, and productive. Yet, despite decades of theoretical progress, there is still no direct experimental evidence for the quantum nature of spacetime. In this talk, I explore an alternative, indirect route to probing quantum gravity by assuming the fundamental classicality of the gravitational field and examining the resulting observational conflicts. In particular, I will discuss a key consistency condition—known as the decoherence–diffusion trade-off—that any theory of fundamentally classical gravity coupled to quantum matter must satisfy. By analysing a toy model of a linearised classical–quantum (CQ) gravity–matter system, I will explicitly show how this trade-off implies unavoidable, measurable effects, such as a fundamental stochastic gravitational-wave background, which cannot be eliminated by fine-tuning the model parameters.

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

Event Official Language: English

Quantum modular form and quantum invariants

March 13 (Fri) 14:00 - 16:00, 2026

Yuya Murakami (Research Scientist, Division of Fundamental Mathematical Science, RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS))

Quantum invariants are invariants of knots and 3-manifolds which relate deeply to mathematical physics and representation theory. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that it is also deeply related to number theory, that is, quantum modularity for quantum invariants. This topic is interesting from a topological viewpoint since this is a refinement of establishing asymptotic expansions of quantum invariants, which is an important problem in quantum topology, and is interesting from a number-theores[tic viewpoint since this gives examples of quantum modular forms, which are mysterious objects in number theory. I obtained two linked results on topology and number theory: Establishing explicit asymptotic expansions of quantum invariants for negative definite plumbed 3-manifolds and establishing quantum modularity of false theta functions in full generality. In this talk, I will outline previous progress on quantum modularity for quantum invariants and my results.

Venue: via Zoom / Seminar Room #359, Seminar Room #359

Event Official Language: English

Chronotaxicity and Dynamic Stability: From Theory to Quantitative Measures

March 12 (Thu) 13:00 - 14:00, 2026

Aneta Stefanovska (Professor, Lancaster University, UK)

Living systems operate far from equilibrium under continuous time-varying forcing across multiple temporal and spatial scales. From neural and cardiovascular rhythms to microcirculatory dynamics and circadian cycles, physiological processes are inherently nonautonomous. Classical stability concepts based on autonomous attractors and stationary limit cycles are therefore insufficient to explain how such systems remain robust yet adaptable. In this talk, I will introduce chronotaxicity as a framework for nonautonomous oscillatory systems possessing time-dependent point attractors and contraction regions. Chronotaxic systems maintain stability under continuous forcing, providing a rigorous theoretical description of dynamic robustness. To illustrate the generality of this concept, I will show how chronotaxicity can be observed in a controlled physical experiment. I will then present a new order parameter based on angular velocity for quantifying phase dynamics in numerical simulations of coupled nonautonomous oscillators, along with the methods collected in the Multiscale Oscillatory Dynamics Analysis (MODA) toolbox for analysing time-dependent oscillatory behaviour. This approach provides a unified perspective on dynamic stability in complex systems, highlighting how living systems remain robust yet adaptable and suggesting quantitative signatures of dysfunction in health and disease. While the focus is on physiological and numerical models, it is broadly applicable to complex nonautonomous systems, underscoring its generality as a dynamical principle.

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

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

Causality Constraints on Black Hole Thermodynamics in Nonlinear Electrodynamics

March 6 (Fri) 15:30 - 17:00, 2026

Kaho Yoshimura (Ph.D. Student, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo)

Black holes exhibit thermodynamic properties and provide an important window into the quantum aspects of gravity. In this context, nonlinear electrodynamics (NLED) offers a useful framework for constructing and analyzing charged black-hole solutions beyond Maxwell theory. Requiring causality - namely, excluding superluminal signal propagation - imposes nontrivial constraints on the allowed form of the NLED Lagrangian. In this talk, we focus on two quantities: the charge-to-mass ratio and the entropy density (entropy-to-mass squared ratio). The charge-to-mass ratio is expected to obey a monotonic behavior consistent with the Weak Gravity Conjecture, while the entropy density is also anticipated to be monotonic, reflecting the expectation that higher-energy effective theories contain more degrees of freedom. We show that these monotonic behaviors follow directly from the causality constraints on the NLED sector.

