Instituto de Física Teórica

Pheno Journal Club
2026-02-05 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-02-19 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-02-26 12:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Madrid) | Gray Room 3, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Every Thursday at 12:00 in Grey Room 3.

Strings, Pheno and the Swampland (SPS) Journal Club
2026-02-05 12:15 - 13:15 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Every Thursday at 12:00 in the Red Room.

Seminar by Yushi Mura (KEK)
2026-02-05 15:00 - 16:00 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Title: ‘UV completion of extended Higgs models via the confinement of SU(2) gauge’
Speaker: Yushi Mura (KEK)
Venue & Time: Red Room / 15:00
Abstract: The extended Higgs sectors are often introduced to explain phenomena beyond the standard model. On the other hand, the existence of multiple scalar fields may cause the Landau pole below the Planck scale. Therefore, those models should be replaced by more fundamental theory at high energies. In this talk, we consider an asymptotic-free SU(2) gauge theory as a UV-completion of the extended Higgs models and assume they are the consequence of confinement of the gauge theory. We find that particle contents of various extended Higgs sectors previously proposed are deduced by each charge assignment of flavor symmetry of the fundamental fermions of the SU(2) gauge symmetry.

Old Journal Club: 'Threshold production of heavy top quarks: QCD and the Higgs boson'
2026-02-05 17:00 - 18:00 | Blue Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) - C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Sergio Rodríguez (IFT) will present “Threshold production of heavy top quarks: QCD and the Higgs boson” by Matthew J. Strassler and Michael E. Peskin.
Abstract:
We calculate the threshold cross section for 𝑒+𝑒−→tt¯ to leading-logarithmic order in QCD, using a nonrelativistic approximation suggested by Fadin and Khoze. We study the mass range 100≤𝑚𝑡≤250 GeV, and show that the cross section is an excellent measure of α𝑠 for the lower portion of the mass range, while for a heavier top quark it is sensitive to the mass and couplings of the Higgs boson. We argue that a precise determination of 𝑚𝑡 and a measurement of Γ𝑡 are possible. We also show that nonperturbative effects are small, confirming that the tt¯ threshold is a detailed perturbative test of the standard model.
More info: https://journals.aps.org/prd/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevD.43.1500

Seminar: 'The Muon Magnetic Moment Mystery: a 20-year puzzle in high-energy physics'
2026-02-09 15:00 - 16:00 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Speaker: Zoltan Fodor (Penn State U.)
Venue & Time: Red Room / 15:00

Title: The Muon Magnetic Moment Mystery: a 20-year puzzle in high-energy physics
Abstract:
In the last two decades or so there have been stronger and stronger disagreements between direct measurements of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and the standard-model prediction. Such a large discrepancy would be a signal for an interaction or particle not present in the standard model. However, already in 2020 a lattice QCD calculation suggested a “no-tension” scenario. I report on our new lattice QCD calculation, which reduced the uncertainty of our 2020 result by about 40%. The agreement between the measured value of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and its theoretical predictions is an extremely impressive prove of the validity of quantum field theory –with three very different calculational frameworks for QED, EW and QCD– up to 11 digits.

Holo Club: 'Holographic fluids with higher-form symmetries'
2026-02-10 11:30 - 13:00 | Gray Room 3, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Title: Holographic fluids with higher-form symmetries

Speaker: André Oliveira (Heriot-Watt University)

Venue & Time: Grey Room 3 / 11:30

Abstract: Higher-form symmetries are ubiquitous in physics. In this talk, I focus on the case where they are continuous and encode the conservation of extended objects. Applications include elasticity, superfluidity and phases of electromagnetism. Using holography, we explore effective descriptions of systems with the simplest case of a single higher-form symmetry. For energies well below temperature, these descriptions admit a (potentially extended) hydrodynamic regime. We verify this explicitly by studying AlAdS black branes charged under higher-form potentials. In particular, we compute quasinormal modes, starting with the low-density limit. Then, we focus on the bulk dual of a viscoelastic system and analyse instabilities for different equilibrium states corresponding to isotropic crystalline phases.

