Extended Objects Physics: Defects in Quantum Field Theory and Worldvolume Dynamics of Black Holes

PhD defence by Chenliang Su

Assessment Committee

Associate Professor Troels Harmark, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Associate Professor Marta Orsell, Perugia University
Associate Professor Matthias Wilhelm, SDU, University of Southern Denmark, Odense

Supervisors

Professor Charlotte Fløe Kristjansen

Department

Niels Bohr Institute

Place

Building: Niels Bohr Institute, Room: Auditorium A, Blegdamsvej 15C, 2100, Copenhagen

Email address to gain access to the thesis: chenliang.su@nbi.ku.dk.
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Short description of the thesis

This thesis explores how extended objects can reveal new insights into quantum field theory and gravity. In quantum field theories, extended defects provide a powerful way to probe symmetries, dynamics, and exact structures. This work investigates when such defects preserve the remarkable property of integrability, and determines quantum fluctuation spectra in the presence of defects. In gravity, the thesis develops a new extended-body description of spinning black holes, going beyond the traditional point-particle approximation. The framework reproduces key scattering properties of Kerr black holes and provides a systematic approach to their response to gravitational waves, with potential applications to precision gravitational-wave physics.