Seminar

Effective size and dimension, in biology and beyond

January 30 (Thu) 16:00 - 17:00, 2025

Ryosuke Iritani (Senior Research Scientist, RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS))

This talk will be a very short, introductory talk on some fundamental concepts of “effective size” from population-biological, statistical, and mathematical viewpoints.

Venue: via Zoom

Event Official Language: English

Reheating after a cosmological constant relaxation and gravitational waves lensed by a supermassive black hole

January 30 (Thu) 14:00 - 15:30, 2025

Paul Martens (Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China)

This presentation will be articulated in two parts. In a first part, I will present the a reheating mechanism that follows a dynamically relaxed cosmological constant. The latter is achieved by the dynamics of a scalar field whose kinetic term is modulated by an inverse power of spacetime curvature. While it is at work against radiative corrections to the dark energy, this process alone would wipe out not only the vacuum energy, but also all other matter contents. A reheating phase is thus introduced, which exploits a null-energy-condition violating sector. In a second part, I shall present a more recent and still ongoing project to describe and characterize the lensing of gravitational waves by an active galactic nuclei (or any supermassive black hole), in the geometric limit. Such systems are simple enough for constraints to be derived with only few assumptions. Yet, they present interesting features that could provide information on e.g. on binary black hole formation mechanisms and quasinormal modes.

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

Event Official Language: English

Quantum Error Mitigation

January 28 (Tue) - 29 (Wed) 2025

Suguru Endo (Ph.D. Researcher, Research Center for Theoretical Quantum Information, NTT Computer and Data Science Laboratories)

Note for registration [2024-12:24]: We are sorry that the number of registration has reached the capacity of the lecture room. Thank you for your understanding. Note for participants [2024-12:18]: For participants, please register from the above form. We may limit the number of participants due to the capacity of the lecture room. For participants in RIKEN who have already answered a questionnaire on this lecture, you do not have to register. Program: Day 1 (Jan. 28th) 10:30-12:00 Lecture 1 12:00-13:30 Lunch time 13:30-15:00 Lecture 2 15:00-15:30 Coffee break 15:30-17:00 Lecture 3 Day 2 (Jan. 29th) 10:30-12:00 Lecture 4 12:00-13:30 Lunch time 13:30-15:00 Lecture 5 15:00-15:30 Coffee break 15:30-17:00 Lecture 6 Abstract: Quantum Error Mitigation (QEM) offers a practical approach to reducing errors in noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices without requiring the encoding of qubits. In this seminar, I will begin by discussing the fundamentals of noise modeling in quantum systems, followed by an overview of QEM techniques, including extrapolation, probabilistic error cancellation (PEC), virtual distillation, quantum subspace expansion, and Clifford data regression. Next, I will present advanced QEM methods, such as the stochastic PEC approach, which mitigates the effects of Lindblad terms in Lindblad master equations and the generalized quantum subspace expansion, which is a unified framework of QEM. I will also explore recent research on the information-theoretic analysis of QEM, shedding light on its fundamental limits and connections to non-Markovian dynamics. Furthermore, I will discuss studies combining QEM with quantum error correction to enhance the reliability of computations in the early fault-tolerant quantum computing era. Lastly, I will highlight the relevance of hybrid tensor networks, particularly their connections to quantum subspace expansion techniques.

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

Event Official Language: English

Architectures and algorithms for early FTQC

January 27 (Mon) 16:00 - 17:15, 2025

Andreas Thomasen (R&D Engineer, QunaSys Inc.)

The NISQ era of quantum computing is characterized by quantum devices that have low error rates, but no error correction and typically on the order of 100 qubits, whereas the era of FTQC requires devices with full error correction facilitated by hundreds of thousands to millions of qubits for every logical qubit. Due to the distinct requirements and operating characteristics of these devices, algorithms and applications supported by NISQ and FTQC respectively are highly distinct as well. However, this leaves a large gap, both in terms of devices, algorithms and applications which exist in the intermediate regime where partial error correction is possible and the devices support on the order of tens of thousands of qubits. In this seminar we will give a brief introduction to quantum computing for a non-specialist audience. We will then describe device architectures and algorithms that are specifically designed to fill this gap during the so-called early FTQC era. We will present the space-time efficient analogue rotation (STAR) architecture together with some algorithms that are well supported by it, namely quantum selected configuration interaction (QSCI) and statistical phase estimation (SPE). This seminar serves as theoretical background for our QURI SDK hands-on session at a later date. The algorithms introduced are directly available as OSS as described in the link below.

