Speaker
Lárus Thorlacius
(Nordita)
Description
String theory provides novel theoretical tools for the
study of strongly coupled field theories through the so-
called gauge theory/gravity correspondence. These
methods and ideas may provide useful insight into
strongly correlated systems in condensed matter
physics, where conventional theories of weakly
interacting quasi-particles break down. They also
suggest that quantum gravity can be explored via
experiments in suitably engineered materials or optical
lattices. In these lectures I will describe how the original
gauge theory/gravity correspondence comes about in
the study of extended objects called Dirichlet branes in
string theory. I'll then discuss a more general
correspondence with reduced symmetry, which is
expected to be more relevant to the real world, and
outline some potential applications to quantum critical
systems of interest in condensed matter physics.