Cosmology Journal Club
2026-02-10 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-02-24 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-03-03 10:00 - 11:00 | Discussion room 5th floor, C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
Every Tuesday at 2:00 PM in the discussion room on the 5th floor.
Join the IFT cosmology/gravity journal club at benty-fields.com to vote for papers and volunteer to present them.

2nd EDI Training: 'Beyond law: Invisible Barriers to Women’s Access to Public Life'
2026-02-11 16:00 - 17:00 | Blue Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) - C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Speaker: Soledad Escobar Villegas
PhD in Political Science and García Pelayo Research Fellow at the Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies, Ministry of the Presidency (Spain).
Abstract: Over the last decades, Western societies has introduced significant legislative changes aimed at promoting gender equality and increasing the representation of women in decision-making positions. However, legal progress does not always translate into equal participation in practice.
This seminar will examine the gender representation gap in politics and society by distinguishing between formal legislative advances and the structural constraints and internal dynamics within political and social environments that continue to limit women’s access to the public sphere. The session will analyze patterns of underrepresentation and explore factors such as unequal career progression, workplace cultures, and informal power structures. It adopts an intersectional approach, considering not only gender but also women’s ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The aim is to encourage students to critically assess how social and institutional systems shape women’s representation.
This seminar aligns with the objectives of the scientific outreach and culture component outlined in the Severo Ochoa project (CEX2020-001007-S, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). In addition to scientific excellence, this project highlights the center’s commitment to a strong program of training and outreach activities with high social impact. In this context, organizing training activities on equality, diversity, and inclusion helps to reinforce the role of the IFT as an institution committed to social responsibility and the continuous improvement of the scientific environment. This seminar provides tools to analyze the structural barriers present in the scientific field, particularly in STEM disciplines such as theoretical physics, aligning with the objectives of attracting and retaining diverse talent that foster an inclusive scientific environment.

Pheno Journal Club: 'The Cosmic Neutrino Background is within Reach of Future Neutrino Telescopes'
2026-02-12 12:00 - 13:00 | Gray Room 3, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Yuber Perez-Gonzalez (IFT) will present:

‘The Cosmic Neutrino Background is within Reach of Future Neutrino Telescopes’

Venue & Time: Gray Room 3 / 12:00

Abstract: The cosmic neutrino background (CνB) can be boosted to high energies due to scatterings with energetic cosmic rays (CRs) across cosmological scales. Previous calculations focused on neutral current incoherent and coherent elastic scatterings of cosmic-ray protons off relic neutrinos. However, charged current interactions and deep inelastic scatterings are also expected to occur, which enhances the boosted relic neutrino fluxes on Earth. Here, we compute the textit{total} diffuse boosted cosmic neutrinobackground (DBCνB) arising from CRs at all redshifts in the Universe, accounting for neutral current and charged current elastic and deep inelastic scatterings. We find that IceCube already places an upper limit on the cosmic neutrino background overdensity in cosmological scales of ~O(100−1000) at Eν=10^10 GeV, for a lightest neutrino mass of mν≳0.1 eV. We further show that IceCube-Gen2 could test O(1−10) CνB overdensities, and the combination of 10 future neutrino telescopes with similar sensitivity would allow us to test the ΛCDM expected CνB density for a lightest neutrino mass compatible with the KATRIN bound.

Based on 2601.09790.