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

Event Official Language: English

Seminar Series for Junior and Senior High School Girls: 'What Should Students Prepare for Their Future in the Age of AI?'

January 25 (Sat) 14:00 - 18:30, 2025

The RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP) and the Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS) have jointly planned an event for junior and senior high school students interested in AI, mathematics, and information science. This event introduces the exciting research conducted by scientists in these fields. Join us to explore “The Future Built with AI” and discover what steps students can take now to prepare for the future. We look forward to your participation! For more details, please refer to the related links.

Venue: Nihonbashi AIP Center Open Space & Zoom (Hybrid Format)

Event Official Language: Japanese

Quantitative Characterization of the Cellular Physical Properties to Understand the Organ Regeneration and Cancer Progression

January 23 (Thu) 16:00 - 17:00, 2025

Takahisa Matsuzaki (TechnoArena Associate Professor, Center for Future Innovation, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University / Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University)

Since the discovery of regulating the differentiation of "single" stem cells by extracellular mechanics, researchers have focused on the mechanobiology of single cells. Our collaborative studies provided the first breakthrough to identify optimal mechanics for multi-cellular, liver organogenesis (Takebe, .., Matsuzaki,.., Yoshikawa et al., Cell Stem Cell 2015, Stem Cell Reports 2018). My motivation is to be a pioneer internationally in understanding the role of heterogenic physical properties in multi-cellular related life-phenomena such as cancer cell adhesion (Matsuzaki et al., Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018, Bioconjugate Chem 2023, PNAS 2024, Osaka University Award 2024.), regeneration of colon/muscle (iScience 2022, Taniguchi,.., Matsuzaki et al., Mucosal Immunology 2023, J. Phys Chem Letter 2014, 2022, 2024.), and bone (Mizuno, .., Matsuzaki et al., Stem Cell Res. Ther. 2022, iScience 2024). In my presentation, I will overview the recent progress in developing fluorescence/interference microscopy combining atomic force microscopy (AFM), and its application to organ regeneration and cancer progression.

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

Event Official Language: English

Probabilistic approach to discrete integrable systems

January 17 (Fri) 15:30 - 17:30, 2025

Makiko Sasada (Professor, Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Tokyo)

The KdV equation and the Toda lattice are two central and widely studied examples of classical integrable systems, and many of their variations have been introduced to the present. In particular, the box-ball system (BBS) is a basic example of a discrete integrable system, which has been revealed to be an ultra-discrete version of the KdV equation and the Toda lattice. The BBS has been studied from various viewpoints such as tropical geometry, combinatorics, and cellular-automaton. As a new perspective, research on probabilistic approaches to this system has been rapidly expanding in recent years, including the application of the Pitman transform, analysis of invariant measures and its generalized hydrodynamics. More recently, we find that the application of the Pitman transform and the study of invariant measures of i.i.d.-type also work in the same manner for the discrete KdV equation and the discrete Toda lattice. Further research has begun on the relationship between the Yang-baxter maps and the existence of i.i.d.-type invariant measures for the discrete integrable systems. In this talk, I will introduce these new research topics that have been spreading over the past several years from the basics. This talk is based on several joint works with David Croydon, Tsuyoshi Kato, Satoshi Tsujimoto, Ryosuke Uozumi, Matteo Mucciconi, Tomohiro Sasamoto, Hayate Suda and Stefano Olla.

Venue: Seminar Room #359

Event Official Language: English

Principles of the evolution of human social structures: kinship and gift-giving

January 16 (Thu) 16:00 - 17:15, 2025

Kenji Itao (Special Postdoctoral Researcher, Computational Group Dynamics Collaboration Unit, RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS))

Anthropologists have long noted structural similarities among geographically distant societies. To investigate the origins of these patterns, I develop simple models of human interactions based on field observations, simulating the emergence of social structures. This talk focuses on two key topics. The first examines the evolution of kinship structures in clan societies [1, 2, 3]. By modeling kin and in-law cooperation alongside mating competition, I show how cultural groups with specific marriage rules spontaneously emerge. The second explores the transition of social organizations through competitive gift-giving [4, 5]. By modeling how gifts deliver material goods to recipients and confer social reputation upon donors, I demonstrate transitions across four phases—band, tribe, chiefdom, and kingdom—each characterized by distinct social networks and distributions of wealth and reputation. In both cases, I highlight the alignment between theoretical predictions and empirical observations, offering quantitative criteria and empirically measurable explanatory parameters for classifying social structures.

