Research interests
My main research interests lie within the realms of quantum many-body and information theory, condensed matter physics, mathematical physics and quantum field theory.
Most of my research has at least something to do with tensor networks, a set of mathematical constructions introduced as computational tools to improve the efficiency of numerical simulations in quantum many-body physics, which have also proven themselves capable of providing new theoretical insights into the properties of quantum many-body states. I am interested in the approximability of these states via tensor networks, and in understanding and mapping between the different quantum phases of matter they belong to. During my PhD I also worked extensively in the area of continuous tensor networks, the quantum field theoretic version of tensor networks, where I studied them in the context of entanglement renormalization, a real-space RG construction.
Another recurrent theme in my research is conformal field theory (CFT), which is key to understanding phase transitions and critical phenomena. In the past, I did some work on characterizing the consequences of the symmetries of the underlying CFT on lattice systems at criticality. More recently, I have been looking into infinite bond-dimensional tensor networks, which give rise to lattice spin wavefunctions in terms of the chiral correlators of a virtual CFT.
Recently, I have also been looking into the impact of noise on (analog) quantum simulation, which is expected to be one of the first applications of highly programmable quantum many-body systems on the lab. In realistic scenarios, implementations will not be perfect, and it is important to understand which simulation tasks will be scalable in the presence of noise and thus provide potential ways towards quantum advantage in the problem of simulating quantum systems.
In the further past, I also did some work on a family of tensor networks called holographic quantum error correcting codes. They provide an example of an exciting exchange of ideas between quantum information theory and the subject of holography in high energy physics, which has motivated increased efforts in bridging the two fields of study.
I am also quite fond of abstract thinking and have a taste for purely mathematical problems, as well as for applications in physics of beautiful mathematical formalisms. My first steps in physics research where given within the context of geometrical quantum mechanics, where the language of differential geometry can be used to study and interpret quantum phenomena such as decoherence. More recently I have been enjoying learning about quantum symmetries, operator algebras and subfactor theory, which together display deep connections to conformal field theory and condensed matter theory.