Organisers:
Christian Ferko (University of California Davis)
Johanna Knapp (University of Melbourne)
Jock McOrist (University of New England)
Fiona Seibold (Imperial College London)
Alessandro Sfondrini (Padova University)
Gabriele Tartaglino-Mazzucchelli (University of Queensland)

Program Description: 

The deep connections between mathematics, quantum field theory, and string theory (the latter being a leading candidate for a consistent framework to quantise gravity) have been for several decades a driving force of ground-breaking scientific discoveries in pure mathematics, mathematical physics, and theoretical physics. This program aims to bring together leading international and Australian experts in string theory and related topics with the goal of exchanging ideas, results, strengthening existing collaborations and launching new ones. The research focus is, broadly speaking, on deformations of quantum field and gravity theories that are related to string theory and mathematics. The program is developed around three key topics:

(i) Marginal deformations in string theory and sigma-models;
(ii) Higher-derivative deformations in string theory and supergravity;
(iii) TTbar-like deformations of quantum field theories.

There are rich interconnections amongst these topics, promising fruitful interactions and new discoveries. Recently, these have driven important developments, e.g., in the classifications of Calabi-Yau manifolds, non-planar/exact AdS/CFT and AdS supersymmetric black hole physics, generalised complex geometry and its extensions, 2D conformal field theories and their TTbar deformations, and many more. On the mathematical side richness derives from the close connection of these topics with integrable systems, algebraic, differential and enumerative geometry, representation theory and category theory.

Program Structure: TBD

Registration:

• Deadline: 1 June 2023
• Registration is by invitation only. If you are interested to participate in this research program, please contact one of the organisers with your CV and research background.

Participant list:
Christian Ferko (University of California Davis)
Johanna Knapp (University of Melbourne)
Jock McOrist (University of New England)
Fiona Seibold (Imperial College London)
Alessandro Sfondrini (Padova University)
Gabriele Tartaglino-Mazzucchelli (University of Queensland)
Anthony Ashmore (Chicago)
Jean-Emile Bourgine (University of Melbourne)
Peter Bouwknegt (Australian National University)
Evgeny Buchbinder (University of Western Austrialia)
Philip Candelas (Oxford)
Xenia de la Ossa (Oxford)
Kiril Hristov (Sofia University)
Sergei Kuzenko (University of Western Austrialia)
Ilarion Melnikov (James Madison University)
Ruben Minasian (IPhT, Saclay)
Mehmet Ozkan (Instanbul Tech University)
Yi Pang (Tianjin University)
Mauricio Romo (YMSC, Tsinghua University)
Emanuel Scheidegger (BICMR, Peking University)
Savdeep Sethi (Chicago)
Dimitri Sorokin (Padova INFN)
Charlie Stickland Constable (Hertfordshire University)
Erik Svanes (Stavanger University)
Roberto Tateo (Torino University)

ASSOCIATED EVENTS
MATRIX Wine and Cheese Afternoon 23 January 2024
On the first Tuesday of each program, MATRIX provides a pre-dinner wine and cheese afternoon. Produce is locally-sourced to showcase delicacies from the region.