Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Parity and spin CFT with boundaries and defects

  Ingo Runkel, Lóránt Szegedy, Gérard M. T. Watts

  SciPost Phys. 15, 207 (2023) · published 27 November 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  This paper is a follow-up to [J. High Energy Phys. 06, 025 (2020)] in which two-dimensional conformal field theories in the presence of spin structures are studied. In the present paper we define four types of CFTs, distinguished by whether they need a spin structure or not in order to be well-defined, and whether their fields have parity or not. The cases of spin dependence without parity, and of parity without the need of a spin structure, have not, to our knowledge, been investigated in detail so far. We analyse these theories by extending the description of CFT correlators via three-dimensional topological field theory developed in [Nucl. Phys. B 646, 353 (2002)] to include parity and spin. In each of the four cases, the defining data are a special Frobenius algebra $F$ in a suitable ribbon fusion category, such that the Nakayama automorphism of $F$ is the identity (oriented case) or squares to the identity (spin case). We use the TFT to define correlators in terms of $F$ and we show that these satisfy the relevant factorisation and single-valuedness conditions. We allow for world sheets with boundaries and topological line defects, and we specify the categories of boundary labels and the fusion categories of line defect labels for each of the four types. The construction can be understood in terms of topological line defects as gauging a possibly non-invertible symmetry. We analyse the case of a $\mathbb{Z}_2$-symmetry in some detail and provide examples of all four types of CFT, with Bershadsky-Polyakov models illustrating the two new types.

  12 citations

• Stripes in the extended $t-t^\prime$ Hubbard model: A Variational Monte Carlo analysis

  Vito Marino, Federico Becca, Luca F. Tocchio

  SciPost Phys. 12, 180 (2022) · published 1 June 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  By using variational quantum Monte Carlo techniques, we investigate the instauration of stripes (i.e., charge and spin inhomogeneities) in the Hubbard model on the square lattice at hole doping $\delta=1/8$, with both nearest- ($t$) and next-nearest-neighbor hopping ($t^\prime$). Stripes with different wavelengths $\lambda$ (denoting the periodicity of the charge inhomogeneity) and character (bond- or site-centered) are stabilized for sufficiently large values of the electron-electron interaction $U/t$. The general trend is that $\lambda$ increases going from negative to positive values of $t^\prime/t$ and decreases by increasing $U/t$. In particular, the $\lambda=8$ stripe obtained for $t^\prime=0$ and $U/t=8$ [L.F. Tocchio, A. Montorsi, and F. Becca, SciPost Phys. 7, 21 (2019)] shrinks to $\lambda=6$ for $U/t\gtrsim 10$. For $t^\prime/t<0$, the stripe with $\lambda=5$ is found to be remarkably stable, while for $t^\prime/t>0$, stripes with wavelength $\lambda=12$ and $\lambda=16$ are also obtained. In all these cases, pair-pair correlations are highly suppressed with respect to the uniform state (obtained for large values of $|t^\prime/t|$), suggesting that striped states are not superconducting at $\delta=1/8$.

  12 citations

• Dynamical localization and slow thermalization in a class of disorder-free periodically driven one-dimensional interacting systems

  Sreemayee Aditya, Diptiman Sen

  SciPost Phys. Core 6, 083 (2023) · published 30 November 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study if the interplay between dynamical localization and interactions in periodically driven quantum systems can give rise to anomalous thermalization behavior. Specifically, we consider one-dimensional models with interacting spinless fermions with nearest-neighbor hopping and density-density interactions, and a periodically driven on-site potential with spatial periodicity m=2 and m=4. At a dynamical localization point, these models evade thermalization either due to the presence of an extensive number of conserved quantities (for weak interactions) or due to the kinetic constraints caused by drive-induced resonances (for strong interactions). Our models therefore illustrate interesting mechanisms for generating constrained dynamics in Floquet systems which are difficult to realize in an undriven system.

  12 citations

• SymTFT for (3+1)d gapless SPTs and obstructions to confinement

  Andrea Antinucci, Christian Copetti, Sakura Schäfer-Nameki

  SciPost Phys. 18, 114 (2025) · published 31 March 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study gapless phases in (3+1)d in the presence of 1-form and non-invertible duality symmetries. Using the Symmetry Topological Field Theory (SymTFT) approach, we classify the gapless symmetry-protected (gSPT) phases in these setups, with particular focus on intrinsically gSPTs (igSPTs). These are symmetry protected critical points which cannot be deformed to a trivially gapped phase without spontaneously breaking the symmetry. Although these are by now well-known in (1+1)d, we demonstrate their existence in (3+1)d gauge theories. Here, they have a clear physical interpretation in terms of an obstruction to confinement, even though the full 1-form symmetry does not suffer from 't Hooft anomalies. These igSPT phases provide a new way to realize 1-form symmetries in CFTs, that has no analog for gapped phases. The SymTFT approach allows for a direct generalization from invertible symmetries to non-invertible duality symmetries, for which we study gSPT and igSPT phases as well. We accompany these theoretical results with concrete physical examples realizing such phases and explain how obstruction to confinement is detected at the level of symmetric deformations.

