Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• 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.

  3 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.

  5 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

• Integrable fishnet circuits and Brownian solitons

  Žiga Krajnik, Enej Ilievski, Tomaž Prosen, Benjamin J. A. Héry, Vincent Pasquier

  SciPost Phys. 19, 027 (2025) · published 21 July 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We introduce classical many-body dynamics on a one-dimensional lattice comprising local two-body maps arranged on discrete space-time mesh that serve as discretizations of Hamiltonian dynamics with arbitrarily time-varying coupling constants. Time evolution is generated by passing an auxiliary degree of freedom along the lattice, resulting in a 'fishnet' circuit structure. We construct integrable circuits consisting of Yang-Baxter maps and demonstrate their general properties, using the Toda and anisotropic Landau-Lifschitz models as examples. Upon stochastically rescaling time, the dynamics is dominated by fluctuations and we observe solitons undergoing Brownian motion.

• Multi-orbital two-particle self-consistent approach – Strengths and limitations

  Jonas B. Profe, Jiawei Yan, Karim Zantout, Philipp Werner, Roser Valentí

  SciPost Phys. 19, 026 (2025) · published 21 July 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Extending many-body numerical techniques which are powerful in the context of simple model calculations to the realm of realistic material simulations can be a challenging task. Realistic systems often involve multiple active orbitals, which increases the complexity and numerical cost because of the large local Hilbert space and the large number of interaction terms or sign-changing off-diagonal Green's functions. The two-particle self-consistent approach (TPSC) is one such many-body numerical technique, for which multi-orbital extensions have proven to be involved due to the substantially more complex structure of the local interaction tensor. In this paper we extend earlier multi-orbital generalizations of TPSC by setting up two different variants of a fully self-consistent theory for TPSC in multi-orbital systems. We first investigate the strengths and limitations of the approach analytically and then benchmark both variants against dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) and D-TRILEX results. We find that the exact behavior of the system can be faithfully reproduced in the weak-coupling regime, while at stronger couplings the performance of the two TPSC variants strongly depends on details of the system.

• Derivation of free energy, entropy and specific heat for planar Ising models: Application to Archimedean lattices and their duals

  Laurent Pierre, Bernard Bernu, Laura Messio

  SciPost Phys. 19, 025 (2025) · published 18 July 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The 2d ferromagnetic Ising model was solved by Onsager on the square lattice in 1944, and an explicit expression of the free energy density $f$ is presently available for some other planar lattices. But determining exactly the critical temperature $T_c$ only requires a partial derivation of $f$. It has been performed on many lattices, including the 11 Archimedean lattices. In this article, we give general expressions of the free energy, energy, entropy and specific heat for planar lattices with a single type of non-crossing links. It is known that the specific heat exhibits a logarithmic singularity at $T_c$: $c_V(T)\sim -A\ln|1-T_c/T|$, in all the ferromagnetic and some antiferromagnetic cases. While the non-universal weight $A$ of the leading term has often been evaluated, this is not the case for the sub-leading order term $B$ such that $c_V(T)+A\ln|1-T_c/T|\sim B$, despite its significant impact on the $c_V(T)$ values in the vicinity of $T_c$, particularly important in experimental measurements. Explicit values of $T_c$, $A$, $B$ and other thermodynamic quantities are given for the Archimedean lattices and their duals for both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions.

  2 citations