Triangle Seminars

Abstract:
I will discuss some novel algebraic structures and how they lead to the quantum field theories that arise on the world volumes of 2-branes and 5-branes in M-theory.

Abstract:
Perturbing a CFT by a relevant operator on a half space and letting the perturbation flow to the far infrared we obtain an RG interface between the UV and IR CFTs. If the IR CFT is trivial we obtain an RG boundary condition. The space of massive perturbations thus breaks up into regions labelled by conformal boundary conditions of the UV fixed point. For the 2D critical Ising model perturbed by a generic relevant operator we find the assignment of RG boundary conditions to all flows. We use some analytic results but mostly rely on TCSA and TFFSA numerical techniques. We investigate real as well as imaginary values of the magnetic field and, in particular, the RG trajectory that ends at the Yang-Lee CFT. We argue that the RG interface in the latter case does not approach a single conformal interface but rather exhibits oscillatory non-convergent behaviour.

Abstract:
Weyl semi-metals are an exciting new class of 3D materials with exotic transport properties. They are characterised by point like singularities in the Brillouin zone at which conduction and valence bands touch. Around these points the electronic quasi-particle excitations can be described by either left- or right-handed Weyl spinors. This makes high energy physics to be the low energy electronics of these materials. Holographic models might be useful in two ways: first some Weyl semi-metals might be strongly interacting and second holography is our best tool to understand and discover new exotic transport properties related to the chiral nature of the charge carriers, especially to chiral
anomalies. I will review the construction of a holographic model supporting a topological quantum phase transition between a topological Weyl semi-metal phase and a trivial phase and use it to predict the existence of a new dissipation less form of viscosity (Hall viscosity)
in the quantum critical region.