Research

My research interests are in the field of String theory and its applications to Quantum Field Theory and Quantum Gravity. Much of my recent work has focussed on exploiting the the AdS/CFT correspondence to strongly coupled field theories and to understand how the holographic map between field theory and gravity works.

For basic introduction to String theory and AdS/CFT correspondence with some useful set of references follow the links.

Current research directions:

I am currently interested in:

  • Entanglement entropy and its holographic avatars
  • Quantum information and its implications for quantum gravity
  • Non-equilibrium dynamics in QFT
  • Applications of the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism

You can get a gauge of recent interest from my latest papers using the

Talks online:

Here are links to some of the talks I have given at various conferences and meetings.

  1. Open quantum systems and holographic thermal baths
    • Geometry from the Quantum, KITP UCSB (Jan 2020)
  2. Topological String Entanglement
    • Quantum Information and String Theory 2019, YITP, Kyoto (Jun 2019)
  3. Effective field theory of hydrodynamics
    • Chaos and Order: From Strongly Correlated Systems to Black Holes, KITP, UCSB (Nov 2018)
  4. Fluid Manifesto Redux
    • New Frontiers in String Theory, YITP, Kyoto (Jul 2018)
  5. Entropy production from superspace inflow
    • AdS/CFT at 20 and Beyond, ICTS, Bengaluru (May 2018)
  6. Entropy Inflow
    • It from Qubit Workshop, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina (Jan 2018)
      video available here: talk video
    • Chaos and Dynamics in Correlated Quantum Matter, MPI-PKS, Dresden, Germany (Mar)
    • Statistical Mechanics Out of Equilibrium, PCTS, Princeton: video
  7. Thermal equivariance and its applications
    • String theory and quantum gravity, Ascona, Switzerland (Jul 2017)
    • Strings, Gravity, and Cosmology, YITP-KIAS workshop, YITP, Kyoto (Sep 2017)
    • Tata-Infosys lectures at Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Mumbai (Dec 2017).  Video recordings available here: Lecture 1 , Lecture 2 and Lecture 3
    • ICTS seminar, ICTS, Bengaluru (Dec 2017).
  8.  Entanglement and global properties in asymptotically AdS spacetimes
    • Workshop on General Relativity & AdS/CFT @Fields Institute, Toronto, Canada (Oct 2017)
  9. A new perspective on the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism
    • @ Inward Bound: Black holes and emergent spacetime, Nordita, Stockholm Sweden (Aug 2016)
  10. Covariant holographic entanglement: a derivation
    • @ Quantum Matter, Spacetime and Information, YITP, Kyoto, Japan (Jun 2016)
  11. Brownian branes, emergent symmetries, and hydrodynamics
    • @ Strings 2015, ICTS, Bengaluru, India (Jun 2015)
  12. A holographic entanglement triptych
    • @ Kavli IPMU. Tokyo, Japan (Jan 2015)
    • @ Holographic Renormalization and Entanglement, Univ Paris Diderot, Paris, France (Jan 2015)
  13. The adiabatic path to the eightfold way of hydrodynamic dissipation
    • @ Eurostrings 2015, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK (Mar 2015)
    • @ Rikkyo MathPhys 2015, Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan (Jan 2015)
    • @ Workshop on Quantum Fields and Strings, Corfu, Greece (Sep 2014)
  14. Comments on the black hole final state
    • @ New Perspectives on Thermalization, Aspen Center for Physics, Aspen, USA (Mar 2014)
  15. Effective actions and hydrodynamic transport
    • @ Quantum Anomalies and Hydrodynamics, Simons Center, Stony Brook, USA (Feb 2014)
    • @ Gauge/gravity Duality 2013, Munich, Germany (Aug 2013)
  16. Causal holographic information
    • @ 2nd Mediterranean Conference on Classical and Quantum Gravity, Veli Losinj, Croatia (Jun 2013)
    • @ Indian Strings Meeting 2012, Puri, India (Dec 2012)
  17. Black brane hydrodynamics and the membrane paradigm
    • @ The Holographic Way, Nordita, Stockholm, Sweden (Oct 2012)
    • @ The Yukawa International Seminar (YKIS) 2012: YITP, Kyoto, Japan (Oct 2012)

Summer/Winter school lectures:

Here are links to recordings of the lectures I have given at some summer and winter schools.

  1. Effective Field Theory for Hydrodynamics
    •  @Kavli Asian Winter School on Strings, Particles and Cosmology, Sogang University, Seoul (Jan 2019)
  2. Out-of-equilibrium QFTs and dissipative hydrodynamics
    • @ ICTP Spring School on Superstring Theory, Trieste (Mar 2017)
  3. The AdS/CFT correspondence
  4. Gauge/gravity duality and holography
    • Lectures at LACES 2015, GGI, Florence (Nov 2015)
  5. Hydrodynamics
    • @ Advanced Strings School, ICTS, Benagaluru, India (Jun 2015)
  6. Holography for non-relativistic CFTs
    • @ Non-perturbative gravity and QCD, Zakopane, Poland (Jun 2009)
  7. Gravity and Hydrodynamics
    • @ CERN School on strings, supergravity & gauge theories, CERN, Geneva (Feb 2009)
    • Recorded lectures: Lecture 1; Lecutre 2; Lecture 3
  8. Introduction to AdS/CFT
    • @ Gauge Fields and Strings, Newton Institute, Cambridge (Sep 2007)