Computational Methods in Lattice Field Theories
from
Tuesday 28 October 2025 (08:00)
to
Saturday 1 November 2025 (13:50)
Monday 27 October 2025
Tuesday 28 October 2025
08:00
Registration
Registration
08:00 - 09:00
09:00
Welcome Address
Welcome Address
09:00 - 09:30
09:30
Talk 1 - Maxim Mai (University of Bern, Switzerland): Approaches to low-energy QCD in a cross talk of EFTs and Lattice QCD
Talk 1 - Maxim Mai (University of Bern, Switzerland): Approaches to low-energy QCD in a cross talk of EFTs and Lattice QCD
09:30 - 11:00
Robust accessing of low-energy QCD is necessary to understand the mass generation and emergence of spectrum of excited hadrons in nature. So far two approaches have crystallized to this goal, both, however, having own strengths and weaknesses. A combination of both approaches provides a path to salvage the former, and mitigate the latter. Indeed, this synergetic approach provides a path to better understanding the low-energy structure of QCD by not only comparing the first-principles predictions with experimental observations but even going beyond this, allowing to study experimentally not accessible regimes. In my lectures, I will show basic principles behind these approaches and some hands-on applications thereof.
11:00
Coffee Break
Coffee Break
11:00 - 11:30
11:30
Talk 2 - Gurtej Kanwar (University of Edinburgh, UK): Machine learning methods for Monte Carlo sampling
Talk 2 - Gurtej Kanwar (University of Edinburgh, UK): Machine learning methods for Monte Carlo sampling
11:30 - 13:00
In these lectures, I will discuss modern machine learning approaches to accelerate Monte Carlo sampling in lattice field theories. The core theme will be connecting to the idea of measure transport through (learned) deterministic and stochastic transformations.
13:00
Lunch Break
Lunch Break
13:00 - 14:00
14:00
Talk 3 - Arnab Sen (Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, India): Monte Carlo for lattice field theories
Talk 3 - Arnab Sen (Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, India): Monte Carlo for lattice field theories
14:00 - 15:30
In these lectures, I will first motivate the equivalence of lattice field theories in Euclidean time to statistical mechanics models, and establish a dictionary between the two. I then discuss the general idea of Monte Carlo sampling in a class of models and finally focus on two interacting models in d dimensions as examples, a phi 4 theory and an Ising model. I explain the extraction of low lying masses using correlation functions and critical exponents at criticality using finite size scaling through these examples.
15:30
Coffee Break
Coffee Break
15:30 - 16:00
16:00
Talk 4 - Srijit Paul (University of Maryland, USA): The Anatomy of a Lattice Measurement
Talk 4 - Srijit Paul (University of Maryland, USA): The Anatomy of a Lattice Measurement
16:00 - 17:30
We discuss how one goes from gauge configurations generated from Monte Carlo towards making a measurement to compute a physical observable. We elaborate on each step starting from relevant operators, propagator computations which are then contracted to obtain the final n-point correlation function. At every step, we tackle computational and analytical challenges using novel methods and techniques developed by the lattice community. As an example measurement, we discuss in particular proton and wilson loops, and finally a reliable extraction of a finite volume spectrum relevant for hadron spectroscopy.
Wednesday 29 October 2025
09:00
Talk 5 - Maxim Mai (University of Bern, Switzerland): Approaches to low-energy QCD in a cross talk of EFTs and Lattice QCD
Talk 5 - Maxim Mai (University of Bern, Switzerland): Approaches to low-energy QCD in a cross talk of EFTs and Lattice QCD
09:00 - 10:30
Robust accessing of low-energy QCD is necessary to understand the mass generation and emergence of spectrum of excited hadrons in nature. So far two approaches have crystallized to this goal, both, however, having own strengths and weaknesses. A combination of both approaches provides a path to salvage the former, and mitigate the latter. Indeed, this synergetic approach provides a path to better understanding the low-energy structure of QCD by not only comparing the first-principles predictions with experimental observations but even going beyond this, allowing to study experimentally not accessible regimes. In my lectures, I will show basic principles behind these approaches and some hands-on applications thereof.
