Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Exactly solvable lattice Hamiltonians and gravitational anomalies

  Yu-An Chen, Po-Shen Hsin

  SciPost Phys. 14, 089 (2023) · published 2 May 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We construct infinitely many new exactly solvable local commuting projector lattice Hamiltonian models for general bosonic beyond group cohomology invertible topological phases of order two and four in any spacetime dimensions, whose boundaries are characterized by gravitational anomalies. Examples include the beyond group cohomology invertible phase without symmetry in (4+1)D that has an anomalous boundary $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological order with fermionic particle and fermionic loop excitations that have mutual $\pi$ statistics. We argue that this construction gives a new non-trivial quantum cellular automaton (QCA) in (4+1)D of order two. We also present an explicit construction of gapped symmetric boundary state for the bosonic beyond group cohomology invertible phase with unitary $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry in (4+1)D. We discuss new quantum phase transitions protected by different invertible phases across the transitions.

  21 citations

• On higher-dimensional Carrollian and Galilean conformal field theories

  Bin Chen, Reiko Liu, Yu-fan Zheng

  SciPost Phys. 14, 088 (2023) · published 1 May 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this paper, we study the Carrollian and Galilean conformal field theories (CCFT and GCFT) in $d>2$ dimensions. We construct the highest weight representations (HWR) of Carrollian and Galilean conformal algebra (CCA and GCA). Even though the two algebras have different structures, their HWRs share similar structure, because their rotation subalgebras are isomorphic. In both cases, we find that the finite dimensional representations are generally reducible but indecomposable, and can be organized into the multiplets. Moreover, it turns out that the multiplet representations in $d>2$ CCA and GCA carry not only the simple chain structure appeared in logCFT or $2d$ GCFT, but also more generally the net structures. We manage to classify all the allowed chain representations. Furthermore we discuss the two-point and three-point correlators by using the Ward identities. We mainly focus on the two-point correlators of the operators in chain representations. Even in this relative simple case, we find some novel features: multiple-level structure, shortage of the selection rule on the representations, undetermined 2-pt coefficients, etc.. We find that the non-trivial correlators could only appear for the representations of certain structure, and the correlators are generally polynomials of time coordinates for CCFT (spacial coordinates for GCFT), whose orders depend on the levels of the correlators.

  45 citations

• Lacing topological orders in two dimensions: Exactly solvable models for Kitaev's sixteen-fold way

  Jin-Tao Jin, Jian-Jian Miao, Yi Zhou

  SciPost Phys. 14, 087 (2023) · published 1 May 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A family of two-dimensional (2D) spin-1/2 models have been constructed to realize Kitaev's sixteen-fold way of anyon theories. Defining a one-dimensional (1D) path through all the lattice sites, and performing the Jordan-Wigner transformation with the help of the 1D path, we find that such a spin-1/2 model is equivalent to a model with $\nu$ species of Majorana fermions coupled to a static $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge field. Here each species of Majorana fermions gives rise to an energy band that carries a Chern number $\mathcal{C}=1$, yielding a total Chern number $\mathcal{C}=\nu$. It has been shown that the ground states are three (four)-fold topologically degenerate on a torus, when $\nu$ is an odd (even) number. These exactly solvable models can be achieved by quantum simulations.

  1 citation

• Conformal Carroll scalars with boosts

  Stefano Baiguera, Gerben Oling, Watse Sybesma, Benjamin T. Søgaard

  SciPost Phys. 14, 086 (2023) · published 28 April 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We construct two distinct actions for scalar fields that are invariant under local Carroll boosts and Weyl transformations. Conformal Carroll field theories were recently argued to be related to the celestial holography description of asymptotically flat spacetimes. However, only few explicit examples of such theories are known, and they lack local Carroll boost symmetry on a generic curved background. We derive two types of conformal Carroll scalar actions with boost symmetry on a curved background in any dimension and compute their energy-momentum tensors, which are traceless. In the first type of theories, time derivatives dominate and spatial derivatives are suppressed. In the second type, spatial derivatives dominate, and constraints are present to ensure local boost invariance. By integrating out these constraints, we show that the spatial conformal Carroll theories can be reduced to lower-dimensional Euclidean CFTs, which is reminiscent of the embedding space construction.

  53 citations

• Simulating thermal density operators with cluster expansions and tensor networks

  Bram Vanhecke, David Devoogdt, Frank Verstraete, Laurens Vanderstraeten

  SciPost Phys. 14, 085 (2023) · published 26 April 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We provide an efficient approximation for the exponential of a local operator in quantum spin systems using tensor-network representations of a cluster expansion. We benchmark this cluster tensor network operator (cluster TNO) for one-dimensional systems, and show that the approximation works well for large real- or imaginary-time steps. We use this formalism for representing the thermal density operator of a two-dimensional quantum spin system at a certain temperature as a single cluster TNO, which we can then contract by standard contraction methods for two-dimensional tensor networks. We apply this approach to the thermal phase transition of the transverse-field Ising model on the square lattice, and we find through a scaling analysis that the cluster-TNO approximation gives rise to a continuous phase transition in the correct universality class; by increasing the order of the cluster expansion we find good values of the critical point up to surprisingly low temperatures.

