Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Non-invertible T-duality at any radius via non-compact SymTFT

  Riccardo Argurio, Andrés Collinucci, Giovanni Galati, Ondrej Hulik, Elise Paznokas

  SciPost Phys. 18, 089 (2025) · published 11 March 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We extend the construction of the T-duality symmetry for the 2d compact boson to arbitrary values of the radius by including topological manipulations such as gauging continuous symmetries with flat connections. We show that the entire circle branch of the $c=1$ conformal manifold can be generated using these manipulations, resulting in a non-invertible T-duality symmetry when the gauging sends the radius to its inverse value. Using the recently proposed symmetry TFT describing continuous global symmetries of the boundary theory, we identify the topological operator corresponding to these new T-duality symmetries as an open condensation defect of the bulk theory, constructed by (higher) gauging an $\mathbb{R}$ subgroup of the bulk global symmetries. Notably, when the boundary theory is the compact boson with a rational square radius, this operator reduces to the familiar T-duality defect described by a Tambara-Yamagami fusion category. This construction thus naturally includes all possible discrete T-duality symmetries of the theory in a unified way.

  7 citations

• A comment on instantons and their fermion zero modes in adjoint QCD_2

  Andrei Smilga

  SciPost Phys. 10, 152 (2021) · published 22 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The adjoint 2-dimensional $QCD$ with the gauge group $SU(N)/Z_N$ admits topologically nontrivial gauge field configurations associated with nontrivial $\pi_1[SU(N)/Z_N] = Z_N$. The topological sectors are labelled by an integer $k=0,\ldots, N-1$. However, in contrast to $QED_2$ and $QCD_4$, this topology is not associated with an integral invariant like the magnetic flux or Pontryagin index. These instantons may admit fermion zero modes, but there is always an equal number of left-handed and right-handed modes, so that the Atiyah-Singer theorem, which determines in other cases the number of the modes, does not apply. The mod. 2 argument suggests that, for a generic gauge field configuration, there is either a single doublet of such zero modes or no modes whatsoever. However, the known solution of the Dirac problem for a wide class of gauge field configurations indicates the presence of $k(N-k)$ zero mode doublets in the topological sector $k$. In this note, we demonstrate in an explicit way that these modes are not robust under a generic enough deformation of the gauge background and confirm thereby the mod. 2 conjecture. The implications for the physics of this theory (screening vs. confinement issue) are briefly discussed.

  7 citations

• Characteristic properties of a composite system of topological phases separated by gapped domain walls via an exactly solvable Hamiltonian model

  Yu Zhao, Shan Huang, Hongyu Wang, Yuting Hu, Yidun Wan

  SciPost Phys. Core 6, 076 (2023) · published 8 November 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this paper, we construct an exactly solvable lattice Hamiltonian model to investigate the properties of a composite system consisting of multiple topological orders separated by gapped domain walls. There are interdomain elementary excitations labeled by a pair of anyons in different domains of this system; This system also has elementary excitations with quasiparticles in the gapped domain wall. Each set of elementary excitations corresponds to a basis of the ground states of this composite system on the torus, reflecting that the ground-state degeneracy matches the number of either set of elementary excitations. The characteristic properties of this composite system lie in the basis transformations, represented by the $S$ and $T$ matrices: The $S$ matrix encodes the mutual statistics between interdomain excitations and domain-wall quasiparticles, and the $T$ matrix encapsulates the topological spins of interdomain excitations. Our model realizes a spatial counterpart of a temporal phase transition triggered by anyon condensation, bringing the abstract theory of anyon condensation into manifestable spatial interdomain excitation states.

  7 citations

• The double smeared null energy condition

  Jackson R. Fliss, Ben Freivogel, Eleni-Alexandra Kontou

  SciPost Phys. 14, 024 (2023) · published 27 February 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The null energy condition (NEC), an important assumption of the Penrose singularity theorem, is violated by quantum fields. The natural generalization of the NEC in quantum field theory, the renormalized null energy averaged over a finite null segment, is known to be unbounded from below. Here, we propose an alternative, the double smeared null energy condition (DSNEC), stating that the null energy smeared over two null directions has a finite lower bound. We rigorously derive DSNEC from general worldvolume bounds for free quantum fields in Minkowski spacetime. Our method allows for future systematic inclusion of curvature corrections. As a further application of the techniques we develop, we prove additional lower bounds on the expectation values of various operators such as conserved higher spin currents. DSNEC provides a natural starting point for proving singularity theorems in semi-classical gravity.

  7 citations

• Mott transition and pseudogap of the square-lattice Hubbard model: Results from center-focused cellular dynamical mean-field theory

  Michael Meixner, Henri Menke, Marcel Klett, Sarah Heinzelmann, Sabine Andergassen, Philipp Hansmann, Thomas Schäfer

  SciPost Phys. 16, 059 (2024) · published 27 February 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The recently proposed center-focused post-processing procedure [Phys. Rev. Res. 2, 033476 (2020)] of cellular dynamical mean-field theory suggests that central sites of large impurity clusters are closer to the exact solution of the Hubbard model than the edge sites. In this paper, we systematically investigate results in the spirit of this center-focused scheme for several cluster sizes up to 8×8 in and out of particle-hole symmetry. First we analyze the metal-insulator crossovers and transitions of the half-filled Hubbard model on a simple square lattice. We find that the critical interaction of the crossover is reduced with increasing cluster sizes and the critical temperature abruptly drops for the 4×4 cluster. Second, for this cluster size, we apply the center-focused scheme to a system with more realistic tight-binding parameters, investigating its pseudogap regime as a function of temperature and doping, where we find doping dependent metal-insulator crossovers, Lifshitz transitions and a strongly renormalized Fermi-liquid regime. Additionally to diagnosing the real space origin of the suppressed antinodal spectral weight in the pseudogap regime, we can infer hints towards underlying charge ordering tendencies.

