Abelian Instantons in Quantum Field Theory and Gravity

by Isabel Garcia Garcia

Wednesday 28 Jan 2026, 12:30 → 14:30 America/Los_Angeles

48/2-224 - Madrone (SLAC)

I will discuss field configurations of Abelian gauge fields that carry second Chern number, generated by closed monopole worldlines in four-dimensional Euclidean space. These are "Abelian Instantons" that ascribe physical significance of the electromagnetic vacuum angle. I will discuss the connection between these and traditional Yang-Mills instantons, and how they arise in the context of electromagnetism minimally coupled to gravity.