Entanglement measures studentship

This studentship will involve work on Entanglement Measures, with a focus on a recently proposed measured known as Symmetry Resolved Entanglement Entropy.

We have now closed applications for this studentship due to all places being filled.

• Qualification Type: PhD
• Hours: Full Time
• Title of project: Symmetry Resolved Entanglement in Quantum Field Theory

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship in the Department of Mathematics. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work on Entanglement Measures, with a focus on a recently proposed measured known as Symmetry Resolved Entanglement Entropy.

The study of entanglement measures in integrable quantum field theory has been a very active field of research for nearly 20 years.

Over this period, many intricate properties of entanglement have been understood and new measures of entanglement developed.

Among the latter, the symmetry resolved entanglement entropies (SREEs) are the most recent addition. Initially proposed in the work of Goldstein and Sela they have recently become very widely studied in the context of 1+1D quantum field theories both at and away from criticality, including several recent contributions involving the first supervisor.

These studies are partly motivated by the fact that SREEs can be measured experimentally. In this project, we will study these quantities further, especially in the context of integrable quantum field theory employing the branch point twist field (BPTFs) approach.

The proposed research will afford the successful applicant a chance to work with a leading expert in the field and to be introduced to a mathematically and physically sophisticated, highly specialised, and rapidly developing area of theoretical physics.

The work has connections to integrable models in quantum field theory, and it this context, may be also extended to consider such models in out-of-equilibrium situations, connecting to another area of much current interest.

Successful completion of the Thesis will place the applicant in a good position to develop an independent research career and to access positions at prominent research institutions throughout the world. It will train the applicant in leading mathematical techniques within theoretical physics.

It will lead to new results which will have academic impact within communities working actively on the study of entanglement measures, be it those interested in the entanglement of critical systems in 1+1 dimensions, those interested in the application and interpretation of these results in a quantum information setting or those interested in recovering such results from AdS/CFT computations.

The candidate should have an upper second-class honours BSc degree in Physics and a specialisation (ideally at MSc level) in Theoretical Physics. They should be proficient in written and spoken English and demonstrate aptitude for original research.

The candidate should have a strong background in Theoretical Physics and Applied Mathematics. They should be able to carry out complex calculations, involving real and complex analysis techniques. They should be able to carry out their work precisely and methodically.

It is highly recommended that they are also conversant with some programming languages (i.e. Phython, C++) and algebraic manipulation packages (i.e. Mathematica, MatLab). Finally, they should be able to communicate in English both in written and oral form, to a high standard.

A doctoral candidate is expected to meet the following pre-requisites for their PhD:

• Demonstrate a sound knowledge of their research area
• Achieve and demonstrate significant depth in at least a few chosen sub-areas relevant to their primary research area
• Demonstrate the ability to conduct independent research, including a critical assessment of their own and others’ research

Having published high-quality papers in reputable peer-reviewed conferences and journals will be an advantage for the candidate.