Quantum/Gravity Seminar Series
Unless otherwise noted, seminars take place at 11:10 am on Fridays in Abelson 333.
Fall 2023 Seminars
August 30, 2023
**Note, this meeting takes place on Wednesday**September 22, 2023
Title: (Almost) Good Quantum Codes from Long Wormholes
Abstract: Quantum error correction is critical for quantum computation on realistic noisy devices, and the search for quantum error-correcting codes with desirable properties is an essential ongoing effort in quantum information science. A recent exciting development is the construction of `good’ quantum low-density parity-check codes, whose rate and distance are both proportional to the total number of physical qubits. The existence of these codes raises a natural question: can we find quantum many-body systems where codes of this type naturally appear? In this talk, I will discuss families of approximate quantum error-correcting codes that arise as nearly degenerate ground states in the SYK model and its low-rank generalizations. These codes turn out to have constant rate and a distance that scales as N^c as N goes to infinity. For SYK, we find c=1/2, while for the low-rank models, we find that c can be tuned arbitrarily close to 1, e.g. c=.99, while preserving a non-vanishing rate. Hence, certain of these codes are `almost good.’ They are also roughly analogous to LDPC codes in that the terms in the Hamiltonian are all low-weight. Finally, I will discuss a holographic model of these codes in which the large code distance is a consequence of the emergence of a long wormhole geometry in a simple model of quantum gravity.
September 29, 2023
Title: Fractional winding condensates, replica trick and stringy microstates
Abstract: I will discuss the role of various winding condensates in bosonic string theory on AdS₃ at non-zero temperatures. First, we will prove that a marginal deformation of free theory on the cylinder consisting of a winding condensate on the space circle of winding ±1 is equivalent to the usual sigma model description of the worldsheet CFT of empty AdS₃ in terms of SL(2,R) WZW model. This equivalence is a strong weak duality in the sense of α’. Then we will use this description for the BTZ blackhole and calculate the thermal partition function from the worldsheet. Along the way, I will explain two conceptual subtitles involved in the calculation and resolve them by formulating a version of the replica trick on the worldsheet in terms of a factional winding condensate. It will be shown that the entropy of BTZ blackhole can be obtained from the one-point function of the non-local ‘area’ operator on the worldsheet. In the final part of the talk, we will focus on deformation consisting of two winding condensates in space and time circles. Near Hagedorn temperature such a deformation would be interpreted as the analog of the Horowitz-Polchinski-like solution. We will present detailed results on a likely new CFT corresponding to a stringy `small’ blackhole at the Hawking-Page temperature.
October 6, 2023
Title: A simple (bosonic) model of quantum gravity?
Abstract: I'll discuss ongoing work with Mike Winer exploring the physics of all-to-all quantum p-spin models. The 2-body versions of these models are typically glassy at low temperature, but the q-body generalizations, which can be viewed as bosonic analogs of SYK, might have interesting gravitational dynamics at low energies.
October 13, 2023
October 20, 2023
October 27, 2023
October 30, 2023
**Note the change of day and location. This seminar will take place on Monday at 11:10 in Abelson 229**
Title: Holographic duals of evaporating black holes
Abstract: I will discuss how the dynamical evaporation of a black hole through quantum Hawking emission admits a dual description in terms of classical gravitational evolution in Anti-de Sitter space. The idea was first proposed two decades ago, but it remained underdeveloped and poorly understood due to conceptual subtleties and technical difficulties. Recently, in collaboration with Luna, Suzuki, Tomasevic and Way, we have applied novel methods to study the dual dynamical evaporation of a variety of black holes interacting with colder radiation baths. We have also found the dual of the collapse of holographic radiation to form a black hole on the brane.
November 3, 2023
Title: chasing the minimax squirrel
Abstract: I will talk about recent progress in (i) proving the cooperating theorem for minimax time-sheets for some explicit configurations of increasing level of complexity and in (ii) searching for counterexamples to either the cooperating theorem or to the higher inequalities in time-dependent configurations in the context of 3d gravity. A recurring theme is how global properties of AdS often come to save the day, so I will discuss some of these tools.
November 6, 2023
**Note the special day and time. This seminar will take place at 1:30pm in Abelson 333**
November 10, 2023
(AI generated) Title: "Accelerating Insights: Algorithmic Speedup in Unveiling the Holographic Entropy Cone"
(AI generated) Abstract: In this enlightening talk, Dr. Ning Bao takes us on a journey into the cutting-edge realm of quantum gravity and holography. One of the central enigmas in this field is the "Holographic Entropy Cone," a complex structure that encodes critical information about the fundamental nature of spacetime and quantum entanglement. Dr. Bao will present groundbreaking research that leverages algorithmic speedup techniques to efficiently probe and determine the elusive Holographic Entropy Cone. This innovative approach promises to unravel the mysteries of quantum gravity, shedding new light on the interplay between black holes, quantum field theory, and the holographic principle. Join us in this exploration of algorithmic acceleration as we aim to decipher the secrets hidden within the Holographic Entropy Cone, pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the universe.
November 17, 2023
Title: Chaos from pole skipping and shockwavesAbstract: Pole skipping is an interesting phenomenon that happens in chaotic quantum many body systems, and it can be used to determine the Lyapunov exponent and the butterfly velocity, both important quantifiers of the out-of-time correlator (OTOC). I will talk about a systematic way of deriving pole-skipping conditions for general holographic CFTs dual to classical bulk theories and how to use this framework to derive a few interesting statements including: (1) theories with higher spins generally violate the chaos bound; (2) the butterfly velocity calculated using pole skipping agrees with that calculated using shockwaves for arbitrary higher-derivative gravity coupled to ordinary matter; (3) shockwaves are related to a special type of quasinormal modes. If there is time, I will briefly mention how fermionic fields and gauge fields can be systematically incorporated into the formalism.
December 8, 2023
Title: Majorana Clifford Algebras & Stabilizer States
Abstract: In this talk I will present the current state of a mathematical framework used to describe operator strings of Majorana fermions and the associated Clifford algebras in terms of binary vectors and matrices respectively. Special focus will be on the subgroups of those algebras that preserve the commutation relations and fermion parity of the Majorana strings, as they represent sub-ensembles of unitary Clifford operators with additional “local” structure. I will then discuss the implications of this orthogonal structure (which does not arise naturally in the case of Pauli strings) for the construction of Majorana stabilizer states and random circuits, and how this might eventually lead to a class of efficient quantum error correcting codes.
December 15, 2023
Spring 2024 Seminars
January 11, 2024
January 18, 2024
January 25, 2024
February 1, 2024
February 8, 2024
February 15, 2024
February 22, 2024
February 29, 2024
March 7, 2024
March 14, 2024
March 21, 2024
March 28, 2024
April 4, 2024
April 11, 2024
April 18, 2024