Dr Matthew Buican

Matthew Buican

Reader in Theoretical Physics

School of Physical and Chemical Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
www.qmul.ac.uk/spcs/staff/academics/profiles/mbuican.html
Centre for Theoretical Physics and Astronomy

Research

quantum field theory, conformal field theory, topological quantum field theory, quantum symmetries

Interests

• Various aspects of boundary conformal field theory (BCFT) and CFTs with defects, and topological quantum field theory. I have organized several workshops on these topics: a 2017 workshop at Chicheley Hall sponsored by the Royal Society, a 2019 workshop at the Perimeter Institute, a 2021 workshop at the MITP in Mainz, a 2023 workshop at Nordita, and I am organising a 3-month programme at Cambridge University's Isaac Newton Institute.

• Topological quantum field theory (TQFT), quantum systems, and symmetries ; with Sanjaye Ramgoolam, I am organizing a journal club on these and related topics.

• Relations between TQFTs and CFTs

• Non-perturbative aspects of Superconformal Field Theories (SCFTs) and Supersymmetric Renormalization Group flows in various dimensions

• Topological quantum computation and quantum computation more generally. I am organizing a meeting a meeting at ICMS in Edinburgh on these topics this fall.

• Conformal manifolds and exactly marginal deformations of SCFTs

• Relations between conformal manifolds and moduli spaces of vacua

• Emergent / accidental symmetries in Quantum Field Theory (QFT)

• Hidden operator algebras in QFT

• Understanding topological and analytic properties of the space of QFTs

• New microscopic models for CFTs in various dimensions

• Hitchin Systems, M5 branes, and SCFTs in 3D and 4D