19–20 Jun 2026
Université de Montréal (MIL campus)
Canada/Central timezone

SubTropica or Quantum Field Theory for Babies

19 Jun 2026, 17:00
20m
A-2553

A-2553

Contributed Talk Particles and Fields Particles and Fields

Speaker

Mathieu Giroux (McGill University)

Description

Feynman diagrams are the ultimate theoretical bait-and-switch. We draw edges that tell us how particles propagate, vertices that show how they interact, and loops that map out where quantum effects enter the picture. The diagrams look so simple and whimsical that you might think even a baby could draw them. But behind those innocent lines hide formidable and highly complex integrals. Definitely not child’s play. Or is it? In this talk, I will review what Feynman diagrams are and how they power modern theoretical particle physics. Then, I will showcase a new software, SubTropica, that, among other things, takes a drawn Feynman diagram and translates it into a rigorous and ready to evaluate mathematical expression with a single click.

Author

Mathieu Giroux (McGill University)

Presentation materials