Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• A somewhat random walk through nuclear and particle physics

  Thomas D. Cohen, Nicholas R. Poniatowski

  SciPost Phys. Lect. Notes 34 (2021) · published 20 September 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  These notes are an outgrowth of an advanced undergraduate course taught at the University of Maryland, College Park. They are intended as an introduction to various aspects of particle and nuclear physics with an emphasis on the role of symmetry. The basic philosophy is to introduce many of the fundamental ideas in nuclear and particle physics using relatively sophisticated mathematical tools -- but to do so in as a simplified a context to explain the underlying ideas. Thus, for example, the Higgs mechanism is discussed in terms of an Abelian Higgs model. The emphasis is largely, but not entirely theoretical in orientation. The goal is for readers to develop an understanding of many of the underlying issues in a relatively sophisticated way.

  1 citation

• Exact diagonalization, matrix product states and conformal perturbation theory study of a 3D Ising fuzzy sphere model

  Andreas M. Läuchli, Loïc Herviou, Patrick H. Wilhelm, Slava Rychkov

  SciPost Phys. 19, 076 (2025) · published 26 September 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Numerical studies of phase transitions in statistical and quantum lattice models provide crucial insights into the corresponding Conformal Field Theories (CFTs). In higher dimensions, comparing finite-volume numerical results to infinite-volume CFT data is facilitated by choosing the sphere $S^{d-1}$ as the spatial manifold. Recently, the fuzzy sphere regulator [Zhu et al, Phys. Rev. X 13, 021009 (2023)] has enabled such studies with exact rotational invariance, yielding impressive agreement with known 3D Ising CFT predictions, as well as new results. However, systematic improvements and a deeper understanding of finite-size corrections remain essential. In this work, we revisit the fuzzy sphere regulator, focusing on the original Ising model, with two main goals. First, we assess the robustness of this approach using Conformal Perturbation Theory (CPT), to which we provide a detailed guidebook. We demonstrate how CPT provides a unified framework for determining the critical point, the speed of light, and residual deviations from CFT predictions. Applying this framework, we study finite-size corrections and clarify the role of tuning the model in minimizing these effects. Second, we develop a novel method for extracting Operator Product Expansion (OPE) coefficients from fuzzy sphere data. This method leverages the sensitivity of energy levels to detuning from criticality, providing new insights into level mixing and avoided crossings in finite systems. Our work also includes validation of CPT in a 1+1D Ising model away from the integrable limit.

  1 citation

• 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.

  1 citation

• Accessing quark GPDs in diffractive events at an electron-ion collider

  W. Cosyn, B. Pire, L. Szymanowski

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 159 (2022) · published 14 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We discuss two collider processes which combine a diffractively produced $\rho$ meson separated by a large rapidity gap from a hard exclusive scattering of a Pomeron on a nucleon, giving rise to a lepton pair or to a second meson. These two processes probe the nucleon quark content described by generalized parton distributions in a very specific way.

  1 citation

• The complex Liouville string: The gravitational path integral

  Scott Collier, Lorenz Eberhardt, Beatrix Mühlmann

  SciPost Phys. 19, 115 (2025) · published 28 October 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We give a rigorous definition of sine dilaton gravity in terms of the worldsheet theory of the complex Liouville string [S. Collier et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 251602 (2025)]. The latter has a known exact solution that we leverage to explore the gravitational path integral of sine dilaton gravity – a quantum deformation of dS JT gravity that admits both AdS$_2$ and dS$_2$ vacua. We uncover that the gravitational path integral receives contributions from new saddles describing transitions between vacua in a third-quantized picture. We also discuss the sphere and disk partition function in this context and contrast our findings with other recent work on this theory.

  1 citation

• Single-Logarithmic Corrections to Small-$x$ Helicity Evolution

  Yossathorn Tawabutr

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 103 (2022) · published 13 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The small-$x$ quark helicity evolution equations at double-logarithmic order, with the kernel $\sim\alpha_s\ln^2(1/x)$, have been derived previously. In this work, we derive the single-logarithmic corrections to the equations, to order $\alpha_s\ln(1/x)$ of the evolution kernel. The new equations include the effects of the running coupling and the unpolarized small-$x$ evolution, both of which are parametrically significant at single-logarithmic order. The large-$N_c$ and large-$N_c\& N_f$ approximations to the equation are computed. (Here, $N_c$ and $N_f$ are the numbers of quark colors and flavors, respectively.) Their solutions will provide more precise estimates of the quark helicity distribution at small $x$, contributing to the resolution of the proton spin puzzle.

  1 citation

• Hydrodynamics without boost-invariance from kinetic theory: From perfect fluids to active flocks

  Kevin T. Grosvenor, Niels A. Obers, Subodh P. Patil

  SciPost Phys. 19, 071 (2025) · published 25 September 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We derive the hydrodynamic equations of perfect fluids without boost invariance [J. de Boer et al., SciPost Phys. 5, 003 (2018)] from kinetic theory. Our approach is to follow the standard derivation of the Vlasov hierarchy based on an a-priori unknown collision functional satisfying certain axiomatic properties consistent with the absence of boost invariance. The kinetic theory treatment allows us to identify various transport coefficients in the hydrodynamic regime. We identify a drift term that effects a relaxation to an equilibrium where detailed balance with the environment with respect to momentum transfer is obtained. We then show how the derivative expansion of the hydrodynamics of flocks can be recovered from boost non-invariant kinetic theory and hydrodynamics. We identify how various coefficients of the former relate to a parameterization of the so-called equation of kinetic state that yields relations between different coefficients, arriving at a symmetry-based understanding as to why certain coefficients in hydrodynamic descriptions of active flocks are naturally of order one, and others, naturally small. When inter-particle forces are expressed in terms of a kinetic theory influence kernel, a coarse-graining scale and resulting derivative expansion emerge in the hydrodynamic limit, allowing us to derive diffusion terms as infrared-relevant operators distilling different parameterizations of microscopic interactions. We conclude by highlighting possible applications.

  1 citation

• Anomalous coupling studies with intact protons at the LHC

  Cristophe Royon

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 15, 029 (2024) · published 3 April 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We describe the reaches on quartic $\gamma \gamma \gamma \gamma$, $\gamma \gamma WW$, $\gamma \gamma ZZ$, $\gamma \gamma \gamma Z$, $\gamma \gamma t \bar{t}$ anomalous couplings at the LHC using intact protons in the final state measured in AFP in ATLAS or PPS in CMS-TOTEM.

  1 citation

• 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.

  1 citation

• Field theory of collinear and noncollinear magnetic order

  Oleg Tchernyshyov

  SciPost Phys. Lect. Notes 85 (2024) · published 5 September 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  These lecture notes from the 2023 Summer School "Principles and applications of symmetry in magnetism" introduce the reader to the classical field theory of ferromagnets and antiferromagnets.

  1 citation