Week 27.04.2026 – 03.05.2026

In this talk, I will introduce and discuss the spectral properties of transversal field quantum spin glasses.  In the second part of the talk, I will introduce the proof of the convergence of the free energy of the quantum Ising p-spin glass to that of the Quantum Random Energy Model. Finally, I will discuss some conjectures from the physics literature on the 1/p-corrections to the free energy.

Effective collective decision-making in human and animal groups requires robust mechanisms to form consensus, typically via feedback loops in which individuals adapt their behaviour based on their perception of others. Such behaviour has been observed and theorised across scales from nucleosomes to entire societies. Of equal importance, but far less well studied, is the question of how consensus is overturned. In many contexts it is vital that group decisions do not remain fixed in the face of new evidence\DSEMIC echo-chamber effects must be suppressed so that the collective preferences which are expressed are not too strongly entrenched. In this talk I will discuss a new mathematical theory for how consensus can be overturned in symmetric binary choice problems, and compare the theoretical predictions to experiments with human and animal groups.