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

Event Official Language: English

Search for BSM particles from high energy supernova neutrinos

January 10 (Fri) 14:00 - 15:15, 2025

Kensuke Akita (JSPS Research Fellow, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo)

Light hypothetical particles with masses up to O(100) MeV can be produced in the core of supernovae. Their subsequent decays to neutrinos can produce a flux component with higher energies than the standard flux. We study the impact of heavy neutral leptons, Z′ bosons, in particular U(1)Lμ−Lτ and U(1)B−L gauge bosons, and majorons coupled to neutrinos flavor-dependently. We obtain new strong limits on these particles from no events of high-energy SN 1987A neutrinos and their future sensitivities from observations of galactic supernova neutrinos.

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

Event Official Language: English

Krylov subspace method for quantum dynamics

December 23 (Mon) 14:00 - 15:00, 2024

Kazutaka Takahashi (Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg)

For a given system, the structure of the minimal subspace where the state unfolds determines the static and dynamical properties of the state. The Krylov subspace method is a mathematical framework for constructing the space systematically and has been applied to a wide variety of problems. The method was applicable only for systems with time-indepedent generators. As applications to quantum dynamics with time-dependent Hamiltonians, we discuss the constrution of the adiabatic gauge potential and the generalization of the Krylov algorithm to time-dependent generators.

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

Event Official Language: English

EOS Dependence on Cooling of Isolated Neutron Stars

December 20 (Fri) 14:00 - 15:15, 2024

Stavros Fakiolas (Ph.D. Student, University of Oxford, UK)

Neutron stars - the densest stars in the Universe - cool down mainly by loss of neutrinos, emitted from the stars' interior due to particle reactions. By comparing cooling models with observed surface temperature or luminosity, one can probe the properties of high-density matter, such as what kind of particles and states exist inside neutron stars. In this presentation, I will first review cooling theory, focusing on the neutrino cooling processes. In particular, we focus on the equation of state (EOS) uncertainties, which significantly affect cooling curves. We discuss aspects such as the effect of including hyperons in our EOS. Using the updated cooling code, C-HERES, we calculate cooling curves with different EOS. Finally, we present the future prospects for this study.

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

Event Official Language: English

Applied plant genomics for evolutionary history, agriculture, and conservation

December 19 (Thu) 16:00 - 17:00, 2024

Antonio Hernández-López (Professor, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico)

I will explore the transformative role of genomic tools in understanding biological diversity across a range of organisms. By delving into the genetic blueprints of various species, we can unravel evolutionary histories, identify key traits for conservation, and develop strategies to preserve endangered ecosystems. Additionally, I will discuss practical applications of genomic data, such as enhancing agricultural biodiversity, improve traditional uses, and fostering sustainable development. Through case studies and recent advancements, this presentation highlights the critical intersection of genomics, biodiversity preservation, and its multifaceted uses in addressing global challenges.

Venue: via Zoom

Event Official Language: English

Stochastic Normalizing Flows for Lattice Field Theory

December 18 (Wed) 15:30 - 16:30, 2024

Elia Cellini (PhD, Department of Physics, University of Turin, Italy)

Normalizing Flows (NFs) are a class of deep generative models that have recently been proposed as efficient samplers for Lattice Field Theory. Although NFs have demonstrated impressive performance in toy models, their scalability to larger lattice volumes remains a significant challenge, limiting their application to state-of-the-art problems. A promising approach to overcoming these scaling limitations involves combining NFs with non-equilibrium Markov Chain Monte Carlo (NEMCMC) algorithms, resulting in Stochastic Normalizing Flows (SNFs). SNFs harness the scalability of MCMC samplers while preserving the expressiveness of NFs. In this seminar, I will introduce the concepts of NEMCMC and NFs, demonstrate their combination into SNFs, and outline their connections with non-equilibrium thermodynamics. I will conclude by discussing key aspects of SNFs through their application to Effective String Theory, SU(3) gauge theory, and conformal field theory.

