Quantum Field Theory Out-of-Equilibrium: Thermalization and Chaos

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This award funds the research activities of Professor Anatoly Dymarsky at the University of Kentucky.Quantum field theory is the theoretical framework for describing the fundamental forces and interactions between the elementary building blocks of the natural world. However, a broad goal of studies in this area is to develop new theoretical methods to describe elementary particles in extreme regimes, when large numbers of particles simultaneously interact with each other. This area of research is called quantum field theory out-of-equilibrium, in contrast with the situation when quantum field theory describes individual particles interacting in small groups. The out-of-equilibrium processes --- i.e., those involving large numbers of particles --- are at the heart of numerous phenomena at the frontier of scientific exploration. This includes collisions of heavy ions in particle accelerators, astrophysical processes concerning stars and black holes, experimental settings with cold atoms, and many others. As such, this project serves the national interest by extending our knowledge of fundamental science in the area of quantum field theory, which has applications across these different scientific disciplines. This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. One of the goals is to facilitate the participation of undergraduate students --- specially from underrepresented groups --- in STEM research. Another is to enhance the quality of graduate and post-graduate physics education. Professor Dymarsky will be co-organizing the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP), which will be held at the University of Kentucky. He is also actively promoting theoretical physics through outreach activities, social media, and online educational videos. The specific goals of this research project fall into several broad categories. The first goal is to advance our current understanding of the integrable KdV structure of two-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs). This includes studies of the CFT generalized partition function and its properties. A second goal is to develop new quantitative methods to characterize the chaotic behavior of quantum systems. A third goal is to study thermalization dynamics in various field-theoretic models. As a part of this effort, Professor Dymarsky will also study eigenstate thermalization in two-dimensional CFTs and how it is affected by integrability. This project will then use these results to elucidate quantum gravity in AdS space. These objectives will be achieved through a combination of techniques including holographic correspondence, integrability, and numerical simulations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.