01
Quantum gravity & holography
Gravitational path integrals, de Sitter and anti-de Sitter space, wormholes, observers, and solvable low-dimensional models.
Associate Professor · University of Victoria
Kristan
Jensen
I am a theoretical physicist working on quantum gravity, quantum field theory, and the collective dynamics of many-body systems.
Much of my work asks how fundamental principles constrain what a quantum system can do—from hydrodynamics and topological matter to black holes, wormholes, and cosmology.
Research
Questions at several scales
02
Effective field theory & dynamics
Hydrodynamics, fluctuations, chaos, and the long-distance description of many-body quantum systems.
03
Symmetry, duality & quantum matter
Anomalies, boundaries and defects, unusual conservation laws, quantum Hall systems, and field-theoretic dualities.
Recent work
Latest papers
2026Superfluid memory effectA persistent record of phonon scattering in the far-field flow of a superfluid.2026Inner products and closed universesA framework for asking probabilistic questions when a gravitating universe has no asymptotic boundary.2026Carrollian holographic duals are non-localBulk interactions force non-locality in putative Carrollian descriptions of flat-space gravity.2026Norm of the no-boundary stateThe one-loop norm of the de Sitter no-boundary state, and the stabilizing role of an observer.
People
The research group
The group works across quantum gravity, field theory, and strongly correlated systems. Research is organized around problems rather than disciplinary borders.
Current and former membersPrateksh Dhivakar
Postdoctoral fellow
2024–presentWilliam Harvey
PhD student
2023–presentThomas Martin
Undergraduate researcher
2026–27Community
Pacific Northwest Particle Theory Seminar
UBC · UVic · UW
An annual regional meeting bringing together roughly thirty to forty high-energy theorists for a concentrated programme of talks and discussion. I organize the seminar with colleagues at UBC and the University of Washington.
Meeting informationContact
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Victoria · Elliott Building 105a · Victoria, British Columbia