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

Event Official Language: English

Mathematical Application Research Team Meeting #13

March 6 (Fri) 14:00 - 15:00, 2026

Chihaya Jibiki (Ph.D. Student, Department of Mathematics, School of Science, Institute of Science Tokyo)

The Mathematical Application Research Team is pleased to welcome Chiyaha Jibiki, who will join the team as an SPDR in April. He will give a talk at this meeting prior to his official start date. Everyone is welcome to join the meeting. Title: Left-Orders and Dynamics: Applications to Hyperbolic Geometry and Low-Dimensional Topology Abstract: A left-order on a group is a total order that is invariant under left-multiplication. The concept dates back to the early 20th century, when Dedekind and Hölder characterized the natural order on the real line purely in terms of group actions. In the 21st century, this theory has evolved significantly through connections with discrete dynamical systems. Currently, there is active research linking geometric structures to left-orders on geometrically significant groups, such as fundamental groups and mapping class groups. In this talk, I will introduce the framework of left-order theory, starting from the simple perspective of binary operations on infinite sets. I will then provide an overview of the field by presenting, as much as possible, the diverse applications arising from its high versatility. In particular, I will discuss the speaker's recent results concerning the structure of the space of left-orders (comparisons between left-orders) and methods for constructing specific left-orders. This talk includes joint work with Shuhei Maruyama (Kanazawa University).

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

Event Official Language: English

How does the brain compute the value of odors and trigger adaptive behavior?

March 5 (Thu) 13:00 - 14:00, 2026

Hokto Kazama (Team Director, Laboratory for Circuit Mechanisms of Sensory Perception, RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS))

The world is filled with numerous odors that are impossible to experience all in our lifetime. Perhaps to cope with this situation, the brain is equipped with an ability to recognize whether an odor is attractive or aversive even from the first encounter and guide adaptive behavior. However, how information about the innate value of odors (attractiveness/aversiveness) is computed and transformed into appropriate behavioral outputs in the brain remains poorly understood. We are addressing this question in the olfactory circuit of fruit flies by combining behavioral analysis in virtual reality, comprehensive neuronal activity imaging, neuronal connectivity analysis, and computational modeling. In this talk, I will present our latest efforts to decipher how odor value is computed and how this information is transformed into motor-related signals in a tiny brain.

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

Event Official Language: English

The minimal absolute value of sums of fifth-roots of unity

March 5 (Thu) 11:00 - 12:00, 2026

Guillermo Núñez Ponasso (JSPS Research Fellow, Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University)

The minimal absolute value \sigma_{\ell}(n) of a weight-n sum of \ell-th roots of unity, for all n and a fixed \ell, is an interesting value in the study of maximal determinant matrices. In the cases where \ell=2,3,4, or 6, this minimal absolute value is either 0 or 1. Thus \ell=5 constitutes the smallest non-trivial case. In this talk I will discuss recent results in collaboration with Akihiro Munemasa, where we determined \sigma_5(n) for all n\geq 1. This problem turns out to be related to the Diophantine approximation of the golden ratio, and can be tackled using the theory of continued fractions.

Venue: via Zoom / SUURI-COOL (Kyushu)

Event Official Language: English

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

Event Official Language: English

RIKEN-Nara Women's University Joint Diversity Promotion Workshop 2026

March 2 (Mon) - 3 (Tue) 2026

The RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS) and the Faculty of Science at Nara Women's University are promoting a project to foster female researchers under the auspices of the RIKEN Diversity Promotion Office. As part of the program, 21 undergraduate and graduate students from Nara Women's University will visit several laboratories on the RIKEN Wako campus to ask questions about their research and hold workshops with iTHEMS researchers. Organizers: RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS) Faculty of Science, Nara Women's University March 2 (Mon) 13:15-14:15 Center for Brain Science (CBS) (C56 Ikenohata Building) Laboratory for Multi-scale Biological Psychiatry (Team Director: Akiko Hayashi-Takagi) 14:30-15:45 Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS) (C01 Main Research Building, 4th Floor Rooms 435-437) Introduction to iTHEMS: Tetsuo Hatsuda (iTHEMS Division Director of Applied Mathematical Science) Lecture and Q&A: Megumi Oya (iTHEMS Medical Science Data-driven Mathematics Team Postdoctoral Researcher) 16:00-17:30 Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS) (C01 Main Research Building, 4th Floor Rooms 435-437) Lecture and Q&A: Leo Spiedel (iTHEMS ECL Research Unit Leader) 18:00-20:30 Networking Session (C01, Research Main Building 3F East Side (Okochi Hall Side)) March 3 (Tue) 9:00-10:30 RIBF Facility, RIKEN Nishina Center (RNC) 11:15-12:00 Center for Quantum Computing (RQC) Optical Quantum Control Research Team (Team Director: Hidehiro Yonezawa)

