Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Beyond-mean-field analysis of the Townes soliton and its breathing mode

  Dmitry S. Petrov

  SciPost Phys. 19, 037 (2025) · published 13 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  By using the Bogoliubov perturbation theory we describe the self-bound ground state and excited breathing states of $N$ two-dimensional bosons with zero-range attractive interactions. Our results for the ground state energy $B_N$ and size $R_N$ improve previously known large-$N$ asymptotes and we better understand the crossover to the few-body regime. The breathing oscillations, absent at the mean-field level, result from the quantum-mechanical breaking of the mean-field scale symmetry. The breathing-mode frequency scales as $\Omega\propto |B_N|/\sqrt{N}$ at large $N$.

• Anderson impurities in edge states with nonlinear and dissipative perturbations

  Vinayak M. Kulkarni, N. S. Vidhyadhiraja

  SciPost Phys. 19, 036 (2025) · published 13 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We show that exceptional points (EPs) and non-Hermitian behavior can emerge dynamically in impurity models with Hermitian microscopic origins. Using perturbative renormalization group (RG) analysis, Fock-space diagonalization, and spin-spin relaxation time calculations, we demonstrate that nonlinear (NL) dispersion and anisotropic pseudochiral ($\mathcal{PC}$) interactions generate complex fixed points and spectral defectiveness. The effective Kondo model features a square-root RG invariant linking planar and longitudinal Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) couplings, driving the onset of EPs. Our analysis reveals dissipative fixed points stabilized by an emergent Lie algebra structure and a scaling collapse in relaxation dynamics. Across both single- and two-impurity extensions, we identify a universal "sign-reversion" (SR) regime near critical NL coupling, where anisotropy preserves $\mathcal{PC}$ symmetry and SR serves as a signature of non-Hermitian flow. These results establish a new class of non-Hermitian criticality generated through RG evolution in otherwise Hermitian systems.

  1 citation

• Efficiency of dynamical decoupling for (almost) any spin–boson model

  Alexander Hahn, Daniel Burgarth, Davide Lonigro

  SciPost Phys. 19, 035 (2025) · published 13 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Dynamical decoupling is a technique aimed at suppressing the interaction between a quantum system and its environment by applying frequent unitary operations on the system alone. In the present paper, we analytically study the dynamical decoupling of a two-level system coupled with a structured bosonic environment initially prepared in a thermal state. We find sufficient conditions under which dynamical decoupling works for such systems, and—most importantly—we find bounds for the convergence speed of the procedure. Our analysis is based on a new Trotter theorem for multiple Hamiltonians and involves a rigorous treatment of the evolution of mixed quantum states via unbounded Hamiltonians. A comparison with numerical experiments shows that our bounds reproduce the correct scaling in various relevant system parameters. Furthermore, our analytical treatment allows for quantifying the decoupling efficiency for boson baths with infinitely many modes, in which case a numerical treatment is unavailable.

  1 citation

• The complex Liouville string: Worldsheet boundaries and non-perturbative effects

  Scott Collier, Lorenz Eberhardt, Beatrix Mühlmann, Victor A. Rodriguez

  SciPost Phys. 19, 034 (2025) · published 12 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We investigate general observables of the complex Liouville string with worldsheet boundaries. We develop a universal formalism that reduces such observables to ordinary closed string amplitudes without boundaries, applicable to any worldsheet string theory, but particularly simple in the context of 2d or minimal string theories. We apply this formalism to the duality of the complex Liouville string with the matrix integral proposed in [SciPost Phys. 19, 033 (2025); SciPost Phys. 18, 154 (2025)] and showcase the formalism by finding appropriate boundary conditions for various matrix model quantities of interest, such as the resolvent or the partition function. We also apply this formalism towards the computation of non-perturbative effects on the worldsheet mediated by ZZ-instantons. These are known to be plagued by extra subtleties which need input from string field theory to resolve. These computations probe and uncover the duality between the complex Liouville string and the matrix model at the non-perturbative level.

  2 citations

• The complex Liouville string: The worldsheet

  Scott Collier, Lorenz Eberhardt, Beatrix Mühlmann, Victor A. Rodriguez

  SciPost Phys. 19, 033 (2025) · published 12 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We introduce a new two-dimensional string theory defined by coupling two copies of Liouville CFT with complex central charge $c=13± i \lambda$ on the worldsheet. This string theory defines a novel, consistent and controllable model of two-dimensional quantum gravity. We use the exact solution of the worldsheet theory to derive stringent constraints on the analytic structure of the string amplitudes as a function of the vertex operator momenta. Together with other worldsheet constraints, this allows us to completely pin down the string amplitudes without explicitly computing the moduli space integrals. We focus on the case of the sphere four-point amplitude and torus one-point amplitude as worked examples. This is the first in a series of papers on the complex Liouville string: three subsequent papers will elucidate the holographic duality with a two-matrix integral, discuss worldsheet boundaries and non-perturbative effects, and connect the theory to de Sitter quantum gravity.

  4 citations

• U(1) gauging, continuous TQFTs, and higher symmetry structures

  Adrien Arbalestrier, Riccardo Argurio, Luigi Tizzano

  SciPost Phys. 19, 032 (2025) · published 12 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Quantum field theories can exhibit various generalized symmetry structures, among which higher-group symmetries and non-invertible symmetry defects are particularly prominent. In this work, we explore a new general scenario in which these two structures are intertwined. This phenomenon arises in four dimensions when gauging one of multiple $U(1)$ 0-form symmetries in the presence of mixed 't Hooft anomalies. We illustrate this with two distinct models that flow to an IR gapless phase and a gapped phase, respectively, and examine how this symmetry structure manifests in each case. Additionally, we investigate a five-dimensional model where a similar structure exists intrinsically. Our main tool is a symmetry TQFT in one higher dimension, formulated using non-compact gauge fields and having infinitely many topological operators. We carefully determine its boundary conditions and provide a detailed discussion on various dressing choices for its bulk topological operators.

