Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Crystallography, group cohomology, and Lieb–Schultz–Mattis constraints

  Chunxiao Liu, Weicheng Ye

  SciPost Phys. 18, 161 (2025) · published 20 May 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We compute the mod-2 cohomology ring for three-dimensional (3D) space groups and establish a connection between them and the lattice structure of crystals with space group symmetry. This connection allows us to obtain a complete set of Lieb-Schultz-Mattis constraints, specifying the conditions under which a unique, symmetric, gapped ground state cannot exist in 3D lattice magnets. We associate each of these constraints with an element in the third mod-2 cohomology of the space group, when the internal symmetry acts on-site and its projective representations are classified by powers of $\mathbb{Z}_2$. We demonstrate the relevance of our results to the study of $U(1)$ quantum spin liquids on the 3D pyrochlore lattice. We determine, through anomaly matching, the symmetry fractionalization patterns of both electric and magnetic charges, extending previous results from projective symmetry group classifications.

• Precision physics with the proton spectrometer and diffractive physics measurements from CMS

  Cristophe Royon

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 15, 030 (2024) · published 3 April 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We describe recent results from CMS and TOTEM on hard diffraction, diffractive jets and jet gap jet events. We also give the first sensitivities and limits on quartic anomalous couplings and axion-like particles at high mass using the LHC as a $\gamma \gamma$ collider. The predicted sensitivities with 300 fb$^{-1}$ are better by two or three orders of magnitude compared to the more standard methods at the LHC without measuring intact protons after collision.

• Backward-Angle (u-Channel) Meson Production from JLab 12~GeV Hall C to EIC

  Wenliang B. Li

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 036 (2022) · published 12 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The recent exclusive backward-angle electroproduction of omega from Jefferson Lab Hall C electron-proton fixed-target scattering experiments above the resonance region hints at a new domain of applicability of QCD factorization in a unique u-channel kinematics regime. Thanks to this effort, the interest in studying nucleon structure through u-channel meson production observables has grown significantly. In the fixed target configuration, theu-channel meson electroproduction observables feature a unique interaction picture: the target proton absorbs nearly all momentum induced by virtual photons and recoils forward, while the produced mesons (such as omega or pions) are left behind almost at rest near the target station. In this presentation, We provide a summary of the key observations of the existing u-channel meson production results, update-to-date theory insights, and a path to further exploration from JLab 12 GeV Hall C program to the future Electron-Ion Colliders

• Theoretical modeling of QCD radiation in off-shell Higgs production through gluon fusion

  Rafael Coelho Lopes de Sá, Martina Javurkova, Matteo Lazzeretti, Raoul Röntsch

  SciPost Phys. Comm. Rep. 12 (2025) · published 4 September 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The measurement of the Higgs boson width is a critical test of the Standard Model, with significant implications for understanding electroweak symmetry breaking. Direct measurements are limited by detector resolution, but it can be measured with greater precision through a combined analysis of on-shell and off-shell Higgs boson production. While results for on-shell production have been computed to a very high accuracy, theoretical predictions for off-shell Higgs boson production are not as well controlled due to the breakdown of the heavy-top approximation and the large interference with non-resonant amplitudes. Seeking to understand and improve the theoretical control, we compare leading-order and next-to-leading-order plus parton shower differential cross-sections for signal, background, and full physical processes in off-shell Higgs boson production at the Large Hadron Collider, using Powheg, MadGraph, and Sherpa. We analyze the impact of higher-order quantum chromodynamics effects and theoretical uncertainties, highlighting differences between predictions using jet merging with parton showers, and those from next-to-leading order computations matched to parton showers. The results provide insights for improving theoretical predictions and their application to experimental measurements in the future.

• Recent results on top quark mass and properties and rare/anomalous top quarks interactions in CMS

  Sebastian Wuchterl

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 120 (2022) · published 13 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The amount of data collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in the second data taking period provides the possibility to study absolute and differential cross sections of top quark interaction processes with high precision. Utilizing these results, fundamental standard model parameters such as the top quark mass are extracted. Moreover, given standard model measurements are interpreted in the context of Beyond the standard model theories. Recent results on top quark properties and rare or anomalous top quark interactions by CMS are presented in these proceedings. Furthermore, the implications of experimental results to effective field theory are discussed.

