String Theory seminar - Martin Wolf Seminar

Abstract: I will discuss the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism for Lagrangian field theories and its mathematical foundations with an emphasis on the higher algebraic structures. In particular, I will explain how a field theory gives rise to an L_\infty-algebra and how quasi-isomorphisms between L_\infty-algebras correspond to physically equivalent field theories. I will also explain how recursion relations for scattering amplitudes a la Berends and Giele can be obtained by transitioning to the smallest representative of the quasi-isomorphism class of that L_\infty-algebra.