Annual Report Report 2019
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Erwin Schrödinger International Institute 2019 for Mathematics and Physics T R L REPO A SI ANNU E 2019 ANNUAL ANNUAL REPORT REPORT 2019 Publisher: Christoph Dellago, Director, The Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 9, 1090 Vienna / Austria. Editorial Office: Christoph Dellago, Beatrix Wolf. Cover-Design: steinkellner.com Photos: Österreichische Zentralbibliothek für Physik, Philipp Steinkellner. Printing: Berger, Horn. © 2020 Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics. www.esi.ac.at Annual Report 2019 THE INSTITUTE PURSUES ITS MISSION FACILITIES / LOCATION THROUGH A VARIETY OF PROGRAMMES THE ERWIN SCHRÖDINGER INTERNA- THEMATIC PROGRAMMES offer the TIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MATHEMATICS opportunity for a large number of AND PHYSICS (ESI), founded in 1993 scientists at all career stages to come and part of the University of Vienna together for discussions, brainstorming, since 2011, is dedicated to the ad- seminars and collaboration. They typi- vancement of scholarly research in all cally last between 4 and 12 weeks, and areas of mathematics and physics are structured to cover several topical and, in particular, to the promotion of focus areas connected by a main theme. exchange between these disciplines. A programme may also include shorter workshop-like periods. WORKSHOPS with a duration of up to THE SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP two weeks focus on a specific scientific PROGRAMME aims at attracting topic in mathematics or physics with internationally renowned scientists to an emphasis on communication and Vienna for visits to the ESI for up to seminar style presentations. several months. Senior Research Fellows SITUATED AT BOLTZMANNGASSE 9 IN Besides TWO LECTURE HALLS, with contribute to the scientific training VIENNA, the Erwin Schrödinger Inter- capacities of 50 and 80 people respec- of graduate students and postdocs of national Institute for Mathematics and tively, the Institute provides A RANGE OF THE JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP Vienna’s research institutions by teach- Physics is housed in the upper floor of FACILITIES to support visiting scholars. PROGRAMME supports external or local ing a course and by giving scientific a two-hundred-year old Catholic Semi- OFFICE SPACES are available for 45 graduate students and recent postdocs seminars. nary. Though close to the city centre, long-term scholars. In addition, there to work on a project of their own. this building provides a quiet and se- are GENEROUS DISCUSSION SPACES cluded environment. By its distinctive AND A LARGE COMMON ROOM. character, the ESI is a place that is THE ESI FREQUENTLY HOSTS GRADUATE THE RESEARCH IN TEAMS PROGRAMME particularly conducive to research. SCHOOLS organized by research groups offers support for research teams to at the University of Vienna on topics in carry out collaborative work on specific mathematics or physics aimed at local projects at the ESI in Vienna for periods The ESI takes advantage of its close as well as external PhD students. of one to four months. proximity to both the FACULTY OF MATH- EMATICS and the FACULTY OF PHYSICS of the UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA. Their DETAILED INFORMATION about all libraries are open for ESI scholars. ESI programmes and the respective application procedures and deadlines are available on the ESI website 2019 www.esi.ac.at 2019 ANNUAL ANNUAL REPORT REPORT ESI Annual Report 2019 Contents Preface 3 The Institute and its Mission . 3 Scientific Activities in 2019 . 4 The Institute’s Management . 8 The ESI in 2019: facts and figures 9 Scientific Reports 10 Main Research Programmes . 10 Modern Maximal Monotone Operator Theory: From Nonsmooth Optimization to Dif- ferential Inclusions . 10 Higher Spins and Holography . 19 Optimal Transport . 24 Astrophysical Origins: Pathways from Star Formation to Habitable Planets . 31 Quantum Simulation - from Theory to Application . 35 Workshops organized independently of the main programmes . 41 Categorification in Quantum Topology and beyond . 41 Graduate School: Young Researchers Integrability School and Workshop 2019: A mod- ern primer for 2D CFT . 46 Operator Related Function Theory . 50 Parton Showers, Event Generators and Resummation Workshop . 52 Numeration and Substitution . 55 STRONG-DM 2019, Searches, Theories, Results, Opportunities, and New Ideas for sub- GeV Dark Matter . 60 MAIA 2019: Multivariate Approximation and Interpolation with Applications . 64 Modeling of Crystalline Interfaces and Thin Film Structures: A Joint Mathematics- Physics Symposium . 68 ESI Symposium: What is Life? . 71 New Trends in the Variational Modeling and Simulation of Liquid Crystals . 72 Polarons in the 21st Century . 76 Research in Teams . 