SPS Journal Club: 'Hilltop quintessence, the LARGE Volume Scenario and varying-tension cosmic strings'
2026-02-12 12:00 - 13:00 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Léo Veissière (IFT) will present:

‘Hilltop quintessence, the LARGE Volume Scenario and varying-tension cosmic strings’

Venue & Time: Red Room / 12:00

Recent observational data suggests that the dark energy equation of state parameter wDE is evolving with time, in apparent tension with the ΛCDM standard model of cosmology. Here we review these observational results, with particular emphasis on the evidence for phantom-like behaviour, for which wDE < −1. In an attempt to reproduce the data, we study a quintessence model of a single scalar field rolling down a hilltop potential, both from a UV-agnostic perspective and from a string theory point-of-view. For the latter we focus on a scalar potential derived from type IIB supergravity in the context of the LARGE Volume Scenario (LVS), and investigate the cosmological dynamics of the scalar near its maximum. Finally, we discuss whether an effective phantom behaviour can be reproduced by considering the interaction between the scalar field and cosmic strings with a time-dependent tension, while keeping the LVS scalar potential unchanged.

Old Journal Club: 'Supersymmetry and morse theory'
2026-02-12 17:00 - 18:00 | Blue Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) - C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Chuying Wang (IFT) will present ‘Supersymmetry and morse theory’ by Edward Witten J. DIFFERENTIAL GEOMETRY 17 (1982) 661-692
Venue & Time: Blue Room / 17:00
Abstract:
It is shown that the Morse inequalities can be obtained by consideration of a certain supersymmetric quantum mechanics Hamiltonian. Some of the implications of modern ideas in mathematics for supersymmetric theories are discussed.
More info: https://projecteuclid.org/journals/journal-of-differential-geometry/volume-17/issue-4/Supersymmetry-and-Morse-theory/10.4310/jdg/1214437492.pdf

Holo-Club: 'Toward Krylov-based holography in double-scaled SYK'
2026-02-17 11:30 - 13:00 | Gray Room 3, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Speaker: Yichao Fu (GIST)

Title: Toward Krylov-based holography in double-scaled SYK

Venue & Time: Gray Room 3 / 11:30

Abstract:

Building on the duality between Krylov complexity and geodesic length in Jackiw-Teitelboim and sine-dilaton gravity, we develop a precise holographic dictionary for quantities in the Krylov subspace of the double-scaled Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model (DSSYK). First, we demonstrate that the growth rate of Krylov state complexity corresponds to the wormhole velocity, and show that its expectation value in coherent states serves as a boundary diagnostic of firewall-like structures via bulk reconstruction. We also delineate an alternative bulk description in terms of the proper momentum of an infalling particle at early times, establishing a threefold duality between the Krylov complexity growth rate, wormhole velocity, and proper momentum, with clear regimes of validity. Beyond the first moments, we argue that higher-order Krylov complexities capture connected bulk contributions encoded by replica wormholes, while the logarithmic variant probes the replica saddle structure. Finally, within a third-quantized setting incorporating baby universes, we show that the Krylov entropy equals the von Neumann entropy of the parent-geometry density matrix obtained after tracing out baby universes, thereby quantifying information flow into the baby universe sector. Together, these results elevate Krylov-space observables to sharp probes of bulk dynamics and topology in ensemble-averaged 2D gravity.

Cosmology Journal Club
2026-02-17 14:00 - 15:00 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain

Quantum Information Journal Club: 'Quantum Algorithms Based on Cooling'
2026-02-18 11:30 - 12:30 | Grey Room 2, Instituto de Física Teórica, Madrid, Madrid, 28037, Spain
Date: Wednesday, February 18
Aula Gris 2 / 11:30
Speaker: Daniel Molpeceres (TU Munich)
Título: Quantum Algorithms Based on Cooling
Abstract: The purpose of this work is to study different methods for nature-inspired algorithmic cooling of physical systems, which rely on energy transfer between the system and a cool bath. These algorithms are suitable for preparation of QMB ground states, and are therefore an alternative to other well-known procedures such as variational or adiabatic algorithm, which have their own limitations. The aim of the paper is to develop this theory, and try to find in what regimes it works best, such that it can be used as an alternative or in collaboration with the previous methods. We will focus on a free-fermion model with hoppings in a 1D lattice and a certain distribution of auxiliary systems per site, try to find regimes in which the system reaches the ground state, and then extrapolate what we learn from this model into a more general noisy setting. The main questions to address are how the performance changes with the noise that may appear in an experimental setting, as well as a comparison with other methods such as adiabatic algorithm or QAOA.

