Week 20.11.2023 – 26.11.2023

In these series of lectures we will explore initial value problem in general relativity and how it can be solved in a computer in practical situations. We will first cover the necessary mathematical foundations, including the concepts of well-posedness and strong hyperbolicity, and then explore the current formulations of Einstein’s theory of gravity that are implemented in modern numerical codes, namely generalised harmonic coordinates and the BSSN formulation. We shall see how the latter can be implemented in a toy code so as to get some hands on experience. Time permitting, we will also explore the initial boundary value problem in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spaces and how it can be solved in practice using the characteristic formulation of the Einstein equations in applications of holography.

The Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of 1/16-BPS AdS_5 black holes is captured by a superconformal index. Such indices exhibit SL(3,Z) modular properties, which are explicated in terms of ambiguities in the Heegaard splitting of an associated Hopf surface. We conjecture a "modular factorization" of superconformal indices of general N=1 gauge theories and provide evidence for this conjecture by studying the free chiral multiplet and SQED.

We will consider perturbations of 2D CFTs by multiple relevant operators. The massive phases of such perturbations can be labeled by conformal boundary conditions. Cardy's variational ansatz approximates the vacuum state of the perturbed theory by a smeared conformal boundary state. In this talk we will discuss the limitations and propose generalisations of this ansatz using both analytic and numerical insights based on TCSA. In particular we analyse the stability of Cardy's ansatz states with respect to boundary relevant perturbations using bulk-boundary OPE coefficients. We show that certain transitions between the massive phases arise from a pair of boundary RG flows. The RG flows start from the conformal boundary on the transition surface and end on those that lie on the two sides of it. As an example we work out the details of the phase diagram for the Ising field theory and for the tricritical Ising model perturbed by the leading thermal and magnetic fields. Based on arXiv:2306.13719.

We study new cohomologies for the BPS operators of the N=4 Yang-Mills theory with SU(2), SU(3) and SU(4) gauge groups. The goal of this programme is to identify the black hole microstates in the dual field theory that are successfully counted by the index to match the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. We first study the index over non-graviton cohomologies and identify their threshold levels. We present examples of the non-graviton operators in the SU(2) theory and in a subsector of the SU(3) theory that corresponds to the BMN matrix model. We also present an ansatz that can be used to construct these operators. Finally, we discuss non-trivial tower structures and partial no-hair behaviours of quantum black holes.

In these series of lectures we will explore initial value problem in general relativity and how it can be solved in a computer in practical situations. We will first cover the necessary mathematical foundations, including the concepts of well-posedness and strong hyperbolicity, and then explore the current formulations of Einstein’s theory of gravity that are implemented in modern numerical codes, namely generalised harmonic coordinates and the BSSN formulation. We shall see how the latter can be implemented in a toy code so as to get some hands on experience. Time permitting, we will also explore the initial boundary value problem in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spaces and how it can be solved in practice using the characteristic formulation of the Einstein equations in applications of holography.

The TTbar deformation is an irrelevant deformation of 2D field theories associated with nonlocal UV behaviour. Despite its apparent solvability, many aspects of the deformation remain mysterious. In this talk, I will present exact results for the TTbar deformation of 2D U(N) Yang-Mills theory. Carrying out the analysis at the level of each instanton sector, we can determine the nonperturbative contributions to the partition function and prove that the spectrum undergoes a truncation (a property only conjectured for other TTbar-deformed theories). We then derive the large-N limit by studying the relevant flow equation, uncovering a rich phase diagram where phase transitions are driven by instanton condensation.

Costello, Witten and Yamazaki proposed a 4d Chern-Simons theory as a unified way to engineer integrable models. In the presence of 'Disorder' defects (for non-ultralocal 2d theories), this correspondence has been established only classically. As a first quantum check, I will derive the matching of 1-loop divergences between the 4d and 2d theories. My assumptions are general and seem to isolate sigma-models among the 2d theories. (Based on 2309.16753)

I will present the problem of building local AdS bulk observables from boundary CFT data. Focusing on QFTs coupled to a rigid AdS background, we study the analyticity constraints that bulk locality imposes on bulk-boundary-boundary 3-point functions ("AdS form factors"). We reformulate these constraints as a complete, non-perturbative set of sum rules. These sum rules lead to additional constraints on the boundary CFT on top of crossing, and can be implemented numerically in the bootstrap. We study the flat limit when these "AdS form factors" become form factors. (Based on 2305.07078)