3–14 Aug 2026
Europe/London timezone
This is the annual bootstrap conference, which will take place in London during the first two weeks of August 2026

New mechanism to solve fine-tuning in $d>2$?

5 Aug 2026, 12:15
45m
Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre 101 (Tait Building at City St George’s, University of London)

Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre 101

Tait Building at City St George’s, University of London

Speaker

Yu Nakayama

Description

The Ising model in $d>2$ is characterized by the OPEs $\sigma \times \sigma = 1 + \epsilon + \cdots$ and $\epsilon \times \epsilon = 1 + \epsilon + \cdots$. In $d=2$, the OPE coefficient $C_{\epsilon\epsilon\epsilon}= 0$, and this is explained by duality, leading to solvability and the absence of fine-tuning. We explore the possibility of demanding $C_{\epsilon\epsilon\epsilon} = 0$ in higher dimensions using the conformal bootstrap. Such a theory, if any, will solve the fine-tuning problem, offering a new mechanism for self-organized criticality. We show that in $d=2$ with this ansatz, the Ising model can be isolated to the tip of a very thin nose, and you will see what happens in $d>2$. During the search, you will also encounter an enigmatic, potentially spurious feature from the phenomenon called "trivial mix problem" by Ning Su.

Presentation materials