PhD dissertation: 'On String Phenomenology From a Swampland Perspective'
2026-02-19 11:00 - 12:00
Author: Gonzalo F. Casas

Title: On String Phenomenology From a Swampland Perspective.

Venue & Time: Blue Room / 11:00

Abstract: This thesis investigates the deep interplay between particle physics, cosmology, and quantum gravity within the framework of string phenomenology. Focusing on Type IIA Calabi–Yau orientifolds with intersecting D6-branes, we show that the suppression of neutrino masses at infinite-distance limits necessarily entails the emergence of light towers of states. This result establishes a direct link between particle-scale physics and the geometry of extra dimensions, while also suggesting potentially testable phenomenological signatures. The thesis further connects inflationary dynamics to the quantum-gravity cutoff and examines how supersymmetry breaking in no-scale vacua can give rise to Minkowski backgrounds, offering a novel perspective on moduli stabilization.

Supervisor: Fernando Marchesano

Seminar: 'Asymmetric Dark Matter induced by Baryogenesis'
2026-02-23 15:00 - 16:00 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Title: ‘Asymmetric Dark Matter induced by Baryogenesis’
Speaker: Miguel Escudero (CERN)
Venue&Time: Red Room / 15:00
Abstract: We live in a Universe where structures are made out of baryons but not of antibaryons. Could the dark matter be made of particles and not antiparticles? This is an old question and many asymmetric dark matter scenarios have been proposed to date. Among them, the models where a dark matter asymmetry is induced from the baryon/lepton asymmetries are particularly motivated. In this seminar, I will highlight the motivations for these types of frameworks but also their challenges. I will then present a new, minimal, and predictive scenario that we developed in [2511.10731]. In this model, a dark matter asymmetry is slowly generated from the Standard Model Higgs doublet asymmetry. The scenario features two dark matter states which can lead to signals in the next generation of dark matter experiments, and we predict a new inert Higgs doublet with mass < 580 GeV which could be produced and observed at the LHC and future colliders.
This seminar is related to the I+D+i project whose reference is CEX2020-001007-S, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. The topic is framed within the following research line: Particle Physics in the Standard Model and Beyond (BSM).

Seminar: Primordial black holes from Q-balls
2026-02-24 15:00 - 16:00 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Speaker: Shunsuke Neda (ICRR, Univ. of Tokyo)
Venue & Time: Red Room / 15:00
Title: Primordial black holes from Q-balls
Abstract:
We discuss primordial black holes (PBHs) originating from Q-balls, which are non-topological solitons arising in complex scalar field theories with a global U(1) symmetry. Depending on the cosmic expansion history, Q-balls can source PBH formation in both early matter-dominated (eMD) and radiation-dominated (RD) universes, leading to distinct phenomenological consequences.
In the eMD scenario, PBHs produced from Q-balls can account for the observed dark matter abundance, and we summarize the resulting cosmological constraints. In contrast, some scenarios of PBHs formed in a radiation-dominated universe exhibit strong PBH clustering. When motivated as seeds of supermassive black holes, their abundance and spatial distribution are observationally constrained by isocurvature perturbations. For stellar-mass PBHs relevant to LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA, we compute PBH merger rates in the presence of initial PBH clustering using updated methodologies.
This seminar illustrates how PBHs from Q-balls link particle physics models to cosmological, astrophysical, and gravitational-wave observations across multiple mass scales.

