[Astro] [CAPT] CAPT Weekly Bulletin (w/c 29-09-25)

[Ella Batchelor (staff)]

Monday 29th September at 3pm, A113 CAPT – Theoretical Physics Student Seminar

Benjamin Muntz

Where do theories live?



Tuesdays at 11am, CAPT Foyer – Astro Coffee



Tuesday 30th Sept at 1pm, A113 CAPT – Particle Cosmology and Gravity Seminar

Adam Gammon-Smith (UoN)

Visualizing dynamics of charges and strings in (2 + 1)D lattice gauge theories on a quantum computer



Lattice gauge theories (LGTs), are a powerful tool for understanding phenomena from high-energy physics to many-body interactions in materials. However, studying their dynamics is computationally challenging and often beyond the reach of classical methods. In this work, we investigate the dynamics of local excitations in a Z2 LGT using a two-dimensional lattice of superconducting qubits. We begin by using a variational circuit to prepare a low-energy state. We then create charge excitations with local gates and simulate their quantum dynamics through a discretized time evolution. Our measurements reveal clear signatures of a transition from deconfined to confined dynamics as we increase the electric field coupling. In the confined phase, the electric field induces a tension in the string connecting the excitations. Our method allows us to experimentally image these string dynamics in a (2+1)D LGT for the first time. From this, we uncover two distinct regimes inside the confining phase: For weak confinement, the string fluctuates strongly in the transverse direction. For strong confinement, these transverse fluctuations are effectively frozen. We also demonstrate a resonance condition that facilitates dynamical string breaking. Overall, our implementation of an LGT on a quantum processor introduces a new set of techniques for investigating emergent excitations and their complex string dynamics.

Reference:
Nature 642, 315–320 (2025)
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Wednesday 1st Oct at 11am, A113 CAPT – CAPT Coding Club



Wednesday 1st Oct at 3.45pm, A113 CAPT – Astronomy Weekly Seminar

Frazer Pearce
Write Faster, Think Harder: Surviving Academia in the Age of AI

The rapid integration of generative AI into research practice is transforming the career landscape for postdoctoral researchers (PDRAs) and postgraduate students. Tools such as GPT-5 collapse traditional bottlenecks in coding, data handling, literature review, and drafting, allowing individuals to achieve outputs that previously required larger teams or longer timescales. This shift poses both opportunities and risks. On one hand, researchers who embrace AI critically can accelerate their productivity, explore a wider range of projects, and sharpen originality by offloading routine tasks. On the other, over-reliance risks shallow understanding, loss of craft skills, and exposure when AI outputs are wrong or unexamined.

For early-career researchers, the implications are stark: career progression depends on measurable outputs, and AI adoption is rapidly becoming baseline. Those who resist risk being outpaced; those who adopt without discrimination risk producing volume without depth. Supervisors and institutions therefore face a duty to provide explicit training in critical, reflective AI use — not banning tools, but teaching researchers how to interrogate, adapt, and own what AI produces. This discussion will consider how PDRAs and postgraduates can position themselves in an AI-rich research environment, where the differentiator is no longer effort but judgement, framing, and insight.

[Disclaimer: this title and abstract were entirely written by ChatGPT]



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Thursday 2nd Oct at 1pm, A113 CAPT – Astronomy Lunch Talk

Frazer Pearce



Thursday 2nd Oct at 3pm, A113 CAPT – Particle Cosmology Journal Club
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Fridays at 4pm, CAPT Foyer – CAPT Cakes
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If you have any events/visitors you would like included in next week’s bulletin, please let me know.


Best wishes

Ella

Ella Batchelor (she/her)
Administrator

School of Physics & Astronomy

University of Nottingham
A112a Centre for Astronomy & Particle Theory
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

+44 (0) 115 74 86778 |  nottingham.ac.uk<http://nottingham.ac.uk/>

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