Defects and Interfaces in the O(N) Model

Learn about line defects and surface defects in O(N) critical models through this physics lecture presented by Sabine Harribey at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Explore the theoretical aspects of defects that give rise to new universality classes of 3D CFTs and their potential applications in describing physical impurities and finite-size effects. Examine an alternative approach through interfaces with localized cubic interactions that perturb quartic multi-scalar models. Discover the results of one-loop beta function calculations and the analysis of fixed points, both analytically and numerically, for various bulk symmetries. Understand how these findings reveal a diverse landscape of fixed points that break bulk symmetry into different subgroups.