Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Using machine learning to disentangle LHC signatures of Dark Matter candidates

  Charanjit Kaur Khosa, Veronica Sanz, Michael Soughton

  SciPost Phys. 10, 151 (2021) · published 22 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the prospects of characterising Dark Matter at colliders using Machine Learning (ML) techniques. We focus on the monojet and missing transverse energy (MET) channel and propose a set of benchmark models for the study: a typical WIMP Dark Matter candidate in the form of a SUSY neutralino, a pseudo-Goldstone impostor in the shape of an Axion-Like Particle, and a light Dark Matter impostor whose interactions are mediated by a heavy particle. All these benchmarks are tensioned against each other, and against the main SM background ($Z$+jets). Our analysis uses both the leading-order kinematic features as well as the information of an additional hard jet. We explore different representations of the data, from a simple event data sample with values of kinematic variables fed into a Logistic Regression algorithm or a Fully Connected Neural Network, to a transformation of the data into images related to probability distributions, fed to Deep and Convolutional Neural Networks. We also study the robustness of our method against including detector effects, dropping kinematic variables, or changing the number of events per image. In the case of signals with more combinatorial possibilities (events with more than one hard jet), the most crucial data features are selected by performing a Principal Component Analysis. We compare the performance of all these methods, and find that using the 2D images of the combined information of multiple events significantly improves the discrimination performance.

  12 citations

• A final word on FCNC-Baryogenesis from two Higgs doublets

  Wei-Shu Hou, Tanmoy Modak, Tilman Plehn

  SciPost Phys. 10, 150 (2021) · published 21 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Electroweak baryogenesis in a two-Higgs doublet model is a well-motivated and testable scenario for physics beyond the Standard Model. An attractive way of providing $CP$ violation is through flavor-changing Higgs couplings, where linking top and charm quarks is hardly constrained by flavor and $CP$-violation constraints. We show how this scenario can be conclusively tested by searching for heavy charged and neutral Higgs bosons at the LHC. While the charged Higgs signature requires a dedicated analysis, the neutral Higgs signature will be covered by a general search for same-sign top pairs.

  6 citations

• Correlations of quantum curvature and variance of Chern numbers

  Omri Gat, Michael Wilkinson

  SciPost Phys. 10, 149 (2021) · published 21 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We analyse the correlation function of the quantum curvature in complex quantum systems, using a random matrix model to provide an exemplar of a universal correlation function. We show that the correlation function diverges as the inverse of the distance at small separations. We also define and analyse a correlation function of mixed states, showing that it is finite but singular at small separations. A scaling hypothesis on a universal form for both types of correlations is supported by Monte-Carlo simulations. We relate the correlation function of the curvature to the variance of Chern integers which can describe quantised Hall conductance.

  4 citations

• Gauging the Kitaev chain

  Umberto Borla, Ruben Verresen, Jeet Shah, Sergej Moroz

  SciPost Phys. 10, 148 (2021) · published 18 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We gauge the fermion parity symmetry of the Kitaev chain. While the bulk of the model becomes an Ising chain of gauge-invariant spins in a tilted field, near the boundaries the global fermion parity symmetry survives gauging, leading to local gauge-invariant Majorana operators. In the absence of vortices, the Higgs phase exhibits fermionic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) order distinct from the Kitaev chain. Moreover, the deconfined phase can be stable even in the presence of vortices. We also undertake a comprehensive study of a gently gauged model which interpolates between the ordinary and gauged Kitaev chains. This showcases rich quantum criticality and illuminates the topological nature of the Higgs phase. Even in the absence of superconducting terms, gauging leads to an SPT phase which is intrinsically gapless due to an emergent anomaly.

  19 citations

• Learning the ground state of a non-stoquastic quantum Hamiltonian in a rugged neural network landscape

  Marin Bukov, Markus Schmitt, Maxime Dupont

  SciPost Phys. 10, 147 (2021) · published 17 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Strongly interacting quantum systems described by non-stoquastic Hamiltonians exhibit rich low-temperature physics. Yet, their study poses a formidable challenge, even for state-of-the-art numerical techniques. Here, we investigate systematically the performance of a class of universal variational wave-functions based on artificial neural networks, by considering the frustrated spin-$1/2$ $J_1-J_2$ Heisenberg model on the square lattice. Focusing on neural network architectures without physics-informed input, we argue in favor of using an ansatz consisting of two decoupled real-valued networks, one for the amplitude and the other for the phase of the variational wavefunction. By introducing concrete mitigation strategies against inherent numerical instabilities in the stochastic reconfiguration algorithm we obtain a variational energy comparable to that reported recently with neural networks that incorporate knowledge about the physical system. Through a detailed analysis of the individual components of the algorithm, we conclude that the rugged nature of the energy landscape constitutes the major obstacle in finding a satisfactory approximation to the ground state wavefunction, and prevents learning the correct sign structure. In particular, we show that in the present setup the neural network expressivity and Monte Carlo sampling are not primary limiting factors.

