Physical Society Colloquium

Probing Quantum Field Theory at Strong Coupling

Emily Nardoni

Kavli IPMU
University of Tokyo

Quantum field theory (QFT) is the underlying language used to describe a wide variety of physical systems. One of the most important questions in QFT is how to extract its properties in strongly interacting regimes, where standard perturbative methods fail. In this colloquium, I will give a broad overview of novel tools based on symmetry and geometry that allow us to probe the dynamics of QFT at strong coupling. Symmetry — such as supersymmetry and/or conformal symmetry — provides a powerful organizing principle for mapping the landscape of QFTs, and constraining their properties. By further focusing on QFTs that can be geometrically engineered in string theory, we gain a crucial geometric handle on field theoretic data. Our guiding principle is to harness the interconnections between QFTs — from renormalization group flows, to strong/weak coupling dualities in field theory, to AdS/CFT duality. The synergy of these varied viewpoints leads to exciting new insights into the nature of QFT.