Speaker: Sadra Jazayeri
Title: Probing New Physics during inflation with cosmological correlators
 
Abstract: Cosmological correlators present an unprecedented avenue for studying fundamental physics at energy scales close to the Hubble rate during inflation, around 10^14 GeV.  The forthcoming generation of cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure surveys promises to measure primordial non-Gaussianity with an unprecedented precision, thereby offering a tantalizing opportunity to look for the imprints of physics beyond single-field slow-roll models. In this presentation, I will explore novel imprints of massive particles during inflation on primordial correlators, particularly in scenarios where de Sitter boosts are spontaneously broken. Using perturbative bootstrap and effective field theory techniques, I will derive analytical expressions for the primordial three-point function, both at tree and one-loop levels.
 
Speaker: Hongliang Jiang
Title: Spectroscopy for Non-Lagrangian SCFTs
 
Abstract: The spectrum of local operators is a crucial aspect of defining data in quantum field theories (QFTs). While Lagrangians offer a method to construct operators from fields, such a luxury is not available for non-Lagrangian QFTs. In this talk, I will explore the operator spectra in Argyres-Douglas theories, which are strongly coupled, non-Lagrangian superconformal field theories. Utilizing techniques such as the SCFT/VOA correspondence, N=1 indirect Lagrangian theory, and superconformal representation theory, I aim to chart the protected spectrum of short multiplets in minimal Argyres-Douglas (MAD) theory. Additionally, I will consider a family of Argyres-Douglas theories which share many similarities with N=4 SYM theories, derive a simple closed formula for their Schur indices, and discuss the high-energy asymptotic growth of operators through modularity.

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