A series of talks and lectures:
at Center for Quantum and Topological Systems:
Introduction to Hypothesis H
notes: pdf (under development)
Abstract. The key open question of contemporary mathematical physics is the elucidation of the currently elusive fundamental laws of strongly-interacting “non-perturbative” quantum states — including bound states as mundane as nucleons but more generally of quarks confined inside hadrons (declared a mathematical “Millennium Problem” by the Clay Math Institute), as well as strongly-correlated topologically ordered quantum materials (currently sought by various laboratories as hardware for topological quantum computation).
The seminal strategy of regarding such systems as located on branes inside a higher dimensional string-theoretic spacetime (the “holographic principle”) shows all signs of promise but has been suffering from the ironic shortcoming that also string theory has only really been defined perturbatively, at small coupling. However, string theory exhibits a web of hints towards the nature of its non-perturbative completion, famous under the working title “M-theory” but still elusive. Thus, mathematically constructing M-theory should imply a mathematical understanding of quantum brane worldvolumes which should solve non-perturbative quantum physics: the M-strategy for attacking the Millennium Problem.
After a time of stagnation in research towards M-theory, we have recently formulated and extensively tested a hypothesis on the precise mathematical nature of at least a core part of the theory: We call this Hypothesis H since it postulates that M-branes are classified by coHomotopy-theory in much the same way that D-branes are expected to be classified by K-theory (a widely held but just as conjectural belief which might analogously be called Hypothesis K). In fact, stabilized coHomotopy is equivalently -K-theory over the “absolute base field with one element”. Last not least, coHomotopy is equivalently framed Cobordism cohomology.
In these lecture notes we try to give an introduction to (1.) the motivation and (2.) some consequences of Hypothesis H, assuming an audience with a little background in electromagnetism, differential geometry and algebraic topology.
Along the lines of: Topological Quantum Gates from M-Theory, talk at M-Theory and Mathematics 2023 [video:YT]
Based on:
The Character Map in Non-Abelian Cohomology
World Scientific (2023)
and references listed at Hypothesis H: here
Presented at:
NMSU Geometry & Topology Seminar
24 Feb 2023, New Mexico State University
Building-up differentiable homotopy theory 2023
5-8 Mar 2023, University of Aizu
Representations in higher structures,
27-30 June 2023, Greifswald
(upcoming)
colloquium of Yau Mathematical Sciences Center
Jan 2024
(upcoming)
44th Srni Winter School on Geometry & Physics
13-20 Jan 2024, Masaryk University
(upcoming)
M-Theory and Mathematics 2024
Jan 2024, NYU Abu Dhabi
Related talks & lectures:
Introduction to Higher Supergeometry
talk at Higher Structures in M-Theory 2018
Aug 2018, Durham
TED K-theory of Cohomotopy moduli spaces and Anyonic Topological Order
talk at Higher Structures and Field Theory
Aug 2022, ESI Vienna
Twisted equivariant differential (TED) K-theory via diffeological stacks
talk at Global Diffeology Seminar
Nov 2022
Topological Quantum Gates from M-Theory
talk at M-Theory and Mathematics 2023
Jan 2023, CQTS @ NYU Abu Dhabi
Last revised on December 6, 2023 at 15:43:38. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.