Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• The functional generalization of the Boltzmann-Vlasov equation and its gauge-like symmetry

  Giorgio Torrieri

  SciPost Phys. 16, 070 (2024) · published 11 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We argue that one can model deviations from the ensemble average in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics by promoting the Boltzmann equation to an equation in terms of functionals , representing possible candidates for phase space distributions inferred from a finite observed number of degrees of freedom. We find that, provided the collision term and the Vlasov drift term are both included, a gauge-like redundancy arises which does not go away even if the functional is narrow. We argue that this effect is linked to the gauge-like symmetry found in relativistic hydrodynamics [Ann. Phys. 442, 168902 (2022)] and that it could be part of the explanation for the apparent fluid-like behavior in small systems in hadronic collisions and other strongly-coupled small systems [Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 68, 211 (2018)]. When causality and Lorentz invariance are omitted this problem can be look at via random matrix theory show, and we show that in such a case thermalization happens much more quickly than the Boltzmann equation would infer. We also sketch an algorithm to study this problem numerically.

• Top quark mass corrections to single and double Higgs boson production in gluon fusion

  Joshua Davies

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 7, 031 (2022) · published 21 June 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this talk we discuss recent computations of the top quark mass dependence of QCD amplitudes describing Higgs boson production in gluon fusion. We compute terms in the expansion for a large top quark mass, which reduces the Feynman diagrams to products of massless integrals and massive tadpole integrals which contain the top mass dependence. In particular we discuss the real and virtual corrections to double Higgs production at NNLO, and the virtual corrections to single Higgs production at N3LO.

• Three-dimensional sculpting of laser beams

  Tobias Kree, Michael Köhl

  SciPost Phys. 15, 034 (2023) · published 27 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We demonstrate three-dimensional sculpting of laser beams using two-dimensional holograms. Without relying on initial guesses of the analytic properties or the Fourier transform of the desired light field, we show that an improved numerical phase retrieval algorithm can produce continuous three-dimensional intensity distributions of arbitrary shapes. We benchmark our algorithm against optical bottle beams and double-helix beams and then show the extension to complex optical structures.

• Apparent fine tunings for field theories with broken space-time symmetries

  Alberto Nicolis, Ira Z. Rothstein

  SciPost Phys. 16, 045 (2024) · published 9 February 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We exhibit a class of effective field theories that have hierarchically small Wilson coefficients for operators that are not protected by symmetries but are not finely tuned. These theories possess bounded target spaces and vacua that break space-time symmetries. We give a physical interpretation of these theories as generalized solids with open boundary conditions. We show that these theories realize unusual RG flows where higher dimensional (seemingly irrelevant) operators become relevant even at weak coupling. Finally, we present an example of a field theory whose vacuum energy relaxes to a hierarchically small value compared to the UV cut-off.

• A differential-geometry approach to operator mixing in massless QCD-like theories and Poincaré-Dulac theorem

  Matteo Becchetti

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 7, 032 (2022) · published 21 June 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We review recent progress on operator mixing in the light of the theory of canonical forms for linear systems of differential equations and, in particular, of the Poincar\'e-Dulac theorem. We show that the matrix $A(g) = -\frac{\gamma(g)}{\beta(g)} =\frac{\gamma_0}{\beta_0}\frac{1}{g} + \cdots $ determines which different cases of operator mixing can occur, and we review their classification. We derive a sufficient condition for $A(g)$ to be set in the one-loop exact form $A(g) = \frac{\gamma_0}{\beta_0}\frac{1}{g}$. Finally, we discuss the consequences of the unitarity requirement in massless QCD-like theories, and we demonstrate that $\gamma_0$ is always diagonalizable if the theory is conformal invariant and unitary in its free limit at $g =0$.