10:30
Coffee Break
Coffee Break
10:30 - 11:00
11:00
Talk 6 - Gurtej Kanwar (University of Edinburgh, UK): Machine learning methods for Monte Carlo sampling
Talk 6 - Gurtej Kanwar (University of Edinburgh, UK): Machine learning methods for Monte Carlo sampling
11:00 - 12:30
In these lectures, I will discuss modern machine learning approaches to accelerate Monte Carlo sampling in lattice field theories. The core theme will be connecting to the idea of measure transport through (learned) deterministic and stochastic transformations.
12:30
Lunch
Lunch
12:30 - 14:00
14:00
Talk 7 - Arnab Sen (Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, India): Monte Carlo for lattice field theories
Talk 7 - Arnab Sen (Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, India): Monte Carlo for lattice field theories
14:00 - 15:30
In these lectures, I will first motivate the equivalence of lattice field theories in Euclidean time to statistical mechanics models, and establish a dictionary between the two. I then discuss the general idea of Monte Carlo sampling in a class of models and finally focus on two interacting models in d dimensions as examples, a phi 4 theory and an Ising model. I explain the extraction of low lying masses using correlation functions and critical exponents at criticality using finite size scaling through these examples.
15:30
Poster Session (With Coffee break)
Poster Session (With Coffee break)
15:30 - 16:30
16:30
Talk 8 - Srijit Paul (University of Maryland, USA): Machine Learning in Measurements
Talk 8 - Srijit Paul (University of Maryland, USA): Machine Learning in Measurements
16:30 - 18:00
We summarize the recent machine learning efforts to tackle the computational and analytical challenges one faces in performing a lattice measurement. We start with direct methods which take in configurations and try to predict the final physical observable/correlator. Next, we briefly touch upon ML methods to perform inversions. Finally we elaborate on various noise reduction and computational effort reduction strategies using ML techniques.
Thursday 30 October 2025
09:00
Talk 9 - Christian Schmidt (Bielefeld University, Germany): Lattice Fundamentals and equation of state
Talk 9 - Christian Schmidt (Bielefeld University, Germany): Lattice Fundamentals and equation of state
09:00 - 10:30
After a short motivation for lattice methods in general, I will introduce the fermionic path integral and discuss fermionic cutoff effects at finite temperature. I will then discuss a lattice calculation of the equation of state at zero chemical potential and its connection to perturbation theory at high temperature and to the hadron resonance gas at low temperature
10:30
Coffee Break
Coffee Break
10:30 - 11:00
11:00
Talk 10 - Emilie Huffman (Wake Forest University, USA): Introduction to Quantum Computing
Talk 10 - Emilie Huffman (Wake Forest University, USA): Introduction to Quantum Computing
11:00 - 12:30
This is an introductory lecture for the elements of quantum computing. We'll begin with classical bits and possible reversible operations on them, and then extend the discussion to quantum bits, introducing as well measurement, circuit diagrams, and finishing with an example of measuring an energy for a simple Hamiltonian.
12:30
Lunch
Lunch
12:30 - 14:00
14:00
Talk 11 - Jesse Stryker (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA): Introduction to quantum computing (continued)
Talk 11 - Jesse Stryker (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA): Introduction to quantum computing (continued)
14:00 - 15:30
This lecture can be viewed as a continuation of the earlier lecture by Prof. Huffman. Topics will include quantum algorithm examples (such as quantum Fourier transform) and a first introduction to Hamiltonian lattice gauge theory.
