Speaker: David Simmons-Duffin (Princeton IAS)
Title: Bootstrapping Conformal Field Theories
Room: Physics 432
Abstract: Conformal Field Theory (CFT) describes the long distance limit of numerous systems in particle and condensed matter physics. Often, the dynamics in this limit is strongly-coupled, making it hard to calculate observables precisely. However, in the last few years, a new technique for exploring CFTs has emerged based on the idea of the Conformal Bootstrap. I will explain how the Bootstrap lets us calculate critical exponents in the 3d Ising Model to world-record precision, how it explains similarities between magnets and boiling water, and how it can be applied to questions across theoretical physics.