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

Event Official Language: English

Dark Matter and Neutron Stars: A Gravitational Laboratory for the Unknown

December 18 (Wed) 10:00 - 11:30, 2024

Ankit Kumar (Postdoctoral Fellow, Faculty of Science and Technology, Kochi University)

Dark matter (DM), a mysterious non-luminous component of the universe, dominates the mass distribution in galaxies and clusters yet remains elusive in its interactions beyond gravity. Neutron stars (NSs), among the most compact objects in the universe, provide unique astrophysical laboratories to investigate the interplay between DM and extreme matter due to their immense densities and gravitational fields. In this talk, I will briefly outline the mechanisms through which DM could be gravitationally captured by NSs, including during their formation and evolution. The primary focus will then shift to the structural and observable implications of DM admixed NSs. I will discuss the theoretical frameworks used to model DM admixed NSs and how DM parameters, such as particle mass and density profiles, modify the equation of state and structural stability of these stars. Observational constraints from pulsars like PSR J0740+6620 and gravitational wave events such as GW170817 will be highlighted as critical tools for deducing DM characteristics and testing theoretical model predictions. By presenting insights from recent studies, including our own work, this talk aims to demonstrate how astrophysical observations can constrain DM parameters and provide a deeper understanding of DM’s role in dense astrophysical environments. I will conclude with a discussion of future prospects for advancing both theoretical models and observational strategies in this interdisciplinary field.

Venue: via Zoom

Event Official Language: English

7th QGG Intensive Lectures: Emergence of space-time in matrix models

December 17 (Tue) - 19 (Thu) 2024

Asato Tsuchiya (Professor, Shizuoka University)

Emergence of space-time is a key concept in matrix models as a nonperturbative formulation of string theory. In this lecture, starting with a brief introduction to nonperturbative effects in string theory, I will review various aspects of emergence of space-time in matrix models. The topics I discuss include dynamical triangulation, double scaling limit, eigenvalue instanton, large-N reduction, T-duality for D-brane effective theories (orbifolding), noncommutative geometry and covariant derivative interpretation. Finally, I will introduce the type IIB matrix model. (This is the 7th Intensive Lectures by Quantum Gravity Gatherings in iTHEMS. ) Program December 17 10.15~10.30 Registration and Coffee 10.30~12.00 Lecture 1 12.00~13.30 Lunch 13.30~15.00 Lecture 2 15.00~16.00 Coffee break 16.00~17.00 Lecture 3 17.30~19.30 Banquet December 18 10.15~11.45 Lecture 4 11.45~13.30 Lunch 13.30~15.00 Lecture 5 15.00~16.00 Coffee break 16.00~17.00 Lecture 6 December 19 10.15~11.45 Lecture 7 11.45~13.30 Lunch 13.30~15.00 Lecture 8 15.00~16.00 Coffee break 16.00~17.00 Lecture 9

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

Event Official Language: English

Hopfions in Condensed Matter and Field Theory

December 16 (Mon) 16:00 - 17:30, 2024

Avadh Saxena (Professor, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA)

Abstract: Nontrivial topological defects such as knotted solitons called hopfions have been observed in a variety of materials including chiral magnets, nematic liquid crystals and even in ferroelectrics as well as studied in other physical contexts such as Bose-Einstein condensates. These topological entities can be modeled using the relevant physical variable, e.g., magnetization, polarization or the director field. Specifically, we find exact static soliton solutions for the unit spin vector field of an inhomogeneous, anisotropic three-dimensional (3D) Heisenberg ferromagnet and calculate the corresponding Hopf invariant H analytically and obtain an integer, demonstrating that these solitons are indeed hopfions [1]. H is a product of two integers, the first being the usual winding number of a skyrmion in two dimensions, while the second encodes the periodicity in the third dimension. We also study the underlying geometry of H, by mapping the 3D unit vector field to tangent vectors of three appropriately defined space curves. Our analysis shows that a certain intrinsic twist is necessary to yield a nontrivial topological invariant: linking number [2]. Finally, we focus on the formation energy of hopfions to study their properties for potential applications. Short bio: Avadh Saxena is former Group Leader of the Condensed Matter and Complex Systems group (T-4) at Los Alamos National Lab, New Mexico, USA where he has been since 1990. He is also an affiliate of the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos. His main research interests include phase transitions, optical, electronic, vibrational, transport and magnetic properties of functional materials, device physics, soft condensed matter, non-Hermitian quantum mechanics, geometry, topology and nonlinear phenomena & materials harboring topological defects such as solitons, polarons, excitons, breathers, skyrmions and hopfions. He recently completed a book on “Phase Transitions from a Materials Perspective” (Cambridge University Press, 2024). He is an Affiliate Professor at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden and holds adjunct professor positions at the University of Barcelona, Spain, University of Crete, Greece, Virginia Tech and the University of Arizona, Tucson. He is Scientific Advisor to National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Japan. He is a Fellow of Los Alamos National Lab, a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and a member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, APS and American Ceramic Society (ACerS).

