Academic Profile:
1. Ph.D. (2012): Harish-Chandra Research Institute,
Thesis Advisor: Rajesh Gopakumar.
2. M.Sc. (2006): University of Delhi
3. B.Sc. (2004): University of Delhi
Research Interests:
I am working in String Theory and am primarily interested in the AdS/CFT correspondence. A particular class of such dualities that has recently attracted interest is the set of dualities between Vasiliev higher-spin theories in Anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetimes and conformal field theories (CFTs.) defined on the boundary of the AdS. This interest is driven by a variety of reasons. Firstly, the CFTs that these higher-spin theories are dual to are often non-supersymmetric and moreover very relevant to condensed-matter phenomena (minimal models in two dimensions, the O(N) vector model in three). Secondly, Vasiliev theories are expected to arise in a limit of string theory in AdS where the string is tensionless (or equivalently, the CFT is a free theory). This is a promising starting point for unravelling the mechanics of gauge-string duality in general. I have studied these theories (chiefly) by computing their partition function about the AdS vacuum using the heat kernel results I obtained with Rajesh Gopakumar and Rajesh Gupta.
I have also worked with Suvrat Raju on Generalised Unitarity methods for evaluating scattering amplitudes in QFTs.
A list of my papers is available at: http://inspirehep.net/search?p=author%3AS.Lal.3+