• Boundary condition and reflection anomaly in $2+1$ dimensions

  Jiunn-Wei Chen, Chang-Tse Hsieh, Ryutaro Matsudo

  SciPost Phys. 17, 068 (2024) · published 26 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  It is known that the $2+1$d single Majorana fermion theory has an anomaly of the reflection, which is canceled out when 16 copies of the theory are combined. Therefore, it is expected that the reflection symmetric boundary condition is impossible for one Majorana fermion, but possible for 16 Majorana fermions. In this paper, we consider a reflection symmetric boundary condition that varies at a single point, and find that there is a problem with one Majorana fermion. The problem is the absence of a corresponding outgoing wave to a specific incoming wave into the boundary, which leads to the non-conservation of the energy. For 16 Majorana fermions, it is possible to connect every incoming wave to an outgoing wave without breaking the reflection symmetry. In addition, we discuss the connection with the fermion-monopole scattering in $3+1$ dimensions.

• Central exclusive production of $\eta_c$ and $\chi_{c0}$ in the light-front k$_{\perp}$-factorization approach

  Izabela Babiarz, Roman Pasechnik, Wolfgang Schäfer, Antoni Szczurek

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 118 (2022) · published 13 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the exclusive production of $J^{PC}=0^{++}, 0^{--}$ charmonium states in proton-proton collisions at the LHC energies. The amplitudes for $g^*g^*→\chi_{c0}$ as well as for$ gg→\eta_c$ mechanisms are derived in the kT-factorization approach. The $pp \to pp\eta_c$ reaction is discussed for the first time. We observe a substantial contribution from the nonperturbative domain of gluon virtualities, especially for $\eta_c$ production. To model the nonperturbative region better, we utilize models of the unintegrated gluon distribution based on parametrizations of the color dipole cross-section.

• Political or environmental refugees? Re-examining the flight of the Vietnamese boat people, 1975-1995

  Saphia Fleury

  Mig. Pol. 4, 001 (2025) · published 15 May 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  This paper examines ecocide in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War (1954 to 1975) and the extent to which it drove the ‘boat people’ mass migration from Vietnam from 1975 to the mid-1990s. The exodus has become an archetype of a ‘political’ refugee flow, based on a Western Cold War narrative of people fleeing en masse from the persecution of an autocratic Communist regime. This paper challenges this assumption, showing how the interplay of environmental factors with political and military decisions contributed to the post-war exodus. These findings are reached through the analysis of historical primary sources as well as 229 oral history interviews, some 40 per cent of which were conducted with former child refugees. The implications have contemporary relevance because modern migration flows are frequently mixed, and climate change is further complicating the reasons that people leave their homes and their ability to access asylum. The conclusion argues that ecocide can, in some contexts, be considered a form of persecution for the purpose of refugee determination.

• Measurement of the $t\bar{t}t\bar{t}$ production at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

  Ö. Ogul Öncel

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 116 (2022) · published 13 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Two measurements and their combination for the $t\bar{t}t\bar{t}$ production cross-section analysis using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton$-$proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC are presented. The first analysis uses the final states with either one or two opposite-sign leptons (electrons or muons). In the second analysis the final states with either two same-sign or at least three leptons are considered. With an observed (expected) significance of 4.3 (2.4) standard deviations over the background-only hypothesis, the second analysis provides the first evidence for the $t\bar{t}t\bar{t}$ process. No significant deviations from the Standard Model are observed.

• The thermoelectric conversion efficiency problem: Insights from the electron gas thermodynamics close to a phase transition

  I. Khomchenko, A. Ryzhov, F. Maculewicz, F. Kurth, R. Hühne, A. Golombek, M. Schleberger, C. Goupil, Ph. Lecoeur, A. Böhmer, G. Benenti, G. Schierning, H. Ouerdane

  SciPost Phys. Core 8, 015 (2025) · published 7 February 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The bottleneck in modern thermoelectric power generation and cooling is the low energy conversion efficiency of thermoelectric materials. The detrimental effects of lattice phonons on performance can be mitigated, but achieving a high thermoelectric power factor remains a major problem because the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity cannot be jointly increased. The conducting electron gas in thermoelectric materials is the actual working fluid that performs the energy conversion, so its properties determine the maximum efficiency that can theoretically be achieved. By relating the thermoelastic properties of the electronic working fluid to its transport properties (considering noninteracting electron systems), we show why the performance of conventional semiconductor materials is doomed to remain low. Analyzing the temperature dependence of the power factor theoretically in 2D systems and experimentally in a thin film, we find that in the fluctuation regimes of an electronic phase transition, the thermoelectric power factor can significantly increase owing to the increased compressibility of the electron gas. We also calculate the ideal thermoelectric conversion efficiency in noninteracting electron systems across a wide temperature range neglecting phonon effects and dissipative coupling to the heat source and sink. Our results show that driving the electronic system to the vicinity of a phase transition can indeed be an innovative route to strong efficiency enhancement, but at the cost of an extremely narrow temperature range for the use of such materials, which in turn precludes potential development for the desired wide range of thermoelectric energy conversion applications.