  2 citations

• Anomalous continuous translations

  Nathan Seiberg

  SciPost Phys. 19, 031 (2025) · published 11 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We discuss a large class of non-relativistic continuum field theories where the Euclidean spatial symmetry of the classical theory is violated in the quantum theory by an Adler-Bell-Jackiw-like anomaly. In particular, the continuous translation symmetry of the classical theory is broken in the quantum theory to a discrete symmetry. Furthermore, that discrete symmetry is extended by an internal symmetry, making it non-Abelian. This presentation streamlines and extends the discussion in [SciPost Phys. 18, 063 (2025)]. In an Appendix, we present an elementary introduction to 't Hooft and Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomalies using a well-known system.

  3 citations

• Zero-bias conductance peaks at zero applied magnetic field due to stray fields from integrated micromagnets in hybrid nanowire quantum dots

  Y. Jiang, M. Gupta, C. Riggert, M. Pendharkar, C. Dempsey, J. S. Lee, S. D. Harrington, C. J. Palmstrøm, V. S. Pribiag, S. M. Frolov

  SciPost Phys. 19, 030 (2025) · published 11 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Many recipes for realizing topological superconductivity rely on broken time-reversal symmetry, which is often attained by applying a substantial external magnetic field. Alternatively, using magnetic materials can offer advantages through low-field operation and design flexibility on the nanoscale. Mechanisms for lifting spin degeneracy include exchange coupling, spin-dependent scattering, spin injection – all requiring direct contact between the bulk or induced superconductor and a magnetic material. Here, we implement locally broken time-reversal symmetry through dipolar coupling from nearby micromagnets to superconductor-semiconductor hybrid nanowire devices. Josephson supercurrent is hysteretic due to micromangets switching. At or around zero external magnetic field, we observe an extended presence of Andreev bound states near zero voltage bias. We also show a zero-bias peak plateau of a non-quantized value. Our findings largely reproduce earlier results where similar effects were presented in the context of topological superconductivity in a homogeneous wire, and attributed to more exotic time-reversal breaking mechanisms [Nat. Phys. 17, 43 (2020)]. In contrast, our stray field profiles are not designed to create Majorana modes, and our data are compatible with a straightforward interpretation in terms of trivial states in quantum dots. At the same time, the use of micromagnets in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor devices shows promise for future experiments on topological superconductivity.

• The asymptotic structure of cosmological integrals

  Paolo Benincasa, Francisco Vazão

  SciPost Phys. 19, 029 (2025) · published 11 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We provide a general analysis of the asymptotic behaviour of perturbative contributions to observables in arbitrary power-law FRW cosmologies, indistinctly the Bunch-Davies wavefunction of the universe and cosmological correlators. We consider a large class of scalar toy models, including conformally-coupled and massless scalars in arbitrary dimensions, that admits a first principle definition in terms of (generalised/weighted) cosmological polytopes. The perturbative contributions to an observable can be expressed as an integral of the canonical function associated to such polytopes and to site- and edge-weighted graphs. We show how the asymptotic behaviour of these integrals is governed by a special class of nestohedra living in the graph-weight space, both at tree and loop level. As the singularities of a cosmological process described by a graph can be associated to its subgraphs, we provide a realisation of the nestohedra as a sequential truncation of a top-dimensional simplex based on the underlying graph. This allows us to determine all the possible directions – both in the infra-red and in the ultra-violet –, where the integral can diverge as well as their degree of divergence. Both of them are associated to the facets of the nestohedra, which are identified by overlapping tubings of the graph: the specific tubing determines the divergent directions while the number of overlapping tubings its degree of divergence. This combinatorial formulation makes straightforward the application of sector decomposition for extracting the – both leading and subleading – divergences from the integral, as the sectors in which the integration domain can be tiled are identified by the collection of compatible facets of the nestohedra, with the latter that can be determined via the graph tubings. Finally, the leading divergence has a beautiful interpretation as a restriction of the canonical function of the relevant polytope onto a special hyperplane.

  3 citations

• Attention to the strengths of physical interactions: Transformer and graph-based event classification for particle physics experiments

  Luc Builtjes, Sascha Caron, Polina Moskvitina, Clara Nellist, Roberto Ruiz de Austri, Rob Verheyen, Zhongyi Zhang

  SciPost Phys. 19, 028 (2025) · published 28 July 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A major task in particle physics is the measurement of rare signal processes. Even modest improvements in background rejection, at a fixed signal efficiency, can significantly enhance the measurement sensitivity. Building on prior research by others that incorporated physical symmetries into neural networks, this work extends those ideas to include additional physics-motivated features. Specifically, we introduce energy-dependent particle interaction strengths, derived from leading-order SM predictions, into modern deep learning architectures, including Transformer Architectures (Particle Transformer), and Graph Neural Networks (Particle Net). These interaction strengths, represented as the SM interaction matrix, are incorporated into the attention matrix (transformers) and edges (graphs). Our results in event classification show that the integration of all physics-motivated features improves background rejection by $10\%-40\%$ over baseline models, with an additional gain of up to $9\%$ due to the SM interaction matrix. This study also provides one of the broadest comparisons of event classifiers to date, demonstrating how various architectures perform across this task. A simplified statistical analysis demonstrates that these enhanced architectures yield significant improvements in signal significance compared to a graph network baseline.

  1 citation