  7 citations

• Investigating the roots of the nonlinear Luttinger liquid phenomenology

  Lisa Markhof, Mikhail Pletyukhov, Volker Meden

  SciPost Phys. 7, 047 (2019) · published 9 October 2019 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The nonlinear Luttinger liquid phenomenology of one-dimensional correlated Fermi systems is an attempt to describe the effect of the band curvature beyond the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid paradigm. It relies on the observation that the dynamical structure factor of the interacting electron gas shows a logarithmic threshold singularity when evaluated to first order perturbation theory in the two-particle interaction. This term was interpreted as the linear one in an expansion which was conjectured to resum to a power law. A field theory, the mobile impurity model, which is constructed such that it provides the power law in the structure factor, was suggested to be the proper effective model and used to compute the single-particle spectral function. This forms the basis of the nonlinear Luttinger liquid phenomenology. Surprisingly, the second order perturbative contribution to the structure factor was so far not studied. We first close this gap and show that it is consistent with the conjectured power law. Secondly, we critically assess the steps leading to the mobile impurity Hamiltonian. We show that the model does not allow to include the effect of the momentum dependence of the (bulk) two-particle potential. This dependence was recently shown to spoil power laws in the single-particle spectral function which previously were believed to be part of the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid universality. Although our second order results for the structure factor are consistent with power-law scaling, this raises doubts that the conjectured nonlinear Luttinger liquid phenomenology can be considered as universal. We conclude that more work is required to clarify this.

  7 citations

• Bound impurities in a one-dimensional Bose lattice gas: Low-energy properties and quench-induced dynamics

  Felipe Isaule, Abel Rojo-Francàs, Bruno Juliá-Díaz

  SciPost Phys. Core 7, 049 (2024) · published 31 July 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study two mobile bosonic impurities immersed in a one-dimensional optical lattice and interacting with a bosonic bath. We employ the exact diagonalization method for small periodic lattices to study stationary properties and dynamics. We consider the branch of repulsive interactions that induce the formation of bound impurities, akin to the bipolaron problem. A comprehensive study of ground-state and low-energy properties is presented, including an examination of the interaction strengths which induce the formation of a bound dimer of impurities. We also study the dynamics induced after an interaction quench to examine the stability of the bound dimers. We reveal that after large interaction quenches from strong to weak interactions the system can show large oscillations over time with revivals of the dimer states. We find that the oscillations are driven by selected eigenstates with phase-separated configurations.

  7 citations

• Quantum simulation of colour in perturbative quantum chromodynamics

  Herschel A. Chawdhry, Mathieu Pellen

  SciPost Phys. 15, 205 (2023) · published 24 November 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Quantum computers are expected to give major speed-ups for the simulation of quantum systems. In this work, we present quantum gates that simulate the colour part of the interactions of quarks and gluons in perturbative quantum chromodynamics (QCD). As a first application, we implement these circuits on a simulated noiseless quantum computer and use them to calculate colour factors for various examples of Feynman diagrams. This work constitutes a first key step towards a quantum simulation of generic scattering processes in perturbative QCD.

  7 citations

• Shifts of prepotentials (with an appendix by Michele Vergne)

  Nikita Nekrasov, Nicolo Piazzalunga, Maxim Zabzine

  SciPost Phys. 12, 177 (2022) · published 27 May 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the dynamics of supersymmetric theories in five dimensions obtained by compactifications of M-theory on a Calabi-Yau threefold X. For a compact X, this is determined by the geometry of X, in particular the Kahler class dependence of the volume of X determines the effective couplings of vector multiplets. Rigid supersymmetry emerges in the limit of divergent volume, prompting the study of the structure of Duistermaat-Heckman formula and its generalizations for non-compact toric Kahler manifolds. Our main tool is the set of finite-difference equations obeyed by equivariant volumes and their quantum versions. We also discuss a physical application of these equations in the context of seven-dimensional gauge theories, extending and clarifying our previous results. The appendix by M. Vergne provides an alternative local proof of the shift equation.

  7 citations

• Interplay of Kelvin-Helmholtz and superradiant instabilities of an array of quantized vortices in a two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate

  Luca Giacomelli, Iacopo Carusotto

  SciPost Phys. 14, 025 (2023) · published 28 February 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We investigate the various physical mechanisms that underlie the dynamical instability of a quantized vortex array at the interface between two counter-propagating superflows in a two-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensate. Instabilities of markedly different nature are found to dominate in different flow velocity regimes. For moderate velocities where the two flows are subsonic, the vortex lattice displays a quantized version of the hydrodynamic Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI), with the vortices rolling up and co-rotating. For supersonic flow velocities, the oscillation involved in the KHI can resonantly couple to acoustic excitations propagating away in the bulk fluid on both sides. This makes the KHI rate to be effectively suppressed and other mechanisms to dominate: For finite and relatively small systems along the transverse direction, the instability involves a repeated superradiant scattering of sound waves off the vortex lattice; for transversally unbound systems, a radiative instability dominates, leading to the simultaneous growth of a localized wave along the vortex lattice and of acoustic excitations propagating away in the bulk. Finally, for slow velocities, where the KHI rate is intrinsically slow, another instability associated to the rigid lateral displacement of the vortex lattice due to the vicinity of the system's boundary is found to dominate.

  7 citations