Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• A conjecture on the minimal size of bound states

  Ben Freivogel, Thomas Gasenzer, Arthur Hebecker, Sascha Leonhardt

  SciPost Phys. 8, 058 (2020) · published 16 April 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We conjecture that, in a renormalizable effective quantum field theory where the heaviest stable particle has mass $m$, there are no bound states with radius below $1/m$ (Bound State Conjecture). We are motivated by the (scalar) Weak Gravity Conjecture, which can be read as a statement forbidding certain bound states. As we discuss, versions for uncharged particles and their generalizations have shortcomings. This leads us to the suggestion that one should only constrain rather than exclude bound objects. In the gravitational case, the resulting conjecture takes the sharp form of forbidding the adiabatic construction of black holes smaller than $1/m$. But this minimal bound-state radius remains non-trivial as $M_\text{P}\to \infty$, leading us to suspect a feature of QFT rather than a quantum gravity constraint. We find support in a number of examples which we analyze at a parametric level.

  17 citations

• Quantum gravity, renormalizability and diffeomorphism invariance

  Tim R. Morris

  SciPost Phys. 5, 040 (2018) · published 30 October 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We show that the Wilsonian renormalization group (RG) provides a natural regularisation of the Quantum Master Equation such that to first order the BRST algebra closes on local functionals spanned by the eigenoperators with constant couplings. We then apply this to quantum gravity. Around the Gaussian fixed point, RG properties of the conformal factor of the metric allow the construction of a Hilbert space $\mathfrak{L}$ of renormalizable interactions, non-perturbative in $\hbar$, and involving arbitrarily high powers of the gravitational fluctuations. We show that diffeomorphism invariance is violated for interactions that lie inside $\mathfrak{L}$, in the sense that only a trivial quantum BRST cohomology exists for interactions at first order in the couplings. However by taking a limit to the boundary of $\mathfrak{L}$, the couplings can be constrained to recover Newton's constant, and standard realisations of diffeomorphism invariance, whilst retaining renormalizability. The limits are sufficiently flexible to allow this also at higher orders. This leaves open a number of questions that should find their answer at second order. We develop much of the framework that will allow these calculations to be performed.

  16 citations

• Holography for people with no time

  Henry W. Lin, Juan Maldacena, Liza Rozenberg, Jieru Shan

  SciPost Phys. 14, 150 (2023) · published 12 June 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the gravitational description of extremal supersymmetric black holes. We point out that the $AdS_2$ near horizon geometry can be used to compute interesting observables, such as correlation functions of operators. In this limit, the Hamiltonian is zero and correlation functions are time independent. We discuss some possible implications for the gravity description of black hole microstates. We also compare with numerical results in a supersymmetric version of SYK. These results can also be interpreted as providing a construction of wormholes joining two extremal black holes. This is the short version of a longer and more technical companion paper [SciPost Phys. 14, 128 (2023)].

  16 citations

• $\mathcal{N}=2$ minimal models: A holographic needle in a symmetric orbifold haystack

  Alexandre Belin, Nathan Benjamin, Alejandra Castro, Sarah M. Harrison, Christoph A. Keller

  SciPost Phys. 8, 084 (2020) · published 3 June 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We explore large-$N$ symmetric orbifolds of the $\mathcal N=2$ minimal models, and find evidence that their moduli spaces each contain a supergravity point. We identify single-trace exactly marginal operators that deform them away from the symmetric orbifold locus. We also show that their elliptic genera exhibit slow growth consistent with supergravity spectra in AdS$_3$. We thus propose an infinite family of new holographic CFTs.

  16 citations

• Gluon condensates and effective gluon mass

  Jan Horak, Friederike Ihssen, Joannis Papavassiliou, Jan M. Pawlowski, Axel Weber, Christof Wetterich

  SciPost Phys. 13, 042 (2022) · published 31 August 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Lattice simulations along with studies in continuum QCD indicate that non-perturbative quantum fluctuations lead to an infrared regularisation of the gluon propagator in covariant gauges in the form of an effective mass-like behaviour. In the present work we propose an analytic understanding of this phenomenon in terms of gluon condensation through a dynamical version of the Higgs mechanism, leading to the emergence of color condensates. Within the functional renormalisation group approach we compute the effective potential of covariantly constant field strengths, whose non-trivial minimum is related to the color condensates. In the physical case of an SU(3) gauge group this is an octet condensate. The value of the gluon mass obtained through this procedure compares very well to lattice results and the mass gap arising from alternative dynamical scenarios.