  7 citations

• Integrable Floquet systems related to logarithmic conformal field theory

  Vsevolod I. Yashin, Denis V. Kurlov, Aleksey K. Fedorov, Vladimir Gritsev

  SciPost Phys. 14, 084 (2023) · published 26 April 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study an integrable Floquet quantum system related to lattice statistical systems in the universality class of dense polymers. These systems are described by a particular non-unitary representation of the Temperley-Lieb algebra. We find a simple Lie algebra structure for the elements of Temperley-Lieb algebra which are invariant under shift by two lattice sites, and show how the local Floquet conserved charges and the Floquet Hamiltonian are expressed in terms of this algebra. The system has a phase transition between local and non-local phases of the Floquet Hamiltonian. We provide a strong indication that in the scaling limit this non-equilibrium system is described by the logarithmic conformal field theory.

  4 citations

• Positivity, low twist dominance and CSDR for CFTs

  Agnese Bissi, Aninda Sinha

  SciPost Phys. 14, 083 (2023) · published 25 April 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider a crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR) for CFT four point correlation with identical scalar operators, which is manifestly symmetric under the cross-ratios $u,v$ interchange. This representation has several features in common with the CSDR for quantum field theories. It enables a study of the expansion of the correlation function around $u=v=1/4$, which is used in the numerical conformal bootstrap program. We elucidate several remarkable features of the dispersive representation using the four point correlation function of $\Phi_{1,2}$ operators in 2d minimal models as a test-bed. When the dimension of the external scalar operator ($\Delta_\sigma$) is less than $\frac{1}{2}$, the CSDR gets contribution from only a single tower of global primary operators with the second tower being projected out. We find that there is a notion of low twist dominance (LTD) which, as a function of $\Delta_\sigma$, is maximized near the 2d Ising model as well as the non-unitary Yang-Lee model. The CSDR and LTD further explain positivity of the Taylor expansion coefficients of the correlation function around the crossing symmetric point and lead to universal predictions for specific ratios of these coefficients. These results carry over to the epsilon expansion in $4-\epsilon$ dimensions. We also conduct a preliminary investigation of geometric function theory ideas, namely the Bieberbach-Rogosinski bounds.

  7 citations

• Unifying semiclassics and quantum perturbation theory at nonlinear order

  Daniel Kaplan, Tobias Holder, Binghai Yan

  SciPost Phys. 14, 082 (2023) · published 25 April 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Nonlinear electrical response permits a unique window into effects of band structure geometry. It can be calculated either starting from a Boltzmann approach for small frequencies, or using Kubo's formula for resonances at finite frequency. However, a precise connection between both approaches has not been established. Focusing on the second order nonlinear response, here we show how the semiclassical limit can be recovered from perturbation theory in the velocity gauge, provided that finite quasiparticle lifetimes are taken into account. We find that matrix elements related to the band geometry combine in this limit to produce the semiclassical nonlinear conductivity. We demonstrate the power of the new formalism by deriving a quantum contribution to the nonlinear conductivity which is of order $\tau^{-1}$ in the relaxation time $\tau$, which is principally inaccessible within the Boltzmann approach. We outline which steps can be generalized to higher orders in the applied perturbation, and comment about potential experimental signatures of our results.

  28 citations

• Chiral gauge theories on $R^3 \times S^1$ and SUSY breaking

  Jun Seok Lee, John Terning

  SciPost Phys. 14, 081 (2023) · published 24 April 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study $SU(5)$ chiral gauge theories on $R^3\times S^1$. With an unequal number of fundamental and antifundmental matter representations we calculate nontrivial pre-ADS superpotentials generated by composite multi-monopoles. We also point out that the structure of the composite multi-monopoles can be determined simply from the affine Dynkin diagrams of the gauge group and its unbroken subgroup. For the case of one flavor, we find that the superpotential is independent of the composite meson. We show that dynamical 4D SUSY breaking in the simplest chiral $SU(5)$ gauge theory can be demonstrated directly via semi-classical effects on the circle.

• Anti-holomorphic modes in vortex lattices

  Brook J. Hocking, Thomas Machon

  SciPost Phys. 14, 080 (2023) · published 24 April 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A continuum theory of linearized Helmholtz-Kirchoff point vortex dynamics about a steadily rotating lattice state is developed by two separate methods: firstly by a direct procedure, secondly by taking the long-wavelength limit of Tkachenko's exact solution for a triangular vortex lattice. Solutions to the continuum theory are found, described by arbitrary anti-holomorphic functions, and give power-law localized edge modes. Numerical results for finite lattices show excellent agreement to the theory.