Speaker
Florian Girelli
(University of Waterloo)
Description
Topological (quantum) field theories are mathematically rich frameworks that rely on generalized symmetry structures, such as quantum groups in 3d and higher symmetries in 4d, to probe topological properties of manifolds. They also play a central role in quantum gravity. In 2d and 3d, gravity itself is a topological theory, while in 4d, gravitational dynamics can be obtained from suitable constrained or extended topological theories. From this perspective, topological field theories provide a natural backbone for the construction of 4d quantum gravity models. I will discuss several recent developments along these lines.
Author
Florian Girelli
(University of Waterloo)