Emergent geometry: the hidden dimensions of quantum field theory

David Berenstein

UCSB

The ideas of string theory suggest that certain quantum field theories in four dimensions are completely equivalent to a string theory, as a quantum theory of gravity on certain higher dimensional geometries. This is called the AdS/CFT correspondence. I will present recent progress towards understanding the origin of the extra dimensions from direct analysis of the field theory at strong coupling, as well as the results of some new computer simulations that are suggested by this approach.