David Schaich

Department of Mathematical Sciences                          
University of Liverpool
Liverpool L69 7ZL
United Kingdom
+44 151 794 3778 (Office)
+44 7568 168895 (Mobile)
Skype: daschaich
Schedule a meeting or call

Curriculum Vitae (last modified 10 January 2024)

Biography

I am a Lecturer in theoretical physics at the University of Liverpool, and a UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) Future Leader Fellow. I previously held postdoctoral research positions at the University of Bern, Syracuse University and the University of Colorado Boulder after studying at Amherst College and completing my PhD at Boston University. For shorter periods I have worked at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Bangalore; the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara; the Humboldt University of Berlin; the Aspen Center for Physics; the National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Taipei; Lawrence Livermore National Lab; and CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. In addition to these institutions I have been supported by the US Department of Energy, the US National Science Foundation, the National Science Council of Taiwan, and the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Research [complete overview, GitHub]

I use advanced computing to gain insight into strongly interacting quantum field theories, primarily in the context of high-energy particle physics. I employ lattice field theory, a non-perturbative framework that enables first-principles investigations of strongly coupled systems. Making use of lattice regularization as a broadly applicable tool, I address questions that are important both theoretically and phenomenologically, within and beyond the standard model of particle physics.

My work currently focuses on composite dark matter, composite Higgs models, supersymmetric lattice field theories, and the application of quantum computing to avoid so-called sign problems. Postdoctoral researcher Emanuele Mendicelli is working with me to help develop quantum simulation for lattice field theory, funded by the UKRI project New Frontiers of Lattice Field Theory.

A central aspect of my research is the development and deployment of software for high-performance parallel computing. I do the bulk of my code development publicly through GitHub, and whenever possible I release my programs under open-source free software licenses such as the GNU General Public License.

In order both to contribute to public engagement with science and to recognize taxpayer support of my work over the years, I write non-technical (or at least less-technical) descriptions of my research projects for interested non-experts. Experts can find my recent publications below.

Supervision

I am searching for a PhD student to start in October 2024 as part of the 'Liv.Inno' Centre for Doctoral Training for Innovation in Data Intensive Science, working on a project using quantum computing to simulate small quantum systems. Full project details are here, and information about how to apply by the 31 January deadline is here — only applications submitted through our online admissions system can be considered. All PhD opportunities in theoretical physics at Liverpool are collected here.

I currently supervise two PhD students. Felix Springer is using density-of-states methods to research first-order phase transitions connected to composite dark matter and gravitational waves. Angel Sherletov is researching supersymmetric lattice field theories, targeting numerical analyses of lower-dimensional supersymmetric QCD.

I am available to supervise projects in theoretical physics for U. Liverpool undergraduate and MSc students. Information on the corresponding project modules is available through the maths intranet (login required). I can suggest a few possible topics for projects, some of which should eventually appear on the intranet as well.

Teaching [complete list]

At Liverpool I will next teach third-year undergraduate Statistical Physics (MATH327) in Spring 2024. Although this module is organized through the University's Virtual Learning Environment, some resources are available here.

Elsewhere I recently taught Lattice Supersymmetric Field Theories in 2022 at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences in Bengaluru, and Lattice Field Theory Algorithms at the 2021 Bad Honnef Physics School. Previous teaching includes a postgraduate course on New strong dynamics beyond the standard model, at the University of Bern, as well as informal courses on Advanced quantum field theory at the University of Colorado and at Syracuse University. Some of the online resources for these courses, in particular solutions to textbook exercises, are password protected.

Recent publications and preprints [complete list, INSPIRE, ORCID, arXiv, Google]

Refereed journal articles

  1. Stealth dark matter spectrum using LapH and Irreps
    LSD Collaboration: Richard C. Brower, Christopher Culver, Kimmy K. Cushman, George T. Fleming, Anna Hasenfratz, Dean Howarth, James Ingoldby, Xiao Yong Jin, Graham D. Kribs, Aaron S. Meyer, Ethan T. Neil, James C. Osborn, Evan Owen, Sungwoo Park, Claudio Rebbi, Enrico Rinaldi, David Schaich, Pavlos Vranas, Evan Weinberg and Oliver Witzel
    Submitted to Physical Review D (2024) [arXiv:2312.07836, INSPIRE]

  2. Phase diagram of two-dimensional SU(N) super-Yang–Mills theory with four supercharges
    Navdeep Singh Dhindsa, Raghav G. Jha, Anosh Joseph and David Schaich
    Submitted to Journal of High Energy Physics (2023) [arXiv:2312.04980, INSPIRE]
    Data release at doi:10.5281/zenodo.10083864

  3. First-order bulk transitions in large-N lattice Yang–Mills theories using the density of states
    Felix Springer, Enrico Rinaldi and David Schaich
    Submitted to Physical Review D (2023) [arXiv:2311.10243, INSPIRE]

