I will discuss recent work constructing exact solution of the general dyonic static BPS black hole in AdS4 within N=2 U(1)-gauged supergravity. For certain models these black holes have lifts to M-theory they correspond to M2-branes wrapped on a Riemann surface and rotating on S7

In this talk we discuss the geometric and non-geometric faces of closed string vacua. The associated closed string geometries are described by new non-commutative as well as non-associative algebras, which can be characterized by certain 3-cocycles in Lie algebra cohomology. We present an associated star-product algebra on functions in phase space. We also discuss some aspects of uncertainty relations, as well as the question, if the non-associative structures are visible in conformal field theory and in double field theory.

This talk focuses on vacuum moduli spaces of N=4 supersymmetric field theories in three dimensions. A particular branch of the moduli space, known as the Coulomb branch, receives quantum corrections. We present an exact result, known as the Hilbert series, that enumerates the operators in the chiral ring of such a quantum Coulomb branch. This exact result can be applied to a large class of 3d supersymmetric field theories, with and without known Lagrangian descriptions. As an application, we present a method to compute partition functions of instantons on C^2 for any simple group, including exceptional and non-simply-laced ones.

This talk will be about an unusual type of superfluid, one made up of anyons. I will discuss anyons, their relation to the quantum Hall effect, and how an anyonic superfluid is unlike a typical superfluid. Then I will describe a holographic model of a strongly-coupled anyonic superfluid and the stability of its supercurrents.

In order to study the weakly coupled regime of some given quantum theory we often make use of perturbative expansions of the physical quantities of interest. But such expansions are often divergent, with zero radius of convergence, and defined only as asymptotic series. In fact, this divergence is connected to the existence of nonperturbative contributions, i.e. instanton effects that cannot be simply captured by a perturbative analysis. The theory of resurgence is a mathematical tool which allows us to effectively study this connection and its consequences. Moreover, it allows us to construct a full non-perturbative solution from perturbative data. In this talk, I will review the essential role of resurgence theory in the description of the analytic solution behind the asymptotic series. I will then relate resurgence to the so-called Stokes phenomena and phase transitions using a simple example, and will further discuss some major applications of this construction.

This talk will explore two possible models which can achieve the correct Higgs mass and still allow for sparticles accessible to the LHC's reach. In the first example we built two tailor made spectrum generators to analyse a Higgs extension (non decoupled D-terms) of the MSSM, based on quiver gauge theories. We then explore the LHC & ILC's capability to determine their effect through their enhancement of Higgs branching ratios with respect to the Standard Model. In the second model, we use the NMSSM to obtain the correct Higgs mass and then explore flavour-gauge mediation to obtain light 3rd generation squarks, whilst keeping the 1st and 2nd generation above exclusions. Both models are also realisable through magnetic SQCD. I will hopefully also discuss further avenues for model building opportunities in the context of Natural SUSY.

I will review the connection between on-shell diagram formulation of N=4 scattering amplitudes, the Grassmannian, and N=1 bipartite field theories. I will then perform a detailed investigation of the combinatorial and geometric objects associated to bipartite graphs, focusing on toric geometry and on the stratification of the Grassmannian. I will show how this description extends to the non-planar case, providing powerful tools to study the on-shell formulation of scattering amplitudes beyond the planar limit.

A formula for the interaction energy of an eternally accelerated heavy quark-antiquark pair in N=4 Yang-Mills theory is derived and its implications are discussed, both in the context of strongly coupled Yang-Mills theory and in its dual, the IIB string theory.

I will present a systematic study of the topology of Mikhailov's quarter and eighth-BPS giant gravitons in AdS_5 x S^5. These D3-branes are rigidly rotating 3-manifolds embedded into the 5-sphere compact space, which are dual to long, gauge-invariant, quarter and eighth-BPS operators in N=4 SYM theory by the AdS/CFT correspondence. How the topology is encoded in these operators remains an open question.

I describe a general method implementing the crossing symmetry constraints in a large class of CFTs. Starting with the knowledge of the fusion rules of scalar operators, this method can generate systematically the scaling dimensions of the low-lying primaries of the theory. Its application to the Yang -Lee edge singularity for $2\le D \le 6$ and to the 3d critical Ising model gives rather accurate results and allows to estimate several new critical exponents

Over the next decade, large scale structure (LSS) surveys will play an increasingly important role in the measurement of cosmological parameters and as a probe of initial conditions. Relating the observed galaxies to the physics of the early universe requires a good understanding of several late-time sources of non-linear effects. In this talk, I will explain how, looking at large scales, effective field theory (EFT) offers a natural framework to deal with these non-linearities. After reviewing the recently developed effective field theory of large scale structure, I will explain how the halo bias model - a model relating the density of dark matter halos to the underlying dark matter density - can be understood in the context of EFT. In the final part of the talk, I will show explicit computations of halo statistics and discuss their observational consequences.

In this talk I will consider brane configurations that include NS5 branes, orientifold planes and anti-branes. I will argue that the class of field theories that live on such brane configurations admit Seiberg duality. Interactions between branes and orientifold planes will be given a field theory interpretation. In particular a certain repulsive interaction will lead to a non-trivial Coleman-Weinberg potential and dynamical symmetry breaking. I will also discuss the case of type 0' strings and chiral symmetry breaking of the form SU(Nf)xSU(Nf)-->SU(Nf) in a QCD-like theory.

In this talk I will review recent progress in understanding aspects of 5d gauge theories. Under certain circumstances these can be at fixed points admitting a large N limit, whose gravity dual we will discuss. Such gravity dual suggests a yet more general class of quiver-type fixed point theories which can sometimes be understood in terms of S-duality. To this matter the braneweb construction of the theories will prove very helpful, yielding new insights which we will test using the 5d superconformal index.