Conveners
Strings and Quantum Gravity: I
- Edward Wilson-Ewing (University of New Brunswick)
Strings and Quantum Gravity: II
- Chris Waddell (Perimeter Institute)
Strings and Quantum Gravity: III
- Simon Caron-Huot (McGill University)
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Dr Federico Ambrosino (Perimeter Institute)19/06/2026, 14:00Contributed Talk
In this talk, based on upcoming work with J. Gomis and S. Kannagi, I will discuss an important class of defects in Cern simons theory that implement charge conjugation symmetry. These are monodromy defects and, although some of their properties have been studied in N=4 SYM, we study them for the first time in the context of CS theory. Their quantum dimensions can be computed exactly as...
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Julia Pasiecznik (McGill University)19/06/2026, 14:20Strings and Quantum GravityContributed Talk
We study the scattering of identical massive spin-2 particles using S-matrix bootstrap methods. Starting from the most general on-shell cubic and quartic interactions, we impose unitarity, analyticity, crossing symmetry, and improved high-energy behaviour to derive bounds on the cubic couplings and particle spectrum. To organize the polarization dependence, we work with a basis of dual tensor...
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Florian Girelli (University of Waterloo)19/06/2026, 14:40Strings and Quantum GravityContributed Talk
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...
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lucas Brown (University of Western Ontario)20/06/2026, 09:45Strings and Quantum GravityContributed Talk
We address a correction to A.Buchel and R.Monten's analysis of near-extremal membranes in M-theory. The original authors consider the holographic dual of a $2+1$ dimensional superconformal gauge theory with $U(1)_R \times U(1)_B$ global symmetry. We repeat their analysis of R-charged membranes and identify a mistake; the charge transport is now stable and only the alternative quantization...
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Prof. Saeed Rastgoo (University of Alberta)20/06/2026, 10:05Strings and Quantum GravityContributed Talk
I will present a model of generalized uncertainty-inspired quantum black hole, both in the static and axisymmetric cases. By comparing the shadow of the axisymmetric version of this black hole to the data from the Event Horizon Telescope, I will set bounds on the quantum parameters of the model. Moreover, We will see that there is an upper bound on this black hole's spin parameter that is...
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Paolo Fragolino (University of Alberta)20/06/2026, 10:25Strings and Quantum GravityContributed Talk
In this work, we examine the quantum properties of a Kantowski-Sachs minisuperspace through the lense of Dirac quantization and relational evolution. The relational dynamic is obtained thanks to the use of quantum clocks, which are built from one of the two degrees of freedom of the metric. Gauge-invariant extension of gauge-dependent observables are built relationally with respect to the...
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Alexander Maloney (Syracuse University)20/06/2026, 16:00Strings and Quantum Gravity
Some of the simplest wormhole solutions involve massless scalar fields that take imaginary values. Massless fields can be interpreted as coupling constants in asymptotically flat or asymptotically AdS gravity theories. We argue that wormhole effects imply an imaginary distance bound, an upper limit for the analytic continuation of the theory to imaginary values of these couplings. In string...
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Chris Waddell (Perimeter Institute)20/06/2026, 16:20Contributed Talk
We consider rules for modifying holographic tensor networks proposed in two independent contexts: by Akers et al. (CO) to incorporate observers in holographic maps, and by Kaya-Rath-Ritchie (KRR) to derive the Bousso-Penington generalized entanglement wedge proposal. Interestingly, these two sets of tensor network rules are exactly equivalent, KRR = CO. This suggests a more general connection...
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Robin Oberfrank (Perimeter Institute)20/06/2026, 16:40Strings and Quantum GravityContributed Talk
Can short-distance quantum fluctuations leave an imprint at large distances? This question is especially important in gravity, where high-energy physics may influence low-energy observables. In this talk, I will discuss this question using the time delay of light rays in interferometer setups as a concrete observable. I will present the gauge-invariant definition of the time-delay noise and...
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Dr Vahid Kamali20/06/2026, 17:00Strings and Quantum GravityContributed Talk
We propose a kinematical framework in which spacetime geometry is encoded directly in the Heisenberg commutators: the metric becomes an operator extracted from $[\,\hat x^\mu,\hat P_\nu\,]$, and the non-commutativity of translation generators follows from Jacobi closure. The construction naturally yields an operator analogue of metric compatibility and reproduces the familiar torsion/curvature...
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