Quantum Information Journal Club: 'Generalizing the framework of translationally invariant MPS'
2026-02-25 11:30 - 12:30 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Speaker: Marta Florido Llinás (MPQ)
Title: ‘Generalizing the framework of translationally invariant MPS’
Abstract: In this talk I will present our recent work on developing a canonical form for uniform matrix product states (MPS) with a boundary matrix (https://www.arxiv.org/abs/2512.11968). Starting from the standard canonical description of uniform MPS with periodic boundary conditions, I will explain how to derive a generalized canonical form for MPS with boundaries, by extending the structural analysis of matrix sets to incorporate off-diagonal blocks, and by introducing some notions inspired by formal language theory.

GRASS Seminar: 'Gravitational Duality at the Lightring, QNM isospectrality, and Ringdown Nonlinearities from Penrose Limits'
2026-02-26 11:00 - 12:00 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Gravity, Supergravity and Superstrings (GRASS) Seminar
Speaker: David Pereñiguez (Johns Hopkins U.)
Title: ‘Gravitational Duality at the Lightring, QNM isospectrality, and Ringdown Nonlinearities from Penrose Limits’
Abstract: At high frequencies, the physics near a black hole’s lightring can be captured by Penrose-limit plane waves adapted to the photon sphere. In this talk, I will solve exactly the equations for gravitational perturbations in this limit using Penrose’s 2-spinor formalism, and I will show that the resulting solutions correspond to quasinormal modes (QNMs) in the eikonal regime. I will then prove that gravitational electric–magnetic duality holds on-shell for perturbations at the lightring. This symmetry has long been understood to hold on-shell only for perturbations about flat spacetime. The lightring therefore provides a distinct setting in which it reemerges. In addition, QNM isospectrality follows as an immediate consequence. I will next extend the analysis to nonlinear gravitational fluctuations, where the duality is broken, and compute the excitation of quadratic QNMs, which are particularly relevant given recent prospects for their detection. I will conclude by discussing further directions in which Penrose limits can be used to sharpen our understanding of lightring physics.

SPS Journal Club: 'Anomaly-induced vanishing of brane partition functions'
2026-02-26 12:00 - 13:00 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Strings, Pheno and the Swampland Journal Club (SPS)
Speaker: Michelangelo Tartaglia (IFT)
Title: ‘Anomaly-induced vanishing of brane partition functions’
Abstract: In the presence of ‘t Hooft anomalies, backgrounds for the symmetries of a quantum field theory can lead to non-conservation of Noether currents, or more generally, to the presence of charged insertions in the path integral. When there is a net background charge, the partition function evaluated on closed manifolds will vanish. For anomalous symmetries, this statement can also be understood as the anomaly theory giving rise to a non-trivial anomalous phase for the partition function even for “rigid” transformations which leave all background fields unchanged. We use the generalisation of this second viewpoint to the setting of anomalous higher-form symmetries in order to show vanishing of the partition function for a number of examples, both with and without a Lagrangian description. In particular, we show how to derive from these considerations the analogue of the Freed-Witten anomaly cancellation condition for the M5-brane, and also that for the D3-brane in S-fold backgrounds.

Seminar: 'Sub-PeV gamma-ray astronomy and its physics'
2026-02-26 15:00 - 16:00 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Title: ‘Sub-PeV gamma-ray astronomy and its physics’
Speaker: Sei Kato (Sorbonne Université, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris)
Venue&Time: Red Room / 15:00
Abstract: This talk will focus on the physics that can be explored with sub-PeV gamma-ray astronomy (E > 10^14 eV), particularly on the Galactic diffuse gamma rays and the dark matter. Also, our project called ALPACA, which aims systematic sub-PeV gamma-ray observations in the southern sky for the first time in the world, is detailedly presented.

