The

Geometry of Quantum Field Theory

Robbert Dijkgraaf
Ins$tute for Advanced Study

2014 MPS Annual Mee:ng
Simons Founda:on
 Some Ideology

TRUTH AND BEAUTY

Seal of the Ins-tute for Advanced Study
My work always tried to unite
the true with the beau-ful, but
when I had to choose one or
the other, I usually chose the
beau-ful.

Hermann Weyl
It is more important for
our equa-ons to be
beau-ful than to have
them t experiment.

Paul Dirac
 Every law of physics, pushed to the extreme,
will be found to be sta-s-cal and approximate,
not mathema-cal perfect and precise.

John Wheeler
Any theory that can account for all of the facts is wrong,
because some of the facts are always wrong.

Francis Crick
 Esthe:cs in Physics

Garbage Beauty
 Reduc*on

Garbage Beauty

Standard
Model

macro micro
 Emergence

Beauty Garbage

hydrodynamics Standard Model

thermodynamics sta-s-cal mechanics

macro micro
 Renormaliza*on Group

Infrared Ultraviolet
fixed points fixed points
=0 =

Large distances Standard Model

Short distances
Low energy High energy

macro micro
 Quan*za*on

Geometry Algebra

K Z(K) C

geometric quantum
object invariant

 Emergent Geometry

Geometry Algebra

eec-ve quantum
geometry system
Synthesis

Quantum
Geometry

String Theory
 Classical Mechanics

B
A

calculus, geometry,
dynamical systems, chaos,
 Quantum Mechanics

Action / h
B
Sum over histories e
A

functional analysis, operator algebra,

differential topology,
 Quantum Field Theory

crea-on/annihila-on of par-cles
B
A
C

quantum topology: knots, 3- & 4-manifolds

twistors, Grassmannians & amplitudology
 String Theory

conformal field theory, algebraic curves,

moduli spaces, mirror symmetry, quantum cohomology
 Quantum Gravity

A?

non-commutative geometry, emergent geometry,

automorphic forms,
What Is A Quantum Field Theory?
 Classical Field Theory

Space-*me manifold M, eld space F

:M F
M
Ac*on, cri*cal points
S[ ], dS = 0

Classical eld equa*ons
2 + ... = 0
Moduli space of classical solu*ons
{dS = 0} / Sym = Modn
n
 Quantum Field Theory

Euclidean path integral

S( )/!
Z(M ) = D . e
Semi-classical localisa*on to cri*cal points
Z(M ) ~ eSn /! . voln
Modn
n Modn
Typical form
Z(M ) ~ dn q n , q ~ e1/!
n
Classical limit
:M F
! , q 0
 Duali:es
Quantum equivalences
Z(M, F) = Z(M, F ) * : M Rn /
e.g. D=2 T-duali*es, M = Riemann surface, F = n-torus
where F = T n = R n / , F * = T * = R n / *
d * = *d
Par**on func*on = theta func*on
Z = = e i( p+w) ( p+w) i( pw) ( pw)
p,w*
Extended symmetry
SL(n, Z) SO(n, n, Z ) = Aut( * )
 Space
Space oof f QCuantum
lassical FField
ield TTheories
heories

classical
classical eld limit special
theory F !0 automorphisms
Q F T

Duali:es
dual
classical
dual classical eld limit
theory F* !* 0
self-dual
QFTs
 Duali:es of Eec:ve QFT
Renormaliza*on group
Z(M, F )
Depends on cut-o distance or energy scale =1/
RG ow on space of regularized quantum eld theories
F = F F * = F0
= =0

Some*mes Z independent of
Z(M, F0 ) = Z(M, F )
 Dening Quantum Field Theory: Algebra

xn
x1 Operator products of local operators

O1 (x1 )....On (xn )



ScaPering amplitudes
 D=2 Conformal Field Theory
Oi (x) O j (y)
Operator product expansion

lim
Oi (x) O j (y)
k
xy Ok (y)

Vertex algebra
Associa*ve algebra

-dim vertex algebras =

classica-on reps Virasoro
 Dening Quantum Field Theory: Geometry

cut & paste

topological indices



defect operators
 Category Theory
M codim 0: number, par**on func*on

M :M C

S codim 1: vector space, Hilbert space of states

:S H (M ) (M )
M
Gluing laws

M1 M2 M
(M1 )! (M 2 ) = (M )
 Category Theory
codim 2: category of boundary condi*ons

