Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Bootstrapping frustrated magnets: the fate of the chiral ${\rm O}(N)\times {\rm O}(2)$ universality class

  Marten Reehorst, Slava Rychkov, Benoit Sirois, Balt C. van Rees

  SciPost Phys. 18, 060 (2025) · published 19 February 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study multiscalar theories with $\text{O}(N) × \text{O}(2)$ symmetry. These models have a stable fixed point in $d$ dimensions if $N$ is greater than some critical value $N_c(d)$. Previous estimates of this critical value from perturbative and non-perturbative renormalization group methods have produced mutually incompatible results. We use numerical conformal bootstrap methods to constrain $N_c(d)$ for $3 ≤ d < 4$. Our results show that $N_c> 3.78$ for $d = 3$. This favors the scenario that the physically relevant models with $N = 2,3$ in $d=3$ do not have a stable fixed point, indicating a first-order transition. Our result exemplifies how conformal windows can be rigorously constrained with modern numerical bootstrap algorithms.

  2 citations

• Time-reversal symmetry breaking and emergence in driven-dissipative Ising models

  Daniel A. Paz, Mohammad F. Maghrebi

  SciPost Phys. 12, 066 (2022) · published 17 February 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Fluctuation-dissipation relations (FDRs) and time-reversal symmetry (TRS), two pillars of statistical mechanics, are both broken in generic driven-dissipative systems. These systems rather lead to non-equilibrium steady states far from thermal equilibrium. Driven-dissipative Ising-type models, however, are widely believed to exhibit effective thermal critical behavior near their phase transitions. Contrary to this picture, we show that both the FDR and TRS are broken even macroscopically at, or near, criticality. This is shown by inspecting different observables, both even and odd operators under time-reversal transformation, that overlap with the order parameter. Remarkably, however, a modified form of the FDR as well as TRS still holds, but with drastic consequences for the correlation and response functions as well as the Onsager reciprocity relations. Finally, we find that, at criticality, TRS remains broken even in the weakly-dissipative limit.

  2 citations

• Scattering and Strebel graphs

  Pronobesh Maity

  SciPost Phys. 13, 010 (2022) · published 26 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider a special scattering experiment with n particles in $\mathbb{R}^{n-3,1}$. The scattering equations in this set-up become the saddle-point equations of a Penner-like matrix model, where in the large $n$ limit, the spectral curve is directly related to the unique Strebel differential on a Riemann sphere with three punctures. The solutions to the scattering equations localize along different kinds of graphs, tuned by a kinematic variable. We conclude with a few comments on a connection between these graphs and scattering in the Gross-Mende limit.

  2 citations

• Microscopic theory of fractional excitations in gapless quantum Hall states: semi-quantized quantum Hall states

  Oğuz Türker, Tobias Meng

  SciPost Phys. 8, 031 (2020) · published 28 February 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We derive the low-energy theory of semi-quantized quantum Hall states, a recently observed class of gapless bilayer fractional quantum Hall states. Our theory shows these states to feature gapless quasiparticles of fractional charge coupled to an emergent Chern-Simons gauge field. These gapless quasiparticles can be understood as composites of electrons and Laughlin-like quasiparticles. We show that semi-quantized quantum Hall states exhibit perfect interlayer drag, host non-Fermi liquid physics, and serve as versatile parent states for fully gapped topological phases hosting anyonic excitations.

  2 citations

• Integrable Floquet QFT: Elasticity and factorization under periodic driving

  Axel Cortes Cubero

  SciPost Phys. 5, 025 (2018) · published 21 September 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In (1+1)-dimensional quantum field theory, integrability is typically defined as the existence of an infinite number of local charges of different Lorentz spin, which commute with the Hamiltonian. A well known consequence of integrability is that scattering of particles is elastic and factorizable. These properties are the basis for the bootstrap program, which leads to the exact computation of S-matrices and form factors. We consider periodically-driven field theories, whose stroboscopic time-evolution is described by a Floquet Hamiltonian. It was recently proposed by Gritsev and Polkovnikov that it is possible for some form of integrability to be preserved even in driven systems. If a driving protocol exists such that the Floquet Hamiltonian is integrable (such that there is an infinite number of local and independent charges, a subset of which are parity-even, that commute with it), we show that there are strong conditions on the stroboscopic time evolution of particle trajectories, analogous to S-matrix elasticity and factorization. We propose a new set of axioms for the time evolution of particles which outline a new bootstrap program, which can be used to identify and classify integrable Floquet protocols. We present some simple examples of driving protocols where Floquet integrability is manifest; in particular, we also show that under certain conditions, some integrable protocols proposed by Gritsev and Polkovnikov are solutions of our new bootstrap equations.

  2 citations

• Fluctuation based interpretable analysis scheme for quantum many-body snapshots

  Henning Schlömer, Annabelle Bohrdt

  SciPost Phys. 15, 099 (2023) · published 18 September 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Microscopically understanding and classifying phases of matter is at the heart of strongly-correlated quantum physics. With quantum simulations, genuine projective measurements (snapshots) of the many-body state can be taken, which include the full information of correlations in the system. The rise of deep neural networks has made it possible to routinely solve abstract processing and classification tasks of large datasets, which can act as a guiding hand for quantum data analysis. However, though proven to be successful in differentiating between different phases of matter, conventional neural networks mostly lack interpretability on a physical footing. Here, we combine confusion learning [Nat. Phys. 13, 435 (2017)] with correlation convolutional neural networks [Nat. Commun. 12, 3905 (2021)], which yields fully interpretable phase detection in terms of correlation functions. In particular, we study thermodynamic properties of the 2D Heisenberg model, whereby the trained network is shown to pick up qualitative changes in the snapshots above and below a characteristic temperature where magnetic correlations become significantly long-range. We identify the full counting statistics of nearest neighbor spin correlations as the most important quantity for the decision process of the neural network, which go beyond averages of local observables. With access to the fluctuations of second-order correlations — which indirectly include contributions from higher order, long-range correlations — the network is able to detect changes of the specific heat and spin susceptibility, the latter being in analogy to magnetic properties of the pseudogap phase in high-temperature superconductors [Phys. Rev. Lett. 62, 957 (1989)]. By combining the confusion learning scheme with transformer neural networks, our work opens new directions in interpretable quantum image processing being sensible to long-range order.

