High Energy Theory Seminar
18 March 2011
Erich Poppitz (Toronto)
Deformations, bions, and
(de)confinement
Abstract:
Recent observations, first made in string theory, led to the
realization that introducing various "deformations" (finite volume,
appropriate double-trace operators...) allows for an analytic study of
many nonperturbative aspects of arbitrary four-dimensional gauge
theories. Notably, the confinement mechanism, the generation of mass
gap, and, in some cases, chiral symmetry breaking can be studied in a
theoretically controlled manner.
In this talk, I will review: i)
the ideas and tools involved, ii)
the main results obtained so far in this approach and its limitations, iii) our understanding of its
relation to other approaches to (non-)supersymmetric gauge dynamics, iv) ongoing and possible future
work.
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