  16 citations

• Revisiting Wess-Zumino-Witten terms

  Yasunori Lee, Kantaro Ohmori, Yuji Tachikawa

  SciPost Phys. 10, 061 (2021) · published 10 March 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We revisit various topological issues concerning four-dimensional ungauged and gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) terms for $SU$ and $SO$ quantum chromodynamics (QCD), from the modern bordism point of view. We explain, for example, why the definition of the $4d$ WZW terms requires the spin structure. We also discuss how the mixed anomaly involving the 1-form symmetry of $SO$ QCD is reproduced in the low-energy sigma model.

  16 citations

• String correlators on $\text{AdS}_3$: Analytic structure and dual CFT

  Andrea Dei, Lorenz Eberhardt

  SciPost Phys. 13, 053 (2022) · published 6 September 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We continue our study of string correlators on Euclidean $\text{AdS}_3$ with pure NS-NS flux. The worldsheet and spacetime correlators have a rich analytic structure, which we analyse completely for genus 0 four-point functions. We show that correlators exhibit a simple behaviour near their singularities. The spacetime correlators are meromorphic functions in the $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{R})$-spins, whose pole structure is shown to agree with the prediction of a recent proposal for the dual $\text{CFT}_2$. Moreover, we also compute the residues of the spacetime correlators for some of the poles exactly and find again a perfect match with the proposal for the dual $\text{CFT}_2$, thereby checking the duality for some non-trivial four-point functions exactly. Our computations simplify drastically in the tensionless limit of $\mathrm{AdS}_3 \times \mathrm{S}^3 \times \mathbb{T}^4$ where the behaviour near the poles gives in fact the exact answer. This paper is the third in a series with several installments.

  16 citations

• Bootstrapping mixed correlators in three-dimensional cubic theories II

  Stefanos R. Kousvos, Andreas Stergiou

  SciPost Phys. 8, 085 (2020) · published 9 June 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Conformal field theories (CFTs) with cubic global symmetry in 3D are relevant in a variety of condensed matter systems and have been studied extensively with the use of perturbative methods like the $\varepsilon$ expansion. In an earlier work, we used the nonperturbative numerical conformal bootstrap to provide evidence for the existence of a previously unknown 3D CFT with cubic symmetry, dubbed "Platonic CFT". In this work, we make further use of the numerical conformal bootstrap to perform a three-dimensional scan in the space of scaling dimensions of three low-lying operators. We find a three-dimensional isolated allowed region in parameter space, which includes both the 3D (decoupled) Ising model and the Platonic CFT. The essential assumptions on the spectrum of operators used to provide the isolated allowed region include the existence of a stress-energy tensor and the irrelevance of certain operators (in the renormalization group sense).

  16 citations

• Topological holography: The example of the D2-D4 brane system

  Nafiz Ishtiaque, Seyed Faroogh Moosavian, Yehao Zhou

  SciPost Phys. 9, 017 (2020) · published 5 August 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose a toy model for holographic duality. The model is constructed by embedding a stack of $N$ D2-branes and $K$ D4-branes (with one dimensional intersection) in a 6D topological string theory. The world-volume theory on the D2-branes (resp. D4-branes) is 2D BF theory (resp. 4D Chern-Simons theory) with $\mathrm{GL}_N$ (resp. $\mathrm{GL}_K$) gauge group. We propose that in the large $N$ limit the BF theory on $\mathbb{R}^2$ is dual to the closed string theory on $\mathbb R^2 \times \mathbb R_+ \times S^3$ with the Chern-Simons defect on $\mathbb R \times \mathbb R_+ \times S^2$. As a check for the duality we compute the operator algebra in the BF theory, along the D2-D4 intersection -- the algebra is the Yangian of $\mathfrak{gl}_K$. We then compute the same algebra, in the guise of a scattering algebra, using Witten diagrams in the Chern-Simons theory. Our computations of the algebras are exact (valid at all loops). Finally, we propose a physical string theory construction of this duality using a D3-D5 brane configuration in type IIB -- using supersymmetric twist and $\Omega$-deformation.

  16 citations

• Non-gaussianity of the critical 3d Ising model

  Slava Rychkov, David Simmons-Duffin, Bernardo Zan

  SciPost Phys. 2, 001 (2017) · published 10 February 2017 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We discuss the 4pt function of the critical 3d Ising model, extracted from recent conformal bootstrap results. We focus on the non-gaussianity Q - the ratio of the 4pt function to its gaussian part given by three Wick contractions. This ratio reveals significant non-gaussianity of the critical fluctuations. The bootstrap results are consistent with a rigorous inequality due to Lebowitz and Aizenman, which limits Q to lie between 1/3 and 1.

  16 citations