The Path Integral Perspective of CFT

16.04.2024 15:00 – 17:00

The presence of symmetries in a QFT is one of the most important characteristics of any theory. As such, understanding these symmetries and their consequences provides a very powerful tool to understand and solve QFTs. One of the most exemplary realizations of this principle are QFTs with so-called conformal symmetry. These conformal field theories notably constitute a fundamental pillar of modern physics and play a fundamental role from the theory of quantum phase transitions to quantum gravity and the standard model.

In this mini-lecture course, I will explain how we can maximizes the symmetry principle by taking the path integral perspective, in contrast to the usually presented algebraic viewpoint. Amazingly, this viewpoint yields a very clear understanding and way of thinking about CFTs. Our guiding principle is going to be the symmetry conundrum of the path integral and we will see that many of the special properties and concepts (like the distinction between operators and fields, which can often be a source of confusion) of CFT are easily understood from this perspective. As such, I will speak about conformal symmetry, the path integral with symmetries, topological operators, radial quantization and more, depending on the time.

The lecture is both aimed at students with knowledge in QFT who want to learn about CFT and advanced students and experts, who I hope will gain some new insights and deepen their understanding of CFT.

Lieu

Bâtiment: Conseil Général 7-9

Room 1-07, Séminaire "Groupes de Lie et espaces de modules"

entrée libre