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

Event Official Language: English

Detecting single gravitons with quantum controlled mechanical oscillators

December 16 (Mon) 14:00 - 15:30, 2024

Germain Tobar (PhD Fellow, Stockholm University, Norway)

The quantisation of gravity is widely believed to result in gravitons - particles of discrete energy that form gravitational waves. But their detection has so far been considered impossible. Here we show that signatures of single gravitons can be observed in laboratory experiments. We show that stimulated and spontaneous single graviton processes can become relevant for massive quantum acoustic resonators and that stimulated absorption can be resolved through optomechanical read-out of single phonons of a multi-mode bar resonator. We analyse the feasibility of observing a signal from the inspiral, merger and post-merger phase of a compact binary inspiral. Our results show that single graviton signatures are within reach of experiments. In analogy to the discovery of the photoelectric effect for photons, such signatures can provide the first experimental evidence of the quantisation of gravity. [1] G. Tobar, S. K. Manikandan, T. Beitel, and I. Pikovski, Nature Communications 15, 7229. [2] G. Tobar, Igor Pikovski ,Michael E. Tobar, arXiv:2406.16898 (2024).

Venue: Seminar Room #359

Event Official Language: English

Perturbative unitarity of Higgs inflation in the Riemannian and generalized geometry

December 13 (Fri) 16:00 - 17:30, 2024

Yusuke Mikura (Ph.D. Student, C-Lab, Department of Physics, Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya University)

In a simple Higgs inflation model in metric-affine gravity, it is known that its UV cutoff is much smaller than the Planck scale. While it calls for UV completion, a concrete example has not yet been found, even with the large-N limit known as a successful technique to complete an original Higgs inflation defined on the Riemannian geometry. In this talk, after a review of the unitarity issue and previous attempts to complete Higgs inflation models, we investigate how small deformation of the simple Higgs inflation affects the emergence and properties of dynamical fields particularly in the large-N limit.

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

Event Official Language: English

Particle acceleration in relativistic astrophysical plasmas

December 13 (Fri) 14:00 - 15:15, 2024

Camilia Demidem (Research Scientist, RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS))

Relativistic astrophysical objects often display evidence of very efficient particle acceleration, such as X-ray and gamma-ray nonthermal emission and are widely recognized as potential sources of cosmic rays. Elucidating the physical mechanisms that turn these environments into such formidable particle accelerators is a longstanding problem of high-energy astrophysics. In this talk, I will briefly explain why shocks and turbulence, naturally expected to occur in these environments, could play an essential role in the acceleration of particles. I will then discuss some of the challenges that poses the description of these nonlinear processes, especially in the context of high-energy astrophysical sources, which involve astronomical ranges of scales and physical conditions much more extreme than we can probe in our laboratories or in the Solar system. Finally, I will share some recent results from my simulations.

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

Event Official Language: English

Recent Advances in the Spectral Geometry of Domains and Approaches with Computer-Assisted Proofs

December 12 (Thu) 15:00 - 17:00, 2024

Ryoki Endo (Ph.D. Student, Fundamental Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University)

What can we determine about the shape of a drum from its sound?"—This inverse problem has given rise to spectral geometry and has attracted researchers for over 110 years. The first half of the talk explains recent advances in shape optimization problems for domains with respect to eigenvalues of the Laplacian and the inverse problem known as "hearing the shape of a drum," presented in an accessible manner for experts from other disciplines. The second half introduces verified computation methods for eigenvalues, eigenfunctions, and shape derivatives. As applications, it presents newly established computer-assisted proofs for the minimization problem of eigenvalues with non-homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions, and the conjecture on the simplicity of the second Dirichlet eigenvalues for non-equilateral triangles.

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

Event Official Language: English