This award funds the research activities of Professor Silviu Pufu at Princeton University.
Professor Pufu's research addresses, from different points of view, how the behavior of physical systems changes between short and long distance scales. This research is focused on physical systems that are effectively two-dimensional, such as layered materials that have weak interactions between the layers and very strong interactions within each layer. Such two-dimensional systems are interesting partly because they might realize new strongly-interacting phases of matter, and partly because they represent toy models for phenomena that occur in our three-dimensional world and are hard to understand. Professor Pufu will develop theoretical tools for understanding how, in these two-dimensional systems, the short-distance physics affects and constrains the long-distance physics. These tools are partly based on ideas from string theory, whereby one can describe strongly-interacting two-dimensional systems by gravity in three spatial dimensions.
Specifically, this project's goals are to deepen our understanding of the renormalization group by investigating constraints on possible renormalization group flows; to study properties of three-dimensional quantum field theories with holographic duals; and to learn about monopole operators in simple non-supersymmetric conformal field theories. This research aims not only to cement our understanding of quantum field theory and of the renormalization group, but also to gain insight into phenomena like confinement in three space-time dimensions that are hard to understand in the theory of strong interactions in four space-time dimensions. In addition, studying strongly-interacting theories with holographic duals can teach us, indirectly, important lessons about quantum gravity. The proposed research provides a bridge between the high energy and condensed matter communities, because learning about confinement and monopole operators is very important in understanding which types of consistent theories can describe, at least in principle, the low-energy physics of various lattice systems. This project has a significant educational and mentoring component, whereby it can be used to train post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students and prepare them for successful scientific careers. Pufu will be involved in advising science-inclined beginning undergraduates on matters that would prepare them for careers in scientific research.