Old Journal Club: 'Generalized Global Symmetries'
2026-02-26 17:00 - 18:00 | Blue Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) - C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Miquel Aparici Domingo (IFT) will present Generalized Global Symmetries by Davide Gaiotto, Anton Kapustin, Nathan Seiberg, Brian Willett, JHEP 02 (2015) 172

Abstract:
A q-form global symmetry is a global symmetry for which the charged operators are of space-time dimension q, e.g. Wilson lines, surface defects, etc., and the charged excitations have q spatial dimensions, e.g. strings, membranes, etc. Many of the properties of ordinary global symmetries (q = 0) apply here. They lead to Ward identities and hence to selection rules on amplitudes. Such global symmetries can be coupled to classical background fields and they can be gauged by summing over these classical fields. These generalized global symmetries can be spontaneously broken (either completely or to a sub-group). They can also have ’t Hooft anomalies, which prevent us from gauging them, but lead to ’t Hooft anomaly matching conditions. Such anomalies can also lead to anomaly inflow on various defects and exotic Symmetry Protected Topological phases. Our analysis of these symmetries gives a new unified perspective of many known phenomena and uncovers new results.

Seminar: 'The tensions of LCDM: An update of observations and theoretical implications'
2026-03-02 15:00 - 16:00 | IFT Seminar Room/Red Room, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Title: ‘The tensions of LCDM: An update of observations and theoretical implications’
Speaker: Leandros Perivolaropoulos (Ioannina)
Venue&Time: Red Room / 15:00
Abstract: The standard LCDM cosmological model, despite its success in describing the large-scale structure of the Universe, is currently challenged by statistically significant discrepancies between early and late-universe observations. In this talk, I provide a comprehensive update on observational status and theoretical implications of three major tensions: the Hubble (H0) constant discrepancy, the DESI DR2 Phantom-Crossing Anomaly, and the S8 tension. First, I re-examine the H0 tension by classifying 88 Sound-Horizon-Free measurements. This analysis reveals that the discrepancy is not merely an “Early vs. Late” issue but is fundamentally driven by a clash between the Distance Ladder and the majority of other probes (reaching a significance of ~ 6.5sigma). I will further discuss why simple late-time modifications to the expansion history fail to solve this tension due to constraints from unanchored Type Ia Supernovae (Pantheon+), effectively establishing a “no-go” theorem for such solutions.
Second, I address the implications of the recent DESI DR2 data, which favors a dynamical dark energy equation of state crossing the phantom divide (w(z) < -1). While this behavior is forbidden in simple quintessence models within General Relativity, I demonstrate how it can be naturally accommodated in reconstructed Scalar-Tensor theories. By allowing for an evolving effective gravitational constant (G_eff), these models can fit the phantom crossing while simultaneously alleviating the Hubble tension. Finally, I review the current landscape of the S8 tension. I discuss the shift toward a “Combined CMB” baseline (Planck + ACT + SPT) which reduces uncertainties, and analyze the dichotomy currently present in weak lensing surveys (e.g., DES Year 6 vs. KiDS Legacy). I conclude by summarizing which theoretical extensions of LCDM remain viable in the face of these combined precision constraints. (edited)

II Jornadas sobre Arte Sonoro "Rebecca Collins"
2026-03-03 10:00 - 19:00
El 26 de junio de 2024 falleció Rebecca Louise Collins (1982-2024), artista sonora, investigadora de la escucha y comisaria de proyectos relacionados con la música experimental, cuya labor intelectual y creativa ha dejado una huella profunda e imborrable en el ámbito del arte sonoro contemporáneo. Tras la celebración de las primeras jornadas en noviembre de 2024 con el título “Escuchar / Pensar / Sentir”, organizadas conjuntamente por el Instituto de Historia (CSIC) y el Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT-CSIC/UAM), se convocan las II Jornadas de arte sonoro “Rebecca Collins”, que se celebrarán los días 3 y 4 de marzo en distintos espacios de Madrid.
Estas II Jornadas de arte sonoro “Rebecca Collins” continúan el diálogo interdisciplinar inaugurado en la primera edición, manteniendo como premisa fundamental la conexión entre el ámbito de las ciencias experimentales y el de la creación sonora. La colaboración entre el Instituto de Historia del CSIC y el Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT-CSIC/UAM) no es meramente institucional, sino que responde a una convicción profunda: que las prácticas artísticas sonoras y la investigación científica comparten metodologías comunes cuando abordan fenómenos como la incertidumbre, la temporalidad, la detección y la escucha como formas de conocimiento.
En esta ocasión, las jornadas se centrarán específicamente en la noción de tiempo como eje vertebrador, contemplando este concepto desde múltiples perspectivas: el tiempo como experiencia vivida, como soporte del discurso sonoro, como dimensión física, como construcción cultural, como archivo de memoria y como desafío para la documentación y conservación de prácticas artísticas, entre otras posibles aproximaciones.
En el contexto de estas jornadas, se abren dos convocatorias, orientadas a la presentación de trabajos artísticos y teóricos:

Convocatoria Artística: Obras de arte sonoro y música experimental
Convocatoria Investigaciones: Propuestas para un taller de Investigación

ENTRADAS:
La asistencia a las jornadas es gratuita, pero os pedimos que os registréis en los enlaces siguientes (uno para cada día) para recibir información del evento y facilitarnos la organización.

PROGRAMA
Martes 3 de marzo

INSTITUTO DE FÍSICA TEÓRICA (UAM-CSIC), Sala Azul. C/ Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15

10:00 – 10:30 / Bienvenida y presentación de las jornadas
10:30 – 11:30 / El archivo de la escucha (Mesa redonda) María Jesús López Lorenzo (Biblioteca Nacional de España), Lorena Jiménez Martínez (musicóloga) y José Luis Maire (bibliotecario musical en la Fundación Juan March y artista sonoro). Moderada por: Juan Pablo Fernández-Cortés (UAM)
11:30 – 12:00 / Pausa café
12:00 – 14:00 / Taller de investigación (I) Moderado por: Miguel Álvarez-Fernández (investigador independiente) Comunicaciones académicas
La experiencia de la Sonoteca SÓNEC: Escucha, práctica y archivo expandido Noelia Muñoz Galindo (Investigadora en SÓNEC)
Music theatre in the archive: Time, memory, and multimodal preservation in experimental sound practices Ana Filipa Gonçalves de Magalhães (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) Conectando instituciones científicas y creación sonora contemporánea: el CSIC como generador de proyectos mixtos y preservador de sus resultados Ignacio Miró (Instituto de Historia, CSIC)
Los paisajes sonoros que no dejan de abrirse en el tiempo Ana Gorostizu (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)
Debate
Sesión de escucha comentada
La Légende D’Eer, de Iannis Xenakis
Ramón del Buey (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid / Universidad de Salamanca)
Comunicación-performance
Camina despacio, deambula, escucha
Josué Moreno (University of the Arts Helsinki / Sibelius Academy / Music Technology Department)
14:30 / Descanso para comida
16:00 – 17:30 / Taller de investigación (II). Moderado por: Carmen Gaitán Salinas (Instituto de Historia, CSIC)
Comunicación-performance

Escucha profunda
GILFER (Miguel Ángel Gil Fernández, artista sonoro)
Comunicaciones académicas
Temporalidad en Voice de Tōru Takemitsu a través del “ma” y de la fragmentación del discurso Alicia Espada Preciado (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
Archivo y memoria en el arte radiofónico: Problemáticas de una escucha des-ritualizada en la narración sonora contemporánea Soledad Ruiz Hernández (artista sonora e investigadora)
Ecos del paisaje. Territorio, memoria e identidades sonoras Ilaria Degradi (artista sonora e investigadora)
Sistemas caóticos en la creación sonora: La emergencia temporal del Rungler de Rob Hordijk en la práctica artística Pere Amengual Gomila (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)
Debate
17:30 – 18:30 / Encabalgamiento (Conferencia performativa) María del Buey (artista e investigadora, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)