H :

Composi*on law of morphisms

H1 :
H 2 ! H1 :
H2 :

 D=1 Supersymmetric QM
Dieren*al geometry & topology

*me Hilbert space = * ( X )

X
H = = (dd * + d *d )
point Ground states = harmonic forms

Harm* ( X ) H * ( X )
Par**on func*on = WiPen index

Tr ((1)deg etH ) = Euler ( X )

 D=2 Conformal Field Theory
X LX
X Loop Space
*me Quan*ze loop space


S1
Fock space created by string oscillators

Innite-dimensional analysis

Loop space thickening X LX
 String Product
*
Physical elds = cohomology classes a,b H ( X )

a
a b H* H* H*
b
 Topological String Theory

F0 (t) = GWd ,0e dt

d0
(pseudo) holomorphic
= Area / 2string
d = deg, tcurves

string Calabi-Yau X
 Classical Intersec:on Product
s = 0
dual cycles

a
c =
b
X

= abc
X
 Quantum Cohomology
s > 0

dt/2s
= e
rat curves
degree d

X
for P n x n+1 = 0 x n+1 = e t
smooth under flops t t
s = 0 local P1

t <0 t >0
moduli space

s > 0
t =0

singularity at zero size

 Open Strings & Branes

fixed time picture

brane X

closed strings
open strings (bulk)
(brane)
 D-branes: Rela:ve CFT

Space-time picture
string
worldsheet
brane

Y
X
 D-Branes

4D Space-time

multiplicity N
Internal space
U(N) Yang-Mills Theory

j
i

NN matrix of strings Aij

 U(N) Yang-Mills Theory

j
k
k
i
matrix multiplication k Aik Akj
 Closed/Open Duali:es
closed strings open strings

strings
inf-dim Lie algebras D-branes
vector bundles
loop spaces
g s 0
Virasoro algebra
g
K-theory
s spaces
moduli
genus expansion non-commutative
 A:yah-Singer Index Theorem
analysis geometry

Index DE E = ch(E1 E2* ) A( X )

1 2

zero-modes topology of
Dirac operator vector bundle
time
time

Tr( 1) F = Index DE1 E2 E1 , E2 = ch( E1 E2* ) A ( X )

 String Theory
Two fundamental parameters

String length (Plancks constant on world sheet)

String coupling (Plancks constant in space -me)

gs Planck = g s s
 String Par::on Func:on

Z string = exp g s2 g2 Fg t; s
( )
g0

gs 0
genus g
 Phase Diagram

strings
branes
CFT
strings

s par-cles

elds

gs
Quantum Geometry Stringy Geometry Classical Geometry
(emergent) (deformed)

Planck = g s s s smooth
Simplest Calabi-Yau 3-fold

!3

( )
z1 , z2 , z3 ! 3
 Constant Maps, d = 0

3
B2 g B2 g2
N g ,0 = g1
=
Mg
2g(2g 2)(2g 2)!
 3d Par::ons

Z = exp N g g s2 gg
g0
n
= 1 q
n>0
( n
)
= qN
3d partitions of N

q = e gs
 n
(
Z top = 1 q
n>0
n
) =1+ q + 3q 2 + 6q3 + ...
 Mel:ng Crystals

n
Z top = q # atoms
= 1 q
n>0
( n
)
Limit Shape = Mirror Manifold
 Planck string smooth
 D=4 Gauge Theories
Instantons: self-dual connec*on F = F
4-manifold M
4 moduli space ModN ,n (M)
ch2 = n

Ac*on
4
S=
g2
TrF F + 8 TrF F = n 2i
2

Gauge coupling
4
= +i 2 H
2 g
 Duali:es of D=4 Gauge Theories
Electric-magne*c duali*es
F(A* ) = *F(A)
Langlands dual gauge group
G LG
Dual coupling
1 /
Extended symmetry SL(2, Z)
a + b

c + d
 N=4 SUSY Gauge Theory

Vafa-WiPen: par**on func*on is a modular form

Z(M;q) = d(n)q n , d(n) = Euler ( Mod N,n )
n0

SL(2,Z) S-duality in N=4 gauge theories modular

invariance of a quantum CFT on 2-torus
a + b

c + d
T2
Related to 2d CFT characters
Z(q) = TrV q L0 = (q)


