Speaker
Description
Variational methods based on tensor networks have recently emerged as powerful non-perturbative tools for studying low-dimensional quantum field theories. Relativistic continuous matrix product states (RCMPS) allow certain 1+1 dimensional relativistic quantum field theories to be solved directly in the continuum and thermodynamic limits, without ultraviolet or infrared cutoff.
In this talk I will review the RCMPS approach and present our efforts to extend the formalism to fermionic theories, with the Schwinger model as the target. A central role is played by a set of regularity conditions that the ansatz must satisfy, which constrain the variational parameters and render the variational manifold non-trivial. I will discuss the construction of fermionic RCMPS, how to incorporate the (confining) Coulomb interaction, and our progress towards computing physical observables of the Schwinger model.