  2 citations

• Topological data analysis of monopole current networks in $U(1)$ lattice gauge theory

  Xavier Crean, Jeffrey Giansiracusa, Biagio Lucini

  SciPost Phys. 17, 100 (2024) · published 2 October 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In $4$-dimensional pure compact $U(1)$ lattice gauge theory, we analyse topological aspects of the dynamics of monopoles across the deconfinement phase transition. We do this using tools from Topological Data Analysis (TDA). We demonstrate that observables constructed from the zeroth and first homology groups of monopole current networks may be used to quantitatively and robustly locate the critical inverse coupling $\beta_{c}$ through finite-size scaling. Our method provides a mathematically robust framework for the characterisation of topological invariants related to monopole currents, putting on firmer ground earlier investigations. Moreover, our approach can be generalised to the study of Abelian monopoles in non-Abelian gauge theories.

  2 citations

• $G_2$-manifolds from 4d N=1 theories, part I: Domain walls

  Andreas P. Braun, Evyatar Sabag, Matteo Sacchi, Sakura Schäfer-Nameki

  SciPost Phys. 17, 102 (2024) · published 3 October 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose new $G_2$-holonomy manifolds, which geometrize the Gaiotto-Kim 4d $\mathcal{N}=1$ duality domain walls of 5d $\mathcal{N}=1$ theories. These domain walls interpolate between different extended Coulomb branch phases of a given 5d superconformal field theory. Our starting point is the geometric realization of such a 5d superconformal field theory and its extended Coulomb branch in terms of M-theory on a non-compact singular Calabi-Yau three-fold and its Kähler cone. We construct the 7-manifold that realizes the domain wall in M-theory by fibering the Calabi-Yau three-fold over a real line, whilst varying its Kähler parameters as prescribed by the domain wall construction. In particular this requires the Calabi-Yau fiber to pass through a canonical singularity at the locus of the domain wall. Due to the 4d $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry that is preserved on the domain wall, we expect the resulting 7-manifold to have holonomy $G_2$. Indeed, for simple domain wall theories, this construction results in 7-manifolds, which are known to admit torsion-free $G_2$-holonomy metrics. We develop several generalizations to new 7-manifolds, which realize domain walls in 5d SQCD theories and walls between 5d theories which are UV-dual.

  2 citations

• The sky remembers everything: Celestial amplitude, shadow and OPE in quadratic EFT of gravity

  Arpan Bhattacharyya, Saptaswa Ghosh, Sounak Pal

  SciPost Phys. 19, 041 (2025) · published 15 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this paper, we compute the celestial amplitude arising from higher curvature corrections to Einstein gravity, incorporating phase dressing. The inclusion of such corrections leads to effective modifications of the theory's ultraviolet (UV) behaviour. In the eikonal limit, we find that, in contrast to Einstein's gravity, where the $u$ and $s$-channel contributions cancel, these contributions remain non-vanishing in the presence of higher curvature terms. We examine the analytic structure of the resulting amplitude and derive a dispersion relation for the phase-dressed eikonal amplitude in quadratic gravity. Furthermore, we investigate the celestial conformal block expansion of the Mellin-transformed conformal shadow amplitude within the framework of celestial conformal field theory (CCFT). As a consequence, we compute the corresponding operator product expansion (OPE) coefficients using the Burchnall-Chaundy expansion. In addition, we evaluate the OPE via the Euclidean OPE inversion formula across various kinematic channels and comment on its applicability and implications. Finally, we briefly explore the Carrollian amplitude associated with the corresponding quadratic EFT.

  2 citations

• Fisher zeroes and the fluctuations of the spectral form factor of chaotic systems

  Guy Bunin, Laura Foini, Jorge Kurchan

  SciPost Phys. 17, 114 (2024) · published 15 October 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The spectral form factor of quantum chaotic systems has the familiar 'ramp $+$ plateau' form. Techniques to determine its form in the semiclassical or the thermodynamic limit have been devised, in both cases based on the average over an energy range or an ensemble of systems. For a single instance, fluctuations are large, do not go away in the limit, and depend on the element of the ensemble itself, thus seeming to question the whole procedure. Considered as the modulus of a partition function in complex inverse temperature $\beta_R+i\beta_I$ ($\beta_I \equiv \tau$ the time), the spectral form factor has regions of Fisher zeroes, the analogue of Yang-Lee zeroes for the complex temperature plane. The large spikes in the spectral form factor are in fact a consequence of near-misses of the line parametrized by $\beta_I$ to these zeroes. The largest spikes are indeed extensive and extremely sensitive to details, but we show that they are both exponentially rare and exponentially thin. Motivated by this, and inspired by the work of Derrida on the Random Energy Model, we study here a modified model of random energy levels in which we introduce level repulsion. We also check that the mechanism giving rise to spikes is the same in the SYK model.

  2 citations