Michal P. Heller

My interests lie in broadly-understood emergent phenomena in quantum field theories. I am using tools from quantum information science to understand how dynamical spacetime emerges from quantum field theory within holography. I am also studying universal behaviors arising in thermalization processes of quantum fields, such as relativistic hydrodynamics and non-thermal fixed points.

Thomas Mertens

My research interests are in quantum gravity, black hole physics, holography and string theory. In particular, I am driven by the mysteries surrounding black holes and their horizons in quantum gravity. The concrete approach I am pursuing is that of exactly solvable lower-dimensional holographic gravity models (such as Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity and its cousins), where explicit quantum gravitational calculations can be done and interpreted. This research program is supported by the ERC Starting Grant BHHQG.

My earlier work focused on other aspects of black hole quantum physics, including string theoretic descriptions of the stretched horizon and black hole entropy, and the role of edge states in the entanglement entropy of bulk fields across the black hole horizon.

Panos Betzios

My research interests revolve around the general theme of gauge/gravity dualities, matrix models and the emergence of spacetime. I am trying to understand the physics of black holes, wormholes and cosmological spacetimes using string-theoretic, holographic and other mathematical techniques such as those of random matrices.

Currently I am exploring lower dimensional models of black hole spacetimes using variants of matrix quantum mechanics and in parallel the connection between Euclidean wormholes and inflationary cosmologies in higher dimensions.

Bruno de Souza Leão Torres

Most of my work in the past has focused on the intersection between quantum information and quantum field theory. I am particularly interested in understanding how to connect abstract concepts from quantum information theory with the experience of local observers from an operational perspective, and what that can teach us about quantum information and QFT in relativistic settings.

My goal in the near future is to extend this approach to quantum gravity, and understand how fundamental concepts in quantum information such as locality and entanglement are impacted by quantum-gravitational effects.

Jacopo Papalini

My research is centered on exploring lower-dimensional models of quantum gravity, aiming to extract crucial insights into black hole physics and the quantum characteristics of spacetime beyond the semiclassical realm. One particularly promising avenue is the investigation of JT gravity, which provides an unparalleled level of control, due to the exact solvability of partition functions on diverse topologies and correlators.

Furthermore, my focus extends to understanding the interplay between the first-order formulation of these gravity models and lower-dimensional gauge theories, where intriguing nonperturbative effects can be detected and the computation of interesting observables, such as Wilson lines, can be tackled using diverse techniques, including the application of supersymmetric localization.

Alexandre Serantes

More info soon...

Andreas Belaey

Technical and conceptual problems regarding a quantum theory of gravity and a microscopic description of black holes have been solved in the lower-dimensional setting of 2d Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity. I aim to understand whether the lessons of JT gravity generalize to other related models of lower-dimensional gravity, and to eventually go up in the number of dimensions, starting with 3d first. A unifying approach is to exploit the underlying gauge symmetries.

Francesca Mariani

My research focuses on lower-dimensional models of quantum gravity and their connections with higher-dimensional solutions. In this context, 2d Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) Gravity is an extremely useful tool at our disposal. This 2-dimensional model is fully solvable and captures the near-horizon dynamics of higher-dimensional near-extremal black hole solutions.

Fabio Ori

My research interests concern applications of holography to describe how strongly coupled quantum field theories evolve when starting from out-of-equilibrium initial conditions, as in heavy-ion collisions and ultracold quantum gases.

The aims are to uncover the conditions leading to the emergence of self-similar solutions, and to investigate the role of holographic timelike non-local probes in describing real time evolution.

吴奇峰 (Qi-Feng Wu)

My interests are mainly focused on quantum gravity and quantum information. I am trying to use ideas from information theory to understand how gravity emerges from quantum mechanics. In order to achieve this goal, the key is to understand the gravitational correspondence of some information theoretic concepts, including entanglement, complexity, quantum error correction, etc.

Tim Schumann

To learn about the intricate behavior of quantum gravity is the most interesting and exciting question in physics for me. My research focuses on quantum information aspects of quantum gravity in the context of holographic theories where the bulk spacetime emerges as a geometrization of the quantum-information structure of the boundary state.

Currently I am investigating complexity, a quantity that originates from quantifying the difficulty of carrying out a task in quantum information science using limited resources, which has been of recent interest in characterizing the volume of the black hole interior and quantum chaos.

Thomas Tappeiner

My research interests are centered on the exploration of lower-dimensional models of quantum gravity and their application to black hole systems. Due to the large amount of control, we have over these systems, models like JT-gravity and double-scaled SYK offer a unique opportunity to catch glimpses of gravitational physics far beyond the classical regime.

I am explicitly trying to see how we can better understand the mathematical structures underlying these models and how the lessons learned can be applied to operational questions exploring physics near the black hole horizon.