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Abstract |
This course will provide a modern point of view on the wide world of large $N$ conformal field theory (CFT) in diverse spacetime dimensions, placed in the context of the conformal bootstrap and the AdS/CFT Correspondence.\\
Some questions we will tackle:
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What is a ``Holographic CFT''?
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-- When does a CFT give rise to an equivalent, emergent simple gravity description?
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-- What is the conformal bootstrap, and how is it used to constrain and classify the space of consistent large $N$ CFTs and theories of quantum gravity?
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-- Is string theory the only choice? How can we detect strings and extra dimensions from properties of field theories?
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-- What precise predictions does quantum gravity seem to make about the space of strongly coupled CFTs?
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Provisional lecture plan:
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Lectures I-II: Introducing CFTs and their data, large $N$ conformal bootstrap, AdS/CFT, and the notion of ``Holographic CFT''
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Lecture III: Correlation functions and holography
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Lecture IV: Bootstrapping the space of Holographic CFTs
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Lecture V: Special focus: Two-dimensional CFTs and AdS$_3$ gravity
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Course website: https://courses.ipht.fr/?q=en/node/310
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Videoconference and in person in Salle Itzykson, IPhT
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Livestream on youtube.com/IPhT-TV: no subscription required |
