Description:

Symmetry and Structure in Gauge and Gravity Amplitudes 

Suna Zekioglu, Graduate Student

Abstract:

Scattering amplitudes in gauge theory and gravity reveal rich structures not manifest using traditional QFT methods. We will first examine why these methods obfuscate interesting physics, then introduce modern techniques for studying amplitudes, guided by symmetries and physical principles. In particular, color-kinematics duality has provided a novel understanding of gauge theory amplitudes and how they comprise building blocks for constructing gravity predictions using double copy. This proves useful for calculating the predictions of higher derivative corrections to these theories, which are important for renormalizability and capturing potential new UV physics. We find simple patterns and structures that allow the scattering amplitudes of these higher derivative operators to be calculated efficiently. 

Geometries of Physics

Nic Pavao, Graduate Student

Formulating physics in terms of symmetry is a powerful tool that has revolutionised our understanding of the universe. All dynamical Lagrangian theories can be understood as mappings from a base manifold to a target space, each possessing certain symmetries. We will use this idea to reveal the deep geometric structure underlying particle physics and gravity. Surprisingly, many theoretical results have suggested that these two apparently distinct theories might be closely linked in generality, beyond a few special cases. To expand upon how this could hold in a classical setting, we will investigate non-trivial geometric structure that can emerge in both Yang-Mills theory and Einstein-Hilbert gravity.