Introduction to Conformal Bootstrap - Numerical Methods and Applications in CFT

Explore the fundamentals of numerical bootstrap techniques in this comprehensive physics seminar from Harvard University's Shai Chester. Learn essential concepts of conformal field theory in higher dimensional spacetime, master the computation of conformal blocks, and understand how to formulate crossing equations as semi-definite programming problems. Gain hands-on experience solving these problems using SDPB software on personal computers, with practical examples focused on 3d CFTs with Z2 and O(N) global symmetries. Work through progressive problem sets culminating in precise calculations of 3d Ising model critical exponents using mixed correlator Z2 bootstrap. Access provided Mathematica wrapper and Docker software to implement concepts directly. Conclude with a broad overview of conformal bootstrap applications and explore emerging directions in the field.