  39 citations

• Topological field theory approach to intermediate statistics

  Ward L. Vleeshouwers, Vladimir Gritsev

  SciPost Phys. 10, 146 (2021) · published 16 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Random matrix models provide a phenomenological description of a vast variety of physical phenomena. Prominent examples include the eigenvalue statistics of quantum (chaotic) systems, which are characterized by the spectral form factor (SFF). Here, we calculate the SFF of unitary matrix ensembles of infinite order with the weight function satisfying the assumptions of Szegö’s limit theorem. We then consider a parameter-dependent critical ensemble which has intermediate statistics characteristic of ergodic-to-nonergodic transitions such as the Anderson localization transition. This same ensemble is the matrix model of $U(N)$ Chern-Simons theory on $S^3$ , and the SFF of this ensemble is proportional to the HOMFLY invariant of (2n,2)-torus links with one component in the fundamental and one in the antifundamental representation. This is one example of a large class of ensembles with intermediate statistics arising from topological field and string theories. Indeed, the absence of a local order parameter suggests that it is natural to characterize ergodic-to-nonergodic transitions using topological tools, such as we have done here.

  7 citations

• Applications of dispersive sum rules: $ε$-expansion and holography

  Dean Carmi, Joao Penedones, Joao A. Silva, Alexander Zhiboedov

  SciPost Phys. 10, 145 (2021) · published 14 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We use Mellin space dispersion relations together with Polyakov conditions to derive a family of sum rules for Conformal Field Theories (CFTs). The defining property of these sum rules is suppression of the contribution of the double twist operators. Firstly, we apply these sum rules to the Wilson-Fisher model in $d=4-\epsilon$ dimensions. We re-derive many of the known results to order $\epsilon^4$ and we make new predictions. No assumption of analyticity down to spin $0$ was made. Secondly, we study holographic CFTs. We use dispersive sum rules to obtain tree-level and one-loop anomalous dimensions. Finally, we briefly discuss the contribution of heavy operators to the sum rules in UV complete holographic theories.

  29 citations

• One loop verification of SMEFT Ward Identities

  Tyler Corbett, Michael Trott

  SciPost Phys. 10, 144 (2021) · published 14 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We verify Standard Model Effective Field Theory Ward identities to one loop order when background field gauge is used to quantize the theory. The results we present lay the foundation of next to leading order automatic generation of results in the SMEFT, in both the perturbative and non-perturbative expansion using the geoSMEFT formalism, and background field gauge.

  7 citations

• Bosonic entanglement renormalization circuits from wavelet theory

  Freek Witteveen, Michael Walter

  SciPost Phys. 10, 143 (2021) · published 11 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Entanglement renormalization is a unitary real-space renormalization scheme. The corresponding quantum circuits or tensor networks are known as MERA, and they are particularly well-suited to describing quantum systems at criticality. In this work we show how to construct Gaussian bosonic quantum circuits that implement entanglement renormalization for ground states of arbitrary free bosonic chains. The construction is based on wavelet theory, and the dispersion relation of the Hamiltonian is translated into a filter design problem. We give a general algorithm that approximately solves this design problem and provide an approximation theory that relates the properties of the filters to the accuracy of the corresponding quantum circuits. Finally, we explain how the continuum limit (a free bosonic quantum field) emerges naturally from the wavelet construction.

  5 citations

• Resolving the nonequilibrium Kondo singlet in energy- and position-space using quantum measurements

  Andre Erpenbeck, Guy Cohen

  SciPost Phys. 10, 142 (2021) · published 11 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The Kondo effect, a hallmark of strong correlation physics, is characterized by the formation of an extended cloud of singlet states around magnetic impurities at low temperatures. While many implications of the Kondo cloud's existence have been verified, the existence of the singlet cloud itself has not been directly demonstrated. We suggest a route for such a demonstration by considering an observable that has no classical analog, but is still experimentally measurable: ``singlet weights'', or projections onto particular entangled two-particle states. Using approximate theoretical arguments, we show that it is possible to construct highly specific energy- and position-resolved probes of Kondo correlations. Furthermore, we consider a quantum transport setup that can be driven away from equilibrium by a bias voltage. There, we show that singlet weights are enhanced by voltage even as the Kondo effect is weakened by it. This exposes a patently nonequilibrium mechanism for the generation of Kondo-like entanglement that is inherently different from its equilibrium counterpart.

  7 citations