Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Exploring the flavor symmetry landscape

  Alfredo Glioti, Riccardo Rattazzi, Lorenzo Ricci, Luca Vecchi

  SciPost Phys. 18, 201 (2025) · published 20 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We explore flavor dynamics in the broad scenario of a strongly interacting light Higgs (SILH). Our study focuses on the mechanism of partial fermion compositeness, but is otherwise as systematic as possible. Concretely, we classify the options for the underlying flavor (and CP) symmetries, which are necessary in order to bring this scenario safely within the range of present or future explorations. Our main goal in this context is to provide a practical map between the space of hypotheses (the models) and the experimental ground that will be explored in the medium and long term, in both indirect and direct searches, in practice at HL-LHC and Belle II, in EDM searches and eventually at FCC-hh. Our study encompasses scenarios with the maximal possible flavor symmetry, corresponding to minimal flavor violation (MFV), scenarios with no symmetry, corresponding to the so-called flavor anarchy, and various intermediate cases that complete the picture. One main result is that the scenarios that allow for the lowest new physics scale have intermediate flavor symmetry rather than the maximal symmetry of MFV models. Such optimal models are rather resilient to indirect exploration via flavor and CP violating observables, and can only be satisfactorily explored at a future high-energy collider. On the other hand, the next two decades of indirect exploration will significantly stress the parameter space of a large swath of less optimal but more generic models up to mass scales competing with those of the FCC-hh.

  2 citations

• Quantum to classical mapping of the two-dimensional toric code in an external field

  Sydney R. Timmerman, Zvonimir Z. Bandic, Roger G. Melko

  SciPost Phys. Lect. Notes 57 (2022) · published 20 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Kitaev's toric code Hamiltonian in dimension D=2 has been extensively studied for its topological properties, including its quantum error correction capabilities. While the Hamiltonian is quantum, it lies within the class of models that admits a D+1 dimensional classical representation. In these notes, we provide details of a Suzuki-Trotter expansion of the partition function of the toric code Hamiltonian in the presence of an external magnetic field. By coupling additional degrees of freedom in the form of a matter field that can subsequently be gauged away, we explicitly derive a classical Hamiltonian on a cubic lattice which takes the form of a non-isotropic 3D Ising gauge theory.

  2 citations

• Six-derivative Yang-Mills couplings in heterotic string theory

  Mohammad R. Garousi

  SciPost Phys. 17, 121 (2024) · published 28 October 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis of the structure of six-derivative bosonic couplings in heterotic string theory. First, we determine the maximal covariant and Yang-Mills gauge invariant basis, which consists of 801 independent coupling constants. By imposing T-duality constraints on the circular reduction of these terms, we obtain 468 relations between the coupling constants at the six-derivative order and the known couplings at lower derivative orders. Through the use of field redefinitions, we are able to eliminate the remaining 333 coupling constants. Remarkably, we find that the Yang-Mills field strength only appears through the trace of two field strengths or their derivatives. Finally, we perform further field redefinition to rewrite the remaining couplings in a canonical form characterized by 85 independent couplings.

  2 citations

• Massive scalar clouds and black hole spacetimes in Gauss-Bonnet gravity

  Iris van Gemeren, Tanja Hinderer, Stefan Vandoren

  SciPost Phys. Core 7, 069 (2024) · published 29 October 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study static black holes in scalar-Gauss-Bonnet (sGB) gravity with a massive scalar field as an example of higher curvature gravity. The scalar mass introduces an additional scale and leads to a strong suppression of the scalar field beyond its Compton wavelength. We numerically compute sGB black hole spacetimes and scalar configurations and also compare with perturbative results for small couplings, where we focus on a dilatonic coupling function. We analyze the constraints on the parameters from requiring the curvature singularity to be located inside the black hole horizon $r_h$ and the relation to the regularity condition for the scalar field. For scalar field masses $m r_h \gtrsim 10^{-1}$, this leads to a new and currently most stringent bound on sGB coupling constant $\alpha$ of $\alpha/r_h^2\sim 10^{-1}$ in the context of stellar mass black holes. Lastly, we look at several properties of the black hole configurations relevant for further work on observational consequences, including the scalar monopole charge, Arnowitt–Deser–Misner mass, curvature invariants and the frequencies of the innermost stable circular orbit and light ring.

