CERN Lattice Coffee

Lattice studies of maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories

by Dr David Schaich

Europe/Zurich
53/R-044 (CERN)

53/R-044

CERN

12
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Description

Lattice field theory provides a non-perturbative regularization of strongly interacting systems, which has proven crucial to the study of quantum chromodynamics among many other theories.  Supersymmetry plays prominent roles in the study of physics beyond the standard model, both as an ingredient in model building and as a tool to improve our understanding of quantum field theory.  Attempts to apply lattice techniques to supersymmetric field theories have a long history but often struggle due to the interplay of supersymmetry with the lattice discretization of spacetime.

In recent years these difficulties have been overcome for a class of theories that includes the particularly interesting case of maximally supersymmetric Yang--Mills (N=4 SYM) in four dimensions, which is a cornerstone of holographic duality.  In combination with computational advances this progress enables practical numerical investigations of N=4 SYM on the lattice, which can address questions that are difficult or impossible to study through other means.  After reviewing some highlights of the N=4 SYM lattice formulation, I will present a selection of results from our ongoing numerical studies, including recent work on the thermodynamics of the dimensional reduction of the theory to N=(8,8) SYM in two dimensions, which holography relates to properties of certain black hole solutions in supergravity.