Postdoc UnConference & Lightning Talks 2024

Oct 17, 2024, 9:00 a.m. → Oct 18, 2024, 4:00 p.m. America/Toronto

Perimeter Offsite Location / Sky Room

Celine Zwikel, Naren Manjunath (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics), Sunny Tsang

Thursday Unconference - Cancelled

Oct 16 event has been cancelled and will be rescheduled in November - Lightning talks on Friday will still proceed

Unlike traditional conferences, an unconference is a participant-driven meeting that prioritizes informal discussions on topics of interest to the participants.  Sessions consist of discussions in small breakout groups. The topics for discussion get proposed and voted on early during a mingler event, and the schedule is made up on the spot from these suggestions.

Any and all topics pertinent to Perimeter postdocs can be proposed as the focus of a session. The following are some examples of topics that you might suggest:

• Recent progress in field X and why researchers in field Y should take notice
• Why gravity does/doesn’t need to be quantized
• The implications of chat-GPT for theoretical physics
• The correct interpretation of quantum theory is X
• The correct account of dark matter is X 
• What role can physicists play in climate action?
• The future of scientific publishing
• Physics outreach in the age of social media
• The role of information theory in modern physics
• How to make scientific conferences more productive

Please think of at least one topic that you would like to discuss prior to the event!

Max 32 participants - Open ONLY to PI Resident Postdocs

Postdoc Affairs Committee will be moderating participants.

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Friday Lightning Talks

PI Resident Postdocs are encouraged to register to attend the session (max 48 audience), and to submit a Lightning Talk via the Call for Abstracts (max  18 talks).

Thursday, October 17

9:00 a.m. CANCELLED

Friday, October 18

2:45 p.m. Welcome

1 An interplay between AI and field theory

Abstract: In this short talk, I will provide the overview to an interplay between quantum field theory and theory of AI. In this foundational crosstalk, (a) field theories are simulated with guaranteed accuracy via dual neural networks (the backbones of AI) with no learning dynamics; (b) field theories additionally generate novel AI models; (c) AI learning dynamics corresponds to information theoretic RG flows; and lastly, (d) Wilsonian RG explains unforeseen learning behavior in large AI models. Altogether, this integrated paradigm marks the onset of a new era where similar synergies would enrich both AI theory and fundamental physics.

Speaker: Anindita Maiti (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)

2 Quantizing causal diamonds in gravity

Abstract: When quantizing a gravitational system that admits a suitable gauge-fixing of time by surfaces of constant-mean-curvature, the reduced phase space can be obtained non-perturbatively and, for pure gravity, it is realized as the cotangent bundle of the space of conformal geometries of the Cauchy slice. I will delineate how to apply this approach to quantize causal diamonds in (2+1)-dimensions, with a non-positive cosmological constant, employing a fully non-perturbative, group-theoretic quantization scheme based on a BMS_3 group of symmetries.

Speaker: Rodrigo Andrade E Silva (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)

3 Centralizers of quantum groups, orthogonal polynomials and link invariants

Abstract: In this talk, I will discuss centralizers of the quantum groups associated to the Lie algebras S|N when acting on a tensor product of vector spaces, in the spirit of the Schur–Weyl duality. I will briefly explain how in some cases the centralizers can be described with the help of an algebra related to orthogonal polynomials, and I will discuss their diagrammatic interpretation in the context of link invariants and Chern–Simons theory, a topological quantum field theory.

Speaker: Meri Zaimi (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)

4 Nonperturbative dynamics analytically and numerically

Abstract: I will outline my main research direction which deals with various nonperturbative phenomena in particle physics and cosmology. In particular, I will mention first order phase transitions from a thermal state, where new non-equilibrium features were uncovered that affect the real-time dynamics of the transition and can change its rate.

Speaker: Andrey Shkerin (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)

5 Bubbles of Anti-deSitter as black hole mimickers

Abstract: The detection of gravitational waves by the Ligo-Virgo-Kagra collaboration, and the remarkable images produced by the EHT collaboration have opened new avenues into the study of highly compact objects in our universe. While observations suggest these objects are black holes, they don't rule out other possibilities. Black holes, however, create paradoxes that challenge well-established physical principles, leading to growing interest in horizonless ultra-compact objects — often called "black hole mimickers." To understand mimickers, we need concrete, well-motivated models that are both theoretically feasible and astrophysically relevant — something that's currently scarce. In this lightning talk, I will summarily present a class of mimickers called “Anti-deSitter black shells,” which provide a promising candidate model for further study.

Speaker: Suvendu Giri (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)

6 Frontiers in Cosmic Ray Puzzles and Why They Matter

In this brief presentation, I will highlight several cosmic ray puzzles that arise from discrepancies between incredibly precise new observations and models used to approximate the observed spectra and abundances of various cosmic ray species. These models rely on advanced numerical techniques, yet significant differences remain. I will conclude by outlining my efforts to address the main sources of these disagreements.

Speaker: Mohamad Shalaby (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)