JT Gravity and Virasoro Strings as Random Geometries

Watch a 90-minute advanced physics lecture from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies where Alicia Castro from LaBRI, Universite de Bordeaux explores JT gravity and Virasoro string models as frameworks for random surfaces. Delve into the mathematical analysis of two-dimensional quantum gravity on constant negatively curved spacetimes and coupled CFTs, examining their relationships within Riemann surface moduli space. Learn how generating functions serve as tools to understand both models, while discovering approaches for coupling these theories with defects or branes and investigating critical regimes where surfaces develop macroscopic holes.