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Calendar of Physics Talks Vienna
| Conformal field theories with exceptional symmetry |
| Speaker: | Brandon Rayhaun (Stanford University) |
| Abstract: | Despite being some of the first and most basic objects one encounters in the study of algebra, finite simple groups are surprisingly rich, and participate in a variety of mysterious connections to other areas in math and physics. The classification of finite simple groups is a remarkable theorem of pure mathematics which brings their mystique to bear. Indeed, much as in the more familiar classification of simple Lie groups, there are exceptional cases --- the so-called ``sporadic groups'' --- which are relatively poorly understood. Since group theory is the abstraction of the study of symmetry, it is natural to ask what structures exactly they act on by symmetries. Generalizing the observations of monstrous moonshine, we will argue that many of the sporadic groups naturally arise as the global symmetries of distinguished conformal field theories in two dimensions. In the process, we will |
| Date: | Thu, 16.04.2020 |
| Time: | 17:00 |
| Duration: | 60 min |
| Location: | Zoom (pls contact organizer for details) |
| Contact: | Abhiram Kidambi |
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