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Pacific Northwest Particle Theory Seminar

The Pacific Northwest Particle Theory Seminar is a 1.5-day regional meeting whose goal is to bring together high energy physicists in the Pacific Northwest to get together for a day, hear some talks, and discuss physics. 

The next meeting will be held at the University of of British Columbia at:

Date: May 2-3, 2025.

Location: The Friday and Saturday sessions will be in different locations.

1. Earth Sciences Building (ESB) 1012 (Friday)
2. Hennings 318 (Saturday)

(See maps below)

Schedule:

May 2, 2025 (Friday - ESB 1012)

0930 - 1030: Welcome, coffee.

1030 - 1130: Shu-Heng Shao (MIT), Anomalies from qubits.

Abstract: I will discuss how the Schwinger anomaly in 1+1d and the
parity anomaly in 2+1d can both arise from a lattice algebra studied by
Onsager.

1130 - 1200: Break.

1200 - 1240: Isabel Garcia-Garcia (UW), Dyon Loops and Abelian Instantons.

Abstract: I will discuss field configurations of Abelian gauge fields that carry second Chern number, generated by closed monopole worldlines in four-dimensional Euclidean space. These are "Abelian Instantons" that ascribe physical significance of the electromagnetic vacuum angle. I will discuss the connection between these and traditional Yang-Mills instantons. Time permitting, I will speculate on the existence of Abelian instantons in the context of electromagnetism minimally coupled to gravity.

1240 - 1400: Lunch.

1400 - 1440: Tarek Anous (Queen Mary U.), The Schwinger model: A case study in de Sitter QFT.

Abstract: Perturbative calculations in de Sitter are a particularly thorny: They are riddled with IR ambiguities and, at late times, signal the breakdown of the standard EFT paradigm. I will start with a light review of these issues and will motivate why exactly solvable models can be a useful tool for organizing our thoughts. To motivate these claims, I will work through a particularly simple example of such an exactly solvable model: QED in two dimensions on a fixed de Sitter background.

1440 - 1530: Break

1530 - 1600: Douglas Tuckler (TRIUMF), Accelerator Probes of Dark Sectors.

Abstract: Dark matter could be part of a much larger dark sector, with its own rich dynamics and particle content. Dark sectors are ubiquitous in extensions of the SM and are well-motivated targets for experimental searches.  In this talk, we will the motivation and phenomenology of dark sectors, highlighting different search strategies at current and future accelerator experiments. We will also touch on proposals to characterize dark sector interactions if a signal is observed in the near future.

1600 - 1630: Chih-Hung Wu (UW), The wavefunction of a quantum S¹ x S² universe.

Abstract: The gravitational path integral has led to a deepened understanding of black holes in recent years. In this talk, we revisit it in the context of cosmology, focusing on the Hartle-Hawking no-boundary proposal for computing the wavefunction of the universe. We begin with some puzzles regarding this proposal and examine the case with spatial topology S¹ x S², where quantum gravity corrections come to the rescue. We clarify certain aspects concerning the choice of contour in complex spacetimes, along with possible generalizations. Finally, we discuss intriguing open questions related to the universe's awkward phase and black hole pair production during inflation, which may leave potential observational imprints.

1630 - On: End, dinner, drinks.

May 3, 2025 (Saturday - Hennings 318)

0900 - 1020: Junior Talks, part 1.

   Jonah Berean-Dutcher (UBC).

   John Coffey (UVic).

   Cuanxin Cui (UBC).

   Carlos de Lima (TRIUMF).

1020 - 1100: Break.

1100 - 1220: Junior Talks, part 2.

   Riku Mizuta (TRIUMF).

   Abhishek Sahu (UBC).

   Jarod Tall (WSU).

   Kate Taylor (UVic).

1220 - On: End, lunch, etc.

The Earth Sciences building at UBC is located at

For a map of the campus, including the location of the Earth Sciences Building, click here.

For those requiring lodging there are options available at UBC.

• Suites: 
• Carey Centre: 
• TRIUMF House: