Abelian duality via derived geometry
CMSA QUANTUM FIELD THEORY AND PHYSICAL MATHEMATICS SEMINAR
When: February 23, 2026
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Where: CMSA, 20 Garden St, G102
Speaker: Owen Gwilliam (UMass Amherst)
We discuss how to synthesize differential cohomology and the BV formalism to describe generalized Maxwell theories (or abelian p-form gauge theories), and how this framework allows a succinct formulation of abelian duality. Given time, we will discuss how these methods apply to the 6d self-dual 2-form gauge theory that appears as part of the 6d N=(1,0) and (2,0) superconformal theories known as abelian tensor multiplets. This is joint work in progress with Chris Elliott, Ingmar Saberi, and Brian Williams.
In person and online:
Zoom link: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/98290689769
Password: CMSA-QFTPM
