Skip to main content

GAPP Seminar: On Entanglement in Quantum Field Theory

GAPP Seminar: On Entanglement in Quantum Field Theory

339 Davey Lab, and Zoom: https://psu.zoom.us/s/93737760341

2022-11-29

Speaker: Ivan Agullo (LSU) Title: On Entanglement in Quantum Field Theory

Abstract: It is believed that even the simplest states in the simplest field theories are highly entangled. The main support for this statement comes from the Reeh-Schlieder theorem and calculations of entanglement entropy between a region of space and its complement. I will argue that these results do not provide much information about the entanglement between individual local degrees of freedom. I will then present a way of quantifying such entanglement and show that entanglement in field theory is significantly less ubiquitous than it is commonly believed.

TimeSpeakerTitle
13:30Ivan AgulloOn Entanglement in Quantum Field Theory
About our wordmark
Monica The IGC wordmark was created by Monica Rincon Ramirez, while she was a graduate student at the Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos (IGC). Monica enjoys drawing new connections between fundamental theory and observations. Her graduate work includes specialized topics in general relativity, loop quantum gravity, and quantum fields in cosmological backgrounds. In particular, her thesis work focused on finding effective quantum corrections to gravitational phenomena from spinfoams, and applications to cosmology. She received her PhD in 2024.

The wordmark symbolizes the scope and variety of research at the IGC. The base of the image represents quantum gravity, evoking the quantum geometrical picture from spinfoams and loop quantum gravity. These are among the approaches to fundamental questions studied at the Center for Fundamental Theory. The middle of the image represents the Center for Theoretical and Observational Cosmology by galaxies embedded in a smooth surface, characteristic of spacetime in general relativity and the much larger physical scales studied in cosmology. Finally, at the top, the surface curves to an extreme, representing a supermassive black hole accompanied by an energetic jet. These elements depict an active galactic nucleus, inspired by Centaurus A. Just to the right, a pair of black holes approaches merger. This top portion of the wordmark represents the Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics, which specializes in the study of high-energy phenomena in the universe.