  12 citations

• On the flow of states under $T\overline{T}$

  Jorrit Kruthoff, Onkar Parrikar

  SciPost Phys. 9, 078 (2020) · published 20 November 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the $T\overline{T}$ deformation of two dimensional quantum field theories from a Hamiltonian point of view, focusing on aspects of the theory in Lorentzian signature. Our starting point is a simple rewriting of the spatial integral of the $T\overline{T}$ operator, which directly implies the deformed energy spectrum of the theory. Using this rewriting, we then derive flow equations for various quantities in the deformed theory, such as energy eigenstates, operators, and correlation functions. On the plane, we find that the deformation merely has the effect of implementing successive canonical/Bogoliubov transformations along the flow. This leads us to define a class of non-local, 'dressed' operators (including a dressed stress tensor) which satisfy the same commutation relations as in the undeformed theory. This further implies that on the plane, the deformed theory retains its symmetry algebra, including conformal symmetry, if the original theory is a CFT. On the cylinder the $T\overline{T}$ deformation is much more non-trivial, but even so, correlation functions of certain dressed operators are integral transforms of the original ones. Finally, we propose a tensor network interpretation of our results in the context of AdS/CFT.

  12 citations

• Nonlinear response in diffusive systems

  Luca V. Delacrétaz, Ruchira Mishra

  SciPost Phys. 16, 047 (2024) · published 12 February 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Nonintegrable systems thermalize, leading to the emergence of fluctuating hydrodynamics. Typically, this hydrodynamics is diffusive. We use the effective field theory (EFT) of diffusion to compute higher-point functions of conserved densities. We uncover a simple scaling behavior of correlators at late times, and, focusing on three and four-point functions, derive the asymptotically exact universal scaling functions that characterize nonlinear response in diffusive systems. This allows for precision tests of thermalization beyond linear response in quantum and classical many-body systems. We confirm our predictions in a classical lattice gas.

  12 citations

• Out-of-equilibrium phase transitions induced by Floquet resonances in a periodically quench-driven XY spin chain

  Sergio Enrique Tapias Arze, Pieter W. Claeys, Isaac Pérez Castillo, Jean-Sébastien Caux

  SciPost Phys. Core 3, 001 (2020) · published 22 July 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider the dynamics of an XY spin chain subjected to an external transverse field which is periodically quenched between two values. By deriving an exact expression of the Floquet Hamiltonian for this out-of-equilibrium protocol with arbitrary driving frequencies, we show how, after an unfolding of the Floquet spectrum, the parameter space of the system is characterized by alternations between local and non-local regions, corresponding respectively to the absence and presence of Floquet resonances. The boundary lines between regions are obtained analytically from avoided crossings in the Floquet quasi-energies and are observable as phase transitions in the synchronized state. The transient behaviour of dynamical averages of local observables similarly undergoes a transition, showing either a rapid convergence towards the synchronized state in the local regime, or a rather slow one exhibiting persistent oscillations in the non-local regime, where explicit decay coefficients are presented.

  12 citations

• 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ mirror symmetry with 1-form symmetry

  Satoshi Nawata, Marcus Sperling, Hao Ellery Wang, Zhenghao Zhong

  SciPost Phys. 15, 033 (2023) · published 27 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The study of 3d mirror symmetry has greatly enhanced our understanding of various aspects of 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ theories. In this paper, starting with known mirror pairs of 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ quiver gauge theories and gauging discrete subgroups of the flavour or topological symmetry, we construct new mirror pairs with non-trivial 1-form symmetry. By providing explicit quiver descriptions of these theories, we thoroughly specify their symmetries (0-form, 1-form, and 2-group) and the mirror maps between them.

  12 citations

• Efficient and scalable path integral Monte Carlo simulations with worm-type updates for Bose-Hubbard and XXZ models

  Nicolas Sadoune, Lode Pollet

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 9 (2022) · published 29 November 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present a novel and open-source implementation of the worm algorithm, which is an algorithm to simulate Bose-Hubbard and sign-positive spin models using a path-integral representation of the partition function. The code can deal with arbitrary lattice structures and assumes spin-exchange terms, or bosonic hopping amplitudes, between nearest-neighbor sites, and local or nearest-neighbor interactions of the density-density type. We explicitly demonstrate the near-linear scaling of the algorithm with respect to the system volume and the inverse temperature and analyze the autocorrelation times in the vicinity of a $U(1)$ second order phase transition. The code is written in such a way that extensions to other lattice models as well as closely-related sign-positive models can be done straightforwardly on top of the provided framework.

  12 citations

• Argyres-Douglas theories in class S without irregularity

  Christopher Beem, Wolfger Peelaers

  SciPost Phys. 12, 172 (2022) · published 24 May 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We make a preliminary investigation into twisted $A_{2n}$ theories of class S. Contrary to a common piece of folklore, we establish that theories of this type realise a variety of models of Argyres-Douglas type while utilising only regular punctures. We present an in-depth analysis of all twisted $A_2$ trinion theories, analyse their interrelations via partial Higgsing, and discuss some of their generalised S-dualities.

  12 citations