[PAST EVENT] Physics Seminar

November 19, 2013
4pm
Location
Small Hall, Room 122
300 Ukrop Way
Williamsburg, VA 23185Map this location
Abstract:
Lattice calculations of certain observables are plagued by Monte Carlo noise which tends to display universal characteristics. In this talk, I will discuss signal-to-noise and sign problems in lattice QCD and lattice studies of non-relativistic theories near the unitary point. I will show how a better understanding of correlator distributions can lead to great improvement in the extraction of observables, and may also give clues toward solutions to related sign problems. Furthermore, the origin of signal-to-noise problems often lies in the dynamics of the systems under consideration, so that an understanding of probability distributions can in turn give new insight about the underlying physics. As an example, I will show that the probability distribution of a correlator for two particles at unitarity can be used to make predictions about universal clusters related to the Efimov effect.