Dr Ricardo Monteiro Project Abstracts
BSc Independent Project / MSci Review Project
Gravity as a double copy of gauge theory
The description of gravity as a double copy of gauge theory has become an important tool to study perturbative gravity. The goal of this project is to review the different instances of this double copy, starting with linearised plane waves and their polarisations, and moving on to scattering amplitudes in these theories, as well as to non-linear solutions to the equations of motion.
Pre-requisites: Mathematical Techniques 3, Physical Dynamics, Quantum Mechanics B, Quantum Mechanics and Symmetry. Co-requisite: Spacetime and gravity.
MSci Research/Investigative Project
Scattering amplitudes from the scattering equations
The goal is to study the description of scattering amplitudes in a variety of theories (but mostly in gauge theory and gravity) via the new formalism of the scattering equations. The scattering equations provide a map between the kinematics of a scattering event and the locations of points on an auxiliary sphere. Based on this map, which is reminiscent of string theory, remarkable new formulas for scattering amplitudes have been proposed both at tree level and at loop level. The aim of this project is to study the applicability of these techniques not only to scattering amplitudes, but to other quantities in quantum field theory.
Pre-requisites: Mathematical Techniques 3, Physical Dynamics, Quantum Mechanics B, Quantum Mechanics and Symmetry.
Co-requisites: Relativistic Waves and Quantum Fields, Advanced Quantum Field Theory.