Mission

The goal of this workshop is to bring together a small group of experts on homotopy algebras and operator algebras to explore their applications in quantum field theory and theoretical physics. Homotopy algebras, such as A-infinity and L-infinity algebras, first featured in algebraic topology and in string theory, but they are now explored in general quantum field theories (QFTs). Operator algebras, on the other hand, have been part of the axiomatic approaches to QFT for a long time, with a recent revival of interest in relation to entanglement, black holes, and holography.

Over the last decades both types of algebras have been used to try to understand the basic structures and foundations of QFT. Our goal is to foster this development and, possibly, to induce cross-fertilization between homotopy and operator approaches to QFT. It is plausible that eventually QFT will have applications way beyond its original scope in the theory of elementary particles, requiring new perspectives on QFT. We want to explore to what extent these algebraic approaches could provide a useful new directions, hopefully leading to new applications in theoretical physics and applied mathematics.

Organizers: Olaf Hohm (HU), Georgios Itsios (HU), Emanuel Malek (HU), Allison Pinto (HU) and Barton Zwiebach (MIT)

Interested to participate? Email: Olaf Hohm ohohm@physik.hu-berlin.de or Emanuel Malek emanuel.malek@physik.hu-berlin.de 

This workshop is supported by the European Research Council (ERC), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Einstein Foundation Berlin and Kolleg Mathematik Physik Berlin.