 N = 4 Gauge Theories on ALE spaces

Resolved singularity M C 2 /

nite subgroup SU(2)

Boundary
condi*on: at connec*on



Hom(,U(N)), = N i i


MacKay correspondence: nite groups
g ane
KM algebras
 N = 4 Gauge Theories on ALE spaces
rep of dim N of

V integrable rep at level N of g

N0

N1

!
2
A k1
: C /Z
k characters
of SU(k)N WZW model

Z gauge (q) = TrV q L0 = (q)
Level-rank duality

SU(N) k SU(k) N

 N=2 SUSY Gauge Theory
R4
1
Equivariant ac*on of SO(4) x U(N) on
ModN ,n (R 4 )
2
(1,2 ;a) T 2 T N
U(1) U(1) SO(4)

Nekrasov par**on func*on: equivariant fundamental
class

Z gauge (q;1,2 ,a) = q n 1( , ,a)
1 2
n 0 M N ,n

Tradi*onal (supersymmetric) case 1 = 2 = = gs

 Seiberg-Wiben solu:on
Z gauge = e F , F = 2g2 Fg
g R4
Quantum (symplec:c) invariants of the spectral curve

(C, ), = meromorphic one-form



F0

F0 : i = (moduli),
i B i
=
1 Ai

F1 = logdet
2

Fg : genus g graphs



Emergent
Geometry
 D=6 Tensor (2-form) Gauge Theory

D=2 CFT

C2

D=4 Gauge Theory
M4

 Wigners Random Matrix Model

2
/ gs
lim Z N ,
N
ZN = d eTr
N N

Eigenvalue distribu*on in t Hooi limit

N , gs 0, Ngs = = fixed

 Eigenvalue Dynamics

2 2I / g s
Z matrix = d N
( I J ) e I

Eec*ve ac*on (repulsive Coulomb force)

Seff = 2I 2gs log( I J )

I I <J

W (x) = x 2
 General Matrix Model

TrW () / g s
Z matrix = d e

t Hooi limit
N I , gs 0, N I gs = I = fixed

Filling frac*ons

N1 N3 W ( )
N2
 Spectral Curve

Hyperellip*c curve C : y 2 = W '(x) 2 + f (x)

Quantum invariants of C, = ydx

F0
i = ydx = ydx
i B i
Ai
 Wigners Semi-Circle

Ra*onal spectral curve C : y2 = x 2 +

F0 1 2
= log , F0 = log
2
 Quantum Curves

N F0

O(1 N )
N 22 g
Fg
g0

N finite
 Categorica:on

Miraculous integrality

Z(M ) = dn q n
n

dn Z M

Suggests higher dimensional QFT
dn = dimVn (M )

M R
The vector spaces Vn can carry representa*ons of
algebraic structures
 Knot Polynomials

Knot K in S3 in Chern-Simons theory

kCS( A)
Z(K, G) = DA e . TrR Hol(K )

Knot polynomials (Jones,)

Z(K, G) = dn q n , dn Z
n

q = e 2 i/(k+h) = e !
Khovanov cohomology
 Local Deni:ons

CFT
D-branes Riemann
surfaces
Non-comm
Gauge
TFT geometry
Theories String
Theory
Matrix General
Models Rela*vity
 Global
Deni:on?
 Mathema:cs of QFT
Construc*ve and algebraic QFT, asympto*cally free theories (Clay
prize).
Surprisingly rich structure in Feynman diagrams (Hopf algebra of
Connes-Kreimer, mul*ple zeta-func*ons, number theory).
Twistor reformula*ons, MHV calculus, amplituhedron,...
Duali*es: rela*ng dierent gauge groups & dynamical variables,
not always a semi-classical expansion.
Is the path-integral fundamental?
What Kind of Mathema:cal Beauty?

universal excep:onal
calculus, E8, Monster Group,
Hilbert spaces Calabi-Yau manifolds
 Platos Cave
Mathema-cal Dream

Physical Reality
 Quantum Cave

Physical Dream

Mathema-cal Reality