Robin Karlsson - Conformal colliders: strings, membranes and the bootstrap

Robin Karlsson - Conformal colliders: strings, membranes and the bootstrap

🎙 Robin Karlsson 👥 80K 📅 September 17, 2026 ⏱ 60 min 👁 9 📄 original study 🧭 2026-09-17
Available in: English (current) Français

Keywords

energy-energy correlatorN=4 SYMconformal bootstrapholographyM-theory

Summary

Robin Karlsson presents research on conformal colliders, focusing on the energy-energy correlator (EEC) in maximally supersymmetric conformal field theories. He explains how bootstrap methods provide nonperturbative bounds for the EEC in N=4 SYM at finite coupling and finite number of colors. He extends the analysis to theories dual to M-theory, specifically ABJM and (2,0) theory, where the EEC probes the bulk geometry and internal structure of strings or membranes. The talk covers definitions of the EEC, its representation in terms of operator product expansions (OPEs), and holographic expectations including jet-to-hadron transitions. Karlsson compares perturbative predictions (up to three loops) and strong-coupling results (from supergravity and stringy corrections) with numerical bootstrap computations. Key topics include the detector OPE, light-ray OPE, and the role of anomalous dimensions. The talk also addresses subtle points such as contact terms and resummation of large logarithms. The results confirm known limits and provide new subleading corrections, highlighting the EEC as a valuable observable for probing dual bulk physics.

162 words

Critical Evaluation

Value of the Information & Strength of the Argument

The talk is valuable as it connects cutting-edge bootstrap techniques with collider observables, potentially bridging formal theory and phenomenology. The argumentation is solid, building stepwise from known results to new predictions. The speaker carefully justifies each step, using known data from integrability and supersymmetric localization. However, some subleading corrections rely on established assumptions (e.g., stringy data from AdS-Shapiro amplitudes), which are reasonable but could be independently verified. The discussion of finite-color effects is particularly original, as most previous work focused only on the planar limit.

Scientific Rigor, Source Quality, Title Accuracy

The talk is rigorous, with mathematical precision and clear definitions. Sources are primarily internal to the speaker’s research and established literature, though few external references are explicitly given outside of the transcript. The title accurately reflects the content, covering conformal field theories, collider observables, and string/membrane duality. The description provides a link to carmin.tv, but no direct references to original papers are listed. The audience questions show engagement, and the speaker’s responses maintain rigor.

174 words

Title / Content Match

The title accurately reflects the content: the talk focuses on energy-energy correlators in conformal field theories, including string and membrane dualities, and the use of the bootstrap method.

Quality & Reliability

8/10

The talk is given by a researcher from the University of Oxford at a prestigious institute (IHES). The content is highly technical, based on recent and established literature, and demonstrates careful derivation and argumentation. The speaker addresses audience questions with precision. Limitations include reliance on certain assumptions from integrability and supergravity, but these are clearly stated.

Key Moments

Cited Sources

Contribution & Novelties

The talk presents new bounds on the energy-energy correlator in N=4 SYM using the conformal bootstrap, including finite-coupling and finite-color effects. It also provides subleading corrections to known strong-coupling predictions and discusses extension to M-theory duals, where the EEC probes bulk strings and membranes. The work leverages advanced bootstrap techniques and integrability results to improve the understanding of collider observables in CFT.

Pour aller plus loin :

  • AdS/CFT correspondence — Relevant context for holographic dualities discussed.
  • N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory — The main theory studied.
  • Conformal bootstrap — The method used for bounding the EEC.

95 words

Radar Profile

The scores show a highly technical and dense talk, with maximum strengths in technical depth and reliability, while information quantity and quality are also high. This profile indicates a specialist-level seminar, suitable for researchers in theoretical physics.

Reliability 8/10