Miércoles 4 de marzo

INSTITUTO DE HISTORIA (CSIC), Sala Menéndez Pidal. C/ de Albasanz, 26-28

10:00 – 10:30 / Bienvenida y presentación
10:30 – 11:30 / Diálogo José María Yturralde (artista) y Alberto Casas (Instituto de Física Teórica, CSIC)
11:30 – 12:00 / Pausa café 12:00 – 14:00 / Taller de investigación (III) Moderado por: Ignacio Miró (Instituto de Historia, CSIC)
Comunicaciones académicas
Saberse oyente: Apuntes para una escritura de la escucha Blanca G. Lobato (Instituto de Historia, CSIC / UAM)
Por una anti-ontología de la música: una escucha por venir Maxim Pérez Écija (Universidad Complutense de Madrid / Universidad de Alicante)
Desarrollo del silbo gomero como instrumento e intérprete de obras musicales contemporáneas, desde los elementos prosódicos aplicados a la composición musical Oswaldo Hernández Velásquez (Universidad de La Laguna)
Por un cuerpo afónico: negatividad queer en la sexualidad aural Álvaro del Fresno Mayoral (Instituto de Historia, CSIC / UNED)
¿Qué habrá detrás de la empresa de la chacalización? Escucha crítica a la escena de los asesinatos de El Chacal de Nahueltoro (1969) Nina Satt (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)
Debate
Comunicación-performance
Habitar la incertidumbre
Emilio Pascual Valtueña (artista y diseñador sonoro / Escuela Universitaria de Artes TAI)
14:30 / Descanso para comida
16:00 – 17:00 / ONDES DE CHOC ET “AFTER AFFECT” (Conferencia performativa)
Ode Aseguinolaza (artista sonora)

CINETECA DE MATADERO MADRID, Sala Borau. Plaza de Legazpi, 8

19:00 – 20:30 / Relatos del ruido (Sesión de escucha)
20:30 – 22:00 / Clausura de las Jornadas en la Cantina de Matadero

LISTADO DE OBRAS SELECCIONADAS

Holo Club: 'Brick wall Normal Modes and Emerging Thermality'
2026-03-03 11:30 - 13:00 | Gray Room 1, Instituto de Física Teórica, C/ Nicolás Cabrera 13-15, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
Speaker: Suman Das (IFT)
Title: ‘Brick wall Normal Modes and Emerging Thermality’
Venue & Time: Gray Room 1 / 11:00
Abstract:
arXiv:2401.01417
The ’t Hooft brick wall model provides one of the earliest microscopic derivations of the black-hole area law within the probe approximation of quantum field theory in curved spacetime. In this talk, I will revisit the original construction and present a modern perspective based on the spectral properties of the probe fields. After briefly reviewing how the area-proportional entropy arises in ’t Hooft’s setup, I will show that its origin can be understood in terms of the structure of the normal-mode spectrum. In particular, a quasi-degenerate growth of states along a specific quantum-number direction leads directly to the area scaling of the entropy.This viewpoint not only clarifies the mechanism behind the entropy but also reveals a number of non-trivial features of the spectrum, including signatures commonly associated with quantum chaos. I will discuss these features. Finally, I will show that, when the brick wall is placed parametrically close to the horizon, the two-point function of the probe field becomes indistinguishable from a thermal correlator, providing a precise sense in which thermality emerges in this framework.

Shannon's Corner Journal Club
2026-03-05 11:30 - 17:00 | Gray Room 3, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) -C. Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, 28049,, Spain
Venue & Time: Gray Room 3 / 11:30
Speaker: Franco Salinas Pytel (UCM)
Abstract: “The debates between Einstein and Bohr on the foundations of quantum
mechanics culminated in one of the most iconic statements in the
history of physics: “God does not play dice.”
In their seminal 1935 paper, Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and
Nathan Rosen argued that if locality is to be maintained, then quantum
mechanics must be incomplete.
In this talk, I will present a concise overview of the original EPR
argument, Bell’s theorem and its experimental confirmation. I will
then explore quantum non-locality through the framework of XOR games,
highlighting their connections to foundational questions in
mathematics.”