15:30
Coffee Break
Coffee Break
15:30 - 16:00
16:00
Talk 12 - Jishnu Goswami (RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science, Japan): Strangeness Correlations and QCD Material Parameters (HISQ)
Talk 12 - Jishnu Goswami (RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science, Japan): Strangeness Correlations and QCD Material Parameters (HISQ)
16:00 - 17:30
This lecture develops the lattice definitions and computation of strangeness fluctuations and cross-correlations $(\chi_2^S,\chi_{11}^{BS},\chi_{11}^{QS})$ together with baryon-number skewness/kurtosis $(\chi_3^B,\chi_4^B)$ and ratios $S\sigma, \kappa\sigma^2$. Emphasis is on the HISQ pipeline (Taylor expansion, continuum extrapolation ) and how to interpret the temperature and chemical potential trends relevant to fluctuation measurements at RHIC.
17:30
Poster Session
Poster Session
17:30 - 19:30
19:30
Special Dinner
Special Dinner
19:30 - 21:00
Friday 31 October 2025
09:00
Talk 13 - Christian Schmidt (Bielefeld University, Germany): Cumulants of conserved charge fluctuations and the QCD phase diagram
Talk 13 - Christian Schmidt (Bielefeld University, Germany): Cumulants of conserved charge fluctuations and the QCD phase diagram
09:00 - 10:30
I will introduce Taylor coefficients of the pressure and discuss their interpretation in terms of conserved charge fluctuations. I will further show how they can be used to explore the QCD phase diagram at nonzero temperature and density with emphasis on the chiral transition and the QCD critical point.
10:30
Coffee Break
Coffee Break
10:30 - 11:00
11:00
Talk 14 - Emilie Huffman (Wake Forest University, USA): Hamiltonian Lattice Field Theories and Variational Eigensolver Algorithms
Talk 14 - Emilie Huffman (Wake Forest University, USA): Hamiltonian Lattice Field Theories and Variational Eigensolver Algorithms
11:00 - 12:30
Continuing on with the Hamiltonian Field theories introduced in the previous lecture, we consider different ways of getting a finite-dimensional Hilbert space. We discuss the Schwinger model and how to simulate fermions with the Jordan-Wigner transformation, and finally we consider quantum link models and the application of both VQE/VQD and QAOA to find the ground state and first-excited state to an SO(3)-symmetric quantum link model.
12:30
Lunch
Lunch
12:30 - 14:00
14:00
Talk 15 - Jesse Stryker (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA)
Talk 15 - Jesse Stryker (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA)
14:00 - 15:30
15:30
Coffee Break
Coffee Break
15:30 - 16:00
16:00
Talk 16 - Jishnu Goswami (RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science, Japan): Thermodynamics with Möbius Domain-Wall Fermions at Finite $T$ and $\mu$
Talk 16 - Jishnu Goswami (RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science, Japan): Thermodynamics with Möbius Domain-Wall Fermions at Finite $T$ and $\mu$
16:00 - 17:30
A pedagogical walk-through of finite-$T$, small-$\mu$ thermodynamics with MDWF: action choices, chiral symmetry, and practical estimators for conserved-charge cumulants. We outline noise/systematics control and continuum estimation, and contrast with HISQ to highlight where exact chiral symmetry refines fluctuation observables of interest to heavy-ion phenomenology.
Saturday 1 November 2025
09:00
Talk 17 - Christian Schmidt (Bielefeld University, Germany): Universal scaling fits
Talk 17 - Christian Schmidt (Bielefeld University, Germany): Universal scaling fits
09:00 - 10:00
I will perform a hands-on exercise of a chiral scaling fit to HotQCD data using a well known parametrization of the universal scaling function of the order parameter. From the fit we extract the chiral phase transition temperature.
10:00
Talk 18 - Srijit Paul (University of Maryland, USA): School Summary
Talk 18 - Srijit Paul (University of Maryland, USA): School Summary
10:00 - 11:00
We summarize the discussions and interesting outcomes of the school with regards to ML in lattice QCD and hadron spectroscopy.
12:30
Lunch
Lunch
12:30 - 13:50