On October 15, 2009 Shailesh Chandrasekharan will be leading a discussion on Fermions and Monte Carlo Algorithms.

Location: 4219 French Family Science Center

Time: 1:00 – 2:00 pm

Abstract: Fermions are naturally described in terms of statistical mechanics of loops with the caveat that the Boltzmann weight is not necessarily positive definite. This strange type of statistical mechanics is at the heart of quantum mechanics and has hindered the application of the Monte Carlo method to the physics of fermions. In this talk I will argue that in fact taking quantum interference seriously suggests a more natural approach to the problem and leads to new Monte Carlo algorithms for fermions which are more natural than what is currently available.