Visiting the Higgs Centre

The purpose of the visit is to continue with the current collaboration with Prof. Arjun Berera and Suddhasattwa Brahma on a project involving Prof. Berera's PhD student Zizang Qiu on primordial magnetic fields. In this same visit, we will also have conversations on a second project under development with the former Prof. Berera's PhD student Jaime Calderon, which also involves the student Zizang Qiu, on the methods of nonequilibrium quantum field theory applied to the study of particle production in the early universe. The potential outcome of both projects is, in the first case, to access the viability of the presence of a thermalized photon radiation bath during (warm) inflation as a mechanism to enhance the formation of primordial magnetic fields. In the second project, the outcome expected is to produce an unified description of particle production in both warm inflation dynamics, as also during reheating and in intermediate regimes. Both studies proposed above and under study are lacking an understanding in the literature. The present proposed visit will allow for us to advance in both projects, leading to their conclusion.

To continue ongoing collaborations with academics at the Higgs Centre, focusing primarily on non-equilibrium aspects of inflationary cosmology, including cold and warm inflation. In particular, we aim to perform calculations of dissipative rates of the inflaton field under different kinematic regimes. On a different direction, we would also work on computing the effect of non-Markovian behaviour on the tails of the probability distribution functions of (cold) inflationary perturbations.

Giving some talks at EMPG & Higgs Colloquium.

Yong Xiao has worked on covariant phase space methods in gravity and extended laws of thermodynamics and is willing to learn new ideas in holography and black hole physics in our local academic environment.

The primary purpose of my visit to the University of Edinburgh is to advance my research in quantum cosmology under the mentorship of Professor Neil Turok, a leading expert in the field. My goal is to apply Monte Carlo simulations and the generalized Lefschetz thimble method to address the sign problem in quantum cosmology models, particularly in understanding quantum fluctuations in the early universe. The visit will provide me with the opportunity to refine my computational techniques, collaborate on theoretical developments, and contribute to the growing body of work in quantum cosmology.

Thomas's visit to the Higgs Centre will enhance existing collaborations and encourage new research projects. Thomas is a collaborator of M Hansen in the HadSpec collaboration. This visit will accelerate the completion of their work on three-particle scattering in the rho-pi channel, a major undertaking that requires an intensive period of regular interaction to progress. In addition, Thomas has overlapping interests with Del Debbio and Portelli concerning supercomputing in the UK, in particular DiRAC resources. This could lead to fruitful discussions on how to improve resource utilisation.

This is one of Enzo Orlandini's regular visits as Associate, and will serve to support the long-standingcollaboration between researchers at Higgs Centre, specifically this time on projects on liquid crystalline shells and polymer topology.

Collaborative work with several members of the Higgs Centre working on ongoing projects and paper drafts. UKQCD future strategy, DiRAC computing plans.

As a former employee of the University of Edinburgh and current Affiliate with the Higgs Centre, I have still close ties to the University of Edinburgh and many of my recent and envisioned publications, as well as future computing proposals, are in collaboration with Higgs-Centre members. This visit would be essential to set up the strategies for two of the new Dirac allocations, envisioned to be awarded soon and to start in April 25. I also plan to work on paper manuscripts with local researchers that should be posted as preprint in the first half of 2025

Iain has been developing for many years effective field theories for QCD. He has significant overlap of interests with academic staff in the Higgs Centre, including Einan Gardi and Franz Herzog.