• Charmonium and bottomonium spectroscopy at Belle II

  Ashish Thampi

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 019 (2022) · published 11 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB energy-asymmetric e+e− collider is an upgrade of the B factory facility at KEK in Tsukuba, Japan. The experiment began operation in 2019 and aims to record a factor of 50 times more data than its predecessor. Belle II is uniquely capable of studying the so-called "XYZ" particles: heavy exotic hadrons consisting of more than three quarks. First discovered by Belle, these now number in the dozens, and represent the emergence of a new category within quantum chromodynamics. We present recent results obtained from Belle II data, and the future prospects to explore both exotic and conventional quarkonium physics.

• Searches for new physics in collision events using a statistical technique for anomaly detection

  S. V. Chekanov

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 10, 015 (2022) · published 10 August 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  This paper discusses a statistical anomaly-detection method for model-independent searches for new physics in collision events produced at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The method requires calculations of Z-scores for a large number of Lorenz-invariant variables to identify events that deviate from those expected for the Standard Model (SM).

• Geometry and causality for efficient multiloop representations

  German F. R. Sborlini

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 7, 047 (2022) · published 22 June 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Multi-loop scattering amplitudes constitute a serious bottleneck in current high-energy physics computations. Obtaining new integrand level representations with smooth behaviour is crucial for solving this issue, and surpassing the precision frontier. In this talk, we describe a new technology to rewrite multi-loop Feynman integrands in such a way that non-physical singularities are avoided. The method is inspired by the Loop-Tree Duality (LTD) theorem, and uses geometrical concepts to derive the causal structure of any multi-loop multi-leg scattering amplitude. This representation makes the integrand much more stable, allowing faster numerical simulations, and opens the path for novel re-interpretations of higher-order corrections in QFT.

• Open strange meson $K^\pm_1$ in hot and dense nuclear matter

  Rajesh Kumar, Arvind Kumar

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 055 (2022) · published 12 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Using the unification of the chiral SU(3) model and QCD sum rules, we deduce the in-medium properties of $K^\pm_1$ meson. Within the chiral SU(3) model, medium modified gluon and quark condensates are evaluated through their interactions with the scalar fields ($\sigma$, $\zeta$, $\delta$, and $\chi$). These condensates are further used as input in the Borel transformed equations of QCD sum rules to evaluate the in-medium mass of strange $K^\pm_1$ meson. The in-medium property of the above meson can be used to study the restoration of chiral symmetry in nuclear matter.

• Fermionic defects of topological phases and logical gates

  Ryohei Kobayashi

  SciPost Phys. 15, 028 (2023) · published 25 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We discuss the codimension-1 defects of (2+1)D bosonic topological phases, where the defects can support fermionic degrees of freedom. We refer to such defects as fermionic defects, and introduce a certain subclass of invertible fermionic defects called "gauged Gu-Wen SPT defects" that can shift self-statistics of anyons. We derive a canonical form of a general fermionic invertible defect, in terms of the fusion of a gauged Gu-Wen SPT defect and a bosonic invertible defect decoupled from fermions on the defect. We then derive the fusion rule of generic invertible fermionic defects. The gauged Gu-Wen SPT defects give rise to interesting logical gates of stabilizer codes in the presence of additional ancilla fermions. For example, we find a realization of the CZ logical gate on the (2+1)D $\mathbb{Z}_2$ toric code stacked with a (2+1)D ancilla trivial atomic insulator. We also investigate a gapped fermionic interface between (2+1)D bosonic topological phases realized on the boundary of the (3+1)D Walker-Wang model. In that case, the gapped interface can shift the chiral central charge of the (2+1)D phase. Among these fermionic interfaces, we study an interesting example where the (3+1)D phase has a spatial reflection symmetry, and the fermionic interface is supported on a reflection plane that interpolates a (2+1)D surface topological order and its orientation-reversal. We construct a (3+1)D exactly solvable Hamiltonian realizing this setup, and find that the model generates the $\mathbb{Z}_8$ classification of the (3+1)D invertible phase with spatial reflection symmetry and fermion parity on the reflection plane. We make contact with an effective field theory, known in literature as the exotic invertible phase with spacetime higher-group symmetry.