About the project
This project will develop new methods to improve our understanding the quantum properties of black holes and information theoretic aspects of spacetime emergence in holography. A main objective is to use methods such as effective field theory to develop a unifying theory of quantum chaos in the context of AdS/CFT.
Over the past years, deep connections have been discovered between string theory, general relativity, quantum field theory, and quantum information theory. The framework of holography offers an avenue towards understanding quantum gravity and how it emerges from a dual description in terms of quantum many-body systems. The thermodynamic and information-theoretic properties of black holes play a crucial role in these endeavours, as they expose dynamical and quantum properties in a detailed and distinguished way.
The goal of this project will be to identify and develop new tools for studying thermalization and quantum chaos in holography. One approach will be the use of effective field theory methods to develop a language that captures and explains universal aspects of chaos in black holes. Different aspects that will be studied are, e.g., the quantum butterfly effect and the structure of eigenvalue correlations in chaotic quantum systems. Both can be analyzed in detail in specific systems and connections between different aspects of chaos will be explored. It will be important to distinguish universal properties from system-specific details. Using effective field theory methods the candidate will extract universal properties in a mathematical language that makes the mechanism of holography more manifest.
This project will be embedded in a larger research group investigating related topics. The candidate will have the opportunity to work on cutting edge research within the environment of the String Theory and Holography group in Southampton, as well as a lively international community.