Venue: RIKEN Wako Campus

Event Official Language: Japanese

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

The career talk: From Quarks to Cinematic Sparks

February 27 (Fri) 15:00 - 16:30, 2026

Agnes Mocsy (Professor, Department of Mathematics and Science, Pratt Institute, USA)

While my career began in a linear way, it gradually opened into a non-traditional path through unexpected mergings, where theoretical nuclear physics, filmmaking, and creative public and academic engagement intertwined. I will share how scientific inquiry, artistic practice, and storytelling began shaping one another, opening new ways to explore complexity, emotion, and connection. Drawing on work from my physics research to cinema projects like Rare Connections, I will reflect on how curiosity and creative thinking move freely across science and art, deepening each and expanding how we understand the human experience. My aim is to offer a perspective on the possibilities that emerge when we allow our multitudes to meet and transform one another.

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

Event Official Language: English

Scattering in de Sitter space

February 26 (Thu) 14:00 - 15:30, 2026

Jason Kristiano (Program-Specific Researcher, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University)

The analytic structure of scattering amplitudes provides a framework for mapping the fundamental properties of a high-energy (UV) theory onto non-perturbative constraints for low-energy (IR) effective field theories. While this structure is well understood in flat space, its extension to de Sitter space is hindered by the expanding background, which complicates the definition of asymptotic states and breaks time-translation symmetry. In this talk, I will outline a foundational approach to bridging this gap. I will demonstrate how the analytic properties of flat-space amplitudes are imprinted on their de Sitter counterparts. The ultimate goal of this program is to derive Swampland-type constraints for cosmological EFTs, ensuring they admit a consistent UV completion.

Venue: #345-347, Main Research Building, RIKEN Wako Campus (Main Venue) / via Zoom

Event Official Language: English

Sex ratio theory for facultative parthenogens: from fortuitously optimal stick insects to the origin of haplodiploidy in Hymenoptera

February 26 (Thu) 13:00 - 14:00, 2026

Kora Klein (Visiting Researcher, Division of Fundamental Mathematical Science, RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS))

First, I will present one of my PhD papers which focuses on sex ratios when females can reproduce both sexually and asexually. This paper features two models: an optimality model and an evolutionary invasion analysis. More generally, it shows my style of approaching evolutionary theory. After this, I will briefly discuss the work I plan to do in the next 6 months during my JSPS fellowship where I will focus on the evolution of more conventional X-chromosomes. Short Bio: I studied biology at the Free University in Berlin. My biology studies were mostly empirical but I attended several Bachelor courses for mathematicians (calculus and stochastics) and did my Master thesis in Zurich with Hanna Kokko, a theoretical evolutionary ecologist who studies a broad range of topics. In 2020, I then continued working in Hanna Kokko’s group for my PhD and moved with her from Zurich to Mainz in 2023. During my time with Hanna Kokko, worked on various topics centered around intraspecific diversity, including projects on sexual dimorphism, sex ratio theory, intralocus sexual conflict, and a female-limited color polymorphism in a butterfly. Since then, I started my first PostDoc in 2024 with Laura Ross in Edinburgh (UK) where I modelled how the unusual genetic systems of Scarid flies could have evolved, and have now started a 6 month JSPS fellowship with Ryosuke Iritani.

Venue: #435-437, Main Research Building

Event Official Language: English

Testing the quantum nature of gravity with optomechanical systems

February 26 (Thu) 10:00 - 12:00, 2026

Yuta Michimura (Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo)

Quantum gravity remains one of the major challenges in modern physics. Even at the most fundamental level, there is no experimental confirmation of whether a mass placed in a spatial superposition generates a corresponding superposition of gravitational fields. In recent years, experiments aiming to create gravity-induced quantum entanglement have attracted significant attention as a way to probe the quantum nature of non-relativistic gravity. In particular, optomechanical systems, which exploit the interaction between light and mechanical oscillators, provide a promising platform for such studies. We are pursuing experiments at the milligram scale, which lies between the smallest mass scale at which classical gravity has been tested and the largest mass scale at which quantum states of mechanical oscillators have been realized [1]. In this seminar, I will discuss experimental approaches to testing the quantum nature of gravity using suspended and levitated mirrors. I will also discuss our recent proposal to use inverted oscillators to enhance gravity-induced entanglement exponentially [2].

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

Event Official Language: English

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