BEYOND LOCAL QFT · Beyond local quantum fields: non-commutative field theory and deformed symmetries

Non-commutative quantum field theories and their associated deformed symmetries provide intriguing examples of models beyond the realm of standard local quantum field theory which attempt to introduce basic quantum features of the underlying space-time. The project will focus on a particular model of deformed space-time symmetries, the kappa-Poincare algebra, which provides the prototypical example of non-commutative field theory exhibiting a ""built-in"" cut-off (Planckian) energy scale and modified energy-momentum dispersion relation. These features make the model particularly appealing from the perspective of extracting potential phenomenological predictions from it. The planned research will focus on developing consistent quantum field theoretic models based on kappa-deformed symmetries and exploring various contexts in which the new structures introduced lead to observable effects. This will be achieved through the study of of particle scattering in general interacting theories and how particle creation phenomena in non-trivial backgrounds are affected by the deformations. To obtain further insights on the general aspects of this and other similar models the researcher will address the issue of providing a rigorous definition of symmetry deformation within the abstract formulation of quantum field theory and will investigate the properties of 'analogue' statistical mechanics models which exhibit similar deformed symmetries. The fellowship will give the applicant the opportunity to return to Europe and to work at the ITP in Utrecht, an internationally renowned center for theoretical and high energy physics to carry out cutting-edge research at the interface of quantum gravity, high energy physics phenomenology, foundational aspects of quantumfield theory and mathematical physics.""