  4. Hidden Conformal Symmetry from the Lattice
    LSD Collaboration: Thomas Appelquist, Richard C. Brower, Kimmy K. Cushman, George T. Fleming, Andrew Gasbarro, Anna Hasenfratz, James Ingoldby, Xiao-Yong Jin, Ethan T. Neil, James C. Osborn, Claudio Rebbi, Enrico Rinaldi, David Schaich, Pavlos Vranas, Evan Weinberg and Oliver Witzel
    Physical Review D 109:L091505 (2023, Letter) [arXiv:2305.03665, INSPIRE]

  5. Light Scalar Meson and Decay Constant in SU(3) Gauge Theory with Eight Dynamical Flavors
    LSD Collaboration: Richard C. Brower, Evan Owen, Claudio Rebbi, Christopher Culver, David Schaich, Kimmy K. Cushman, George T. Fleming, Andrew Gasbarro, Anna Hasenfratz, Ethan T. Neil, James Ingoldby, Xiao-Yong Jin, James C. Osborn, Enrico Rinaldi, Pavlos Vranas, Evan Weinberg and Oliver Witzel
    Submitted to Physical Review D (2023) [arXiv:2306.06095, INSPIRE]
    Data release at doi:10.5281/zenodo.8007954

  6. Lattice studies of supersymmetric gauge theories
    David Schaich
    European Physical Journal Special Topics 232:305 (2023) [arXiv:2208.03580, INSPIRE]

  7. Non-perturbative phase structure of the bosonic BMN matrix model
    Navdeep Singh Dhindsa, Raghav G. Jha, Anosh Joseph, Abhishek Samlodia and David Schaich
    Journal of High Energy Physics 2205:169 (2022) [arXiv:2201.08791, INSPIRE]
    Data release at doi:10.5281/zenodo.6462432

  8. Goldstone boson scattering with a light composite scalar
    LSD Collaboration: Thomas Appelquist, Richard C. Brower, Kimmy K. Cushman, George T. Fleming, Andrew Gasbarro, Anna Hasenfratz, James Ingoldby, Xiao-Yong Jin, Joe Kiskis, Ethan T. Neil, James C. Osborn, Claudio Rebbi, Enrico Rinaldi, David Schaich, Pavlos Vranas, Evan Weinberg and Oliver Witzel
    Physical Review D 105:034505 (2022, Editors' Suggestion) [arXiv:2106.13534, INSPIRE]

  9. Eigenvalue spectrum and scaling dimension of lattice N=4 supersymmetric Yang–Mills
    Georg Bergner and David Schaich
    Journal of High Energy Physics 2104:260 (2021) [arXiv:2102.06775, INSPIRE]

Conference proceedings

  1. Lattice Studies of 3D Maximally Supersymmetric Yang–Mills
    Angel Sherletov and David Schaich
    Proceedings of Science LATTICE2022:221 (2023) [arXiv:2303.13880, INSPIRE]

  2. Advances in using density of states for large-N Yang–Mills
    Felix Springer and David Schaich for the Lattice Strong Dynamics (LSD) Collaboration
    Proceedings of Science LATTICE2022:223 (2023) [arXiv:2303.01149, INSPIRE]

  3. Quantum computing for the Wess–Zumino model
    Christopher Culver and David Schaich
    Proceedings of Science LATTICE2022:008 (2023) [arXiv:2301.02230, INSPIRE]

Recent presentations [complete list, map]

Invited talks

  1. Broader applications of lattice field theory, DiRAC Science Day, Liverpool, 12 December 2023

  2. Numerical methods in lattice field theory beyond the standard model, Workshop on Numerical Methods in Theoretical Physics, Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics, Pohang, 13 July 2023

  3. Lattice studies of three-dimensional super-Yang–Mills, Program on Nonperturbative and Numerical Approaches to Quantum Gravity, String Theory and Holography, International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Bengaluru, 29 August 2022 [recording]

  4. Numerical methods in lattice supersymmetry, Workshop on Numerical Methods in Theoretical Physics, Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics, Pohang, 18 May 2022 [recording]

  5. Lattice strong dynamics for composite Higgs sectors, University of Liverpool Theoretical Physics Seminar, 27 April 2022

  6. Composite dark matter and the role of lattice field theory, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Theoretical Physics Seminar, 17 November 2021 [recording]

  7. Supersymmetric Yang–Mills theories on the lattice, Imperial College London String Seminar, 27 October 2021

  8. Lattice studies of supersymmetric Yang–Mills in 2+1 dimensions, Workshop on Relativistic Fermions in Flatland, ECT* Trento, 9 July 2021 [recording]

  9. Lattice strong dynamics for composite Higgs sectors, Swansea University Theory Seminar, 11 June 2021

Contributed talks

  1. Exploring lattice supersymmetry with variational quantum deflation, Lattice 2023, Fermilab, 3 August 2023

  2. Quantum simulation for quantum field theories, Northern Quantum Meeting VIII, York, 12 June 2023

  3. Exploring conformality in lattice N=4 super-Yang–Mills, Lattice 2022, Bonn, 8 August 2022



Last modified 16 April 2024

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