  2 citations

• Wegner's Ising gauge spins versus Kitaev's Majorana partons: Mapping and application to anisotropic confinement in spin-orbital liquids

  Urban F. P. Seifert, Sergej Moroz

  SciPost Phys. 16, 147 (2024) · published 5 June 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Emergent gauge theories take a prominent role in the description of quantum matter, supporting deconfined phases with topological order and fractionalized excitations. A common construction of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theories, first introduced by Wegner, involves Ising gauge spins placed on links and subject to a discrete $\mathbb{Z}_2$ Gauss law constraint. As shown by Kitaev, $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theories also emerge in the exact solution of certain spin systems with bond-dependent interactions. In this context, the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge field is constructed from Majorana fermions, with gauge constraints given by the parity of Majorana fermions on each site. In this work, we provide an explicit Jordan-Wigner transformation that maps between these two formulations on the square lattice, where the Kitaev-type gauge theory emerges as the exact solution of a spin-orbital (Kugel-Khomskii) Hamiltonian. We then apply our mapping to study local perturbations to the spin-orbital Hamiltonian, which correspond to anisotropic interactions between electric-field variables in the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge theory. These are shown to induce anisotropic confinement that is characterized by emergence of weakly-coupled one-dimensional spin chains. We study the nature of these phases and corresponding confinement transitions in both absence and presence of itinerant fermionic matter degrees of freedom. Finally, we discuss how our mapping can be applied to the Kitaev spin-1/2 model on the honeycomb lattice.

  2 citations

• Cyclotron trap

  D. Gotta, L. M. Simons

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 5, 013 (2021) · published 6 September 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The cyclotron trap was developed at SIN/PSI to increase the stopping density of nega- tively charged particle beams for the formation of exotic atoms in low pressure gases. A weak focusing magnetic field, produced by superconducting solenoids, is used. Particles are injected radially through the fringe field to a moderator, which decelerates them into orbits bound by the field. Further deceleration by moderators and/or low-pressure gases leads the particles to the center of the device, where they can be stopped or eventually extracted. Experiments became feasible with this technique, such as those dealing with pionic hydrogen/deuteriumat SIN/PSI.Muonic hydrogen laser experiments also became possible with the extraction of muons from the cyclotron trap. The formation of antipro- tonic hydrogen in low pressure targets led to successful experiments at LEAR/CERN.

  2 citations

• Higher-order $β$-functions in the Standard Model and beyond

  Florian Herren

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 7, 029 (2022) · published 21 June 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this contribution we consider the recent computation of the gauge coupling $\beta$-function at four loops and the Yukawa matrix $\beta$-function at three loops in the most general, renormalizable and four-dimensional quantum field theory. Furthermore, we discuss ambiguities and divergences arising in Yukawa matrix $\beta$-functions.

  2 citations

• Chaotic correlation functions with complex fermions

  Ritabrata Bhattacharya, Dileep P. Jatkar, Arnab Kundu

  SciPost Phys. Core 4, 018 (2021) · published 9 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study correlation functions in the complex fermion SYK model. We focus, specifically, on the h = 2 mode which explicitly breaks conformal invariance and exhibits the chaotic behaviour. We explicitly compute fermion six-point function and extract the corresponding six-point OTOC which exhibits an exponential growth with maximal chaos. Following the program of Gross-Rosenhaus, this correlator contains information of the bulk cubic coupling, at the conformal point as well as perturbatively away from it. Unlike the conformal modes with high values of h, the h = 2 mode has contact interaction dominating over the planar in the large q limit.

  2 citations

• Interaction-driven phase transition in one dimensional mirror-symmetry protected topological insulator

  Devendra Singh Bhakuni, Amrita Ghosh, Eytan Grosfeld

  SciPost Phys. Core 5, 048 (2022) · published 10 October 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Topological crystalline insulators are phases of matter where the crystalline symmetries solely protect the topology. In this work, we explore the effect of many-body interactions in a subclass of topological crystalline insulators, namely the mirror-symmetry protected topological crystalline insulator. Employing a prototypical mirror-symmetric quasi-one-dimensional model, we demonstrate the emergence of a mirror-symmetry protected topological phase and its robustness in the presence of short-range interactions. When longer-range interactions are introduced, we find an interaction-induced topological phase transition between the mirror-symmetry protected topological order and a trivial charge density wave. The results are obtained using density-matrix renormalization group and quantum Monte-Carlo simulations in applicable limits.

  2 citations

• Quantum reservoir probing: An inverse paradigm of quantum reservoir computing for exploring quantum many-body physics

  Kaito Kobayashi, Yukitoshi Motome

  SciPost Phys. 18, 198 (2025) · published 19 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Quantum reservoir computing (QRC) is a brain-inspired computational paradigm that exploits the natural dynamics of a quantum system for information processing. To date, a multitude of quantum systems have been utilized in QRC, with diverse computational capabilities demonstrated accordingly. This study proposes a reciprocal research direction: Probing quantum systems themselves through their information processing performance in the QRC framework. Building upon this concept, here we develop quantum reservoir probing (QRP), an inverse extension of the QRC. The QRP establishes an operator-level linkage between physical properties and computational performance. A systematic scan of this correspondence reveals the intrinsic quantum dynamics of the reservoir system from both computational and informational perspectives. Unifying quantum information and quantum matter, the QRP holds great promise as a potent tool for exploring various aspects of quantum many-body physics. In this study, we specifically apply it to analyze information propagation in a one-dimensional quantum Ising chain. We demonstrate that the QRP not only distinguishes between ballistic and diffusive information propagation, reflecting the system's dynamical characteristics, but also identifies system-specific information propagation channels, a distinct advantage over conventional methods.

  2 citations