IAS High Energy Theory Seminar

Abstract: Conformal field theories in 3D are central to condensed-matter and high-energy physics. Among them, critical gauge theories, especially Chern-Simons-matter theories, stand out: They describe transitions where one or both phases are topologically ordered; they host conjectured dualities, and are proposed realisable experimentally in Moiré materials. To study them, the fuzzy sphere has shown exceptional efficiency, and bridges CFTs with quantum Hall physics. As the first instance, I will present the confinement transition of the ν=1/2 bosonic Laughlin state, described by a scalar coupled to a U(1)_2 gauge field. I will show that this transition is continuous with emergent conformal symmetry, and discuss its critical properties. I will also report the first realisations of free and interacting fermionic CFTs — the free Majorana fermion and the super-Ising theory — on the setup of a boson-fermion mixture, and conclude with a roadmap towards studying QED with Chern-Simons, broader Lagrangian QFTs, and super-conformal field theories.