Theodore Jacobson

Theodore Jacobson’s research explores the framework of quantum field theory at the intersection of theoretical particle and condensed matter physics. Before joining Hamilton, he was a Julian Schwinger Postdoctoral Fellow at the Bhaumik Institute for Theoretical Physics at UCLA, and an instructor at Pomona College. Jacobson received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, and holds a B.A. in physics and mathematics from Macalester College. He is pleased to be returning to a small liberal arts college and looks forward to engaging with students on ideas both within and beyond physics. 

Recent Courses Taught

Classical Mechanics

Distinctions

• Julian Schwinger Postdoctoral Fellowship, UCLA (2023–present)
• Aneesur Rahman Award, University of Minnesota (2023)
• Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, University of Minnesota (2022–2023)
• Hoff Lu Fellowship, University of Minnesota (2020)
• College of Science and Engineering Fellowship, University of Minnesota (2018–2021)
• Russell B. Hastings Book Award, Macalester College (2018)
• David Bressoud Prize, Macalester College (2018)

Selected Publications

• "Consequences of Symmetry Fractionalization without 1-Form Global Symmetries" (T.D. Brennan, T. Jacobson, K. Roumpedakis), accepted to JHEP, 2025
• "Gauging C on the Lattice" (T. Jacobson), JHEP 05, 138 (2025)
• "Line operators, vortex statistics, and Higgs versus confinement dynamics" (A. Cherman, T. Jacobson, S. Sen, L. Yaffe), JHEP 06, 200 (2024)
• "Canonical quantization of lattice Chern-Simons theory" (T. Jacobson and T. Sulejmanpasic), JHEP 11, 087 (2024)
• "Exact lattice chiral symmetry in 2d gauge theory" (E. Berkowitz, A. Cherman, T. Jacobson), Phys. Rev. D 110, 014510 (2024)

Appointed to the Faculty

Educational Background

Ph.D., University of Minnesota
B.A., Macalester College