My research activity is focused on field theory and statistical mechanics, in the realm of condensed matter and high-energy Physics.

For my PhD thesis at MIT I have worked on fluctuation induced (Casimir) forces, developing, in collaboration with M.Kardar and R.Jaffe (MIT), techniques for studying the dependence of the force on the shape of the conducting bodies [1]. In that period I have also worked with Jaffe and D.Pirjol (MIT) on the signatures of the parity symmetry in QCD, in particular in the mass spectrum of hadrons [2].

After my PhD I became interested in various phenomena studied in the Physics of disordered systems and mainly in their implications on the possibility to build efficient quantum computers. I have been studying the typical case complexity of decision problems [3] together with C.Laumann (now at UW, Seattle), S.Sondhi (Princeton) and R.Moessner (MPI, Dresden).

This has led me to learn about quantum spin glasses, for the study of which we (Laumann, Sondhi and myself) have developed a generalization of the cavity method [4].

Recently, I have been working in what I believe is the single most important effect in the Physics of disordered quantum systems, in particular for the deep implications it is going to have for our understanding of coherent, mesoscopic systems (e.g. cold atoms in optical traps, coupled SC dots etc.). I am talking about Anderson localization for interacting systems, a phenomenon predicted in detail by D.Basko, I.Aleiner and B.Altshuler in 2006 now dubbed many body localization. I have been studying a number of aspects of this phenomenon together with B.Althsuler (Columbia) and V.Kravstov (ICTP) [6], M.Mueller (PSI) [7], C.Laumann, A.Pal (Oxford), R.Nandkishore (Boulder) and D.Huse (Princeton), and discussing actively with V.Oganesyan (CUNY) and S.Sondhi.

This is currently my primary interest.

Other topics of interest for me are the study the properties of some interesting random point sets, called determinantal point processes (a vast family which includes for example eigenvalues of random matrices and random Young tableaux) with a particular focus on their properties as efficient sphere-packings. With S.Torquato (Princeton) [8] we began a numerical and analytical study of determinantal point processes in high dimensions, showing some unexpected universal properties.

With H.Nishimori and his group (Tokyo IT) and M.Mueller (PSI) [5] we investigated the Lee-Yang zeros of the partition function of (Ising) spin-glasses.

With G.Parisi (Rome) and S.Pascazio (Bari) [9] I have been working on the statistics of entanglement measures of random states. These ensembles have an interesting interpretation as a peculiar random matrix theory. With S.Majumdar (Paris) and P.Vivo (Paris) [10] we have found the distribution of the index of a gaussian random matrix. With I.Klebanov (Princeton) I’ve done some work on integrability in string- and field-theory and in the predictions of AdS/CFT duality for gauge theories [11] and with L.Pando-Zayas (Michigan) on disorder in AdS/CFT and high-Tc superconductivity.

Former students: A. De Luca (LPT-ENS, Paris), F.Pietracaprina (La Sapienza, Rome)

Current students: V. Ros, G. Mossi, S.Moitra, A.Lerose (SISSA).