81 Research in Teams Project 1: Blackbody Radiation induced inertial Effects and collec- tive Phenomena - Theoretical Basis and Experimental Feasibility . 81 Research in Teams Project 2: Nonperturbative Construction of Quantum Field Theory Models . 81 Research in Teams Project 3: Global Bifurcation Techniques for Traveling Waves on Non-Compact Domains . 84 Research in Teams Project 4: Underlying Flow Induced by Internal Water Waves . 87 Research in Teams Project 5: Geodesic Equations on Mapping Spaces . 90 Research in Teams Project 6: Asymptotically AdS and Flat Spacetimes in 3-Dimensional Supergravities . 91 Senior Research Fellows Programme . 95 Andreas Buchleitner – Complex Quantum Systems . 95 Antoine Van Proeyen: Supergravity . 96 1 2 CONTENTS Erwin Schrodinger¨ Lectures 2019 . 98 Douglas N. Arnold: Wave localization and its landscape . 98 Junior Research Fellows Programme . 99 Mattia Ornaghi: Dg enhancements via A•-categories . 99 Jarrod Lewis Williams: Exact and Approximate Killing Symmetries in General Relativity 100 Zahra Ahmadian Dehaghani: Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Knotted Polymers in Elon- gational Flow . 102 Arindam Biswas: Expander Graphs and Non-linear Spectral Gap . 104 Pulastya Parekh: A deeper look into the tensionless strings vacua . 106 Sergio Hortner:¨ Hidden Symmetries of Gravity in Cosmological Scenarios and Appli- cations to Holography . 109 Edward Mortimer: Approximations and computations in infinite groups . 110 Seminars and Colloquia 113 ESI Research Documentation 114 ESI research in 2019: publications and arXiv preprints . 114 ESI research in previous years: additional publications and arXiv preprints . 121 List of Visitors 124 Preface Note: At the time of writing, the world is still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which has also strongly affected activities at the ESI. Following measures put in place by the Austrian Government to contain the spread of the virus, the Institute has been completely closed from mid-March to the end of July and many activities, including several thematic programmes and workshops have been cancelled or postponed. All staff worked remotely and were very busy reorganizing the ESI program. While some activities have been moved online, most organiz- ers have preferred to reschedule their programme or workshop to a later point in time so that participants can interact in person and enjoy the particular atmosphere at the ESI. Now, at the beginning of August 2020, we are slowly and carefully reopening the ESI at a reduced level, maintaining strict measures to ensure the safety of ESI visitors and staff. The ESI will continue to monitor the course of the pandemic closely and adjust the measures accordingly, following the guidelines of public health authorities and of the University of Vienna. It is currently un- clear how the pandemic will evolve in the coming months, but I am confident that thanks to the dedicated work of its staff the ESI will emerge from this challenging period as strong as ever and we all hope that normal operations will be resumed soon. A full account of the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the ESI in 2020 will be given in the next annual report. Christoph Dellago Director of the ESI August 2020 The Institute and its Mission The Erwin Schrodinger¨ International Institute for Mathematics and Physics (ESI), founded in 1993 and part of the University of Vienna since 2011, is committed to the promotion of scholarly research in mathematics and physics, with an emphasis on the interface between them. It is the Institute’s foremost objective to advance scientific knowledge in all areas of mathemat- ics and physics and to create an environment where scientists can exchange ideas and fruitful collaborations can unfold. The Institute provides a place for focused collaborative research and interweaves leading international scholars, both in mathematics and physics, with the local sci- entific community. In particular, the research and the interactions that take place at the Institute are meant to have a lasting impact on those who pursue their scientific education in Vienna. In the following, we will give a brief overview of the institutional structure of the ESI and the various programmatic pillars of its scientific activities. Thematic programmes form their core, supplemented by workshops, graduate schools and lecture courses given by Senior Research Fellows at the ESI. All activities include strong educational components. Guided by strict sci- 3 4 PREFACE entific criteria and supported by an international Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), the various actual components of the scientific activities of the ESI are chosen on a competitive basis. The Institute currently pursues its mission in several ways: (a) primarily, by running four to six thematic programmes each year, selected about two years in