Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Peacock patterns and new integer invariants in topological string theory

  Jie Gu, Marcos Mariño

  SciPost Phys. 12, 058 (2022) · published 11 February 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Topological string theory near the conifold point of a Calabi-Yau threefold gives rise to factorially divergent power series which encode the all-genus enumerative information. These series lead to infinite towers of singularities in their Borel plane (also known as "peacock patterns"), and we conjecture that the corresponding Stokes constants are integer invariants of the Calabi-Yau threefold. We calculate these Stokes constants in some toric examples, confirming our conjecture and providing in some cases explicit generating functions for the new integer invariants, in the form of q-series. Our calculations in the toric case rely on the TS/ST correspondence, which promotes the asymptotic series near the conifold point to spectral traces of operators, and makes it easier to identify the Stokes data. The resulting mathematical structure turns out to be very similar to the one of complex Chern-Simons theory. In particular, spectral traces correspond to state integral invariants and factorize in holomorphic/anti-holomorphic blocks.

  11 citations

• A Toy Model of the Information Paradox in Empty Space

  Suvrat Raju

  SciPost Phys. 6, 073 (2019) · published 24 June 2019 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A sharp version of the information paradox involves a seeming violation of the monogamy of entanglement during black hole evaporation. We construct an analogous paradox in empty anti-de Sitter space. In a local quantum field theory, Bell correlations between operators localized in mutually spacelike regions are monogamous. We show, through a controlled calculation, that this property can be violated by an order-1 factor in a theory of gravity. This example demonstrates that what appears to be a violation of the monogamy of entanglement may just be a subtle violation of locality in quantum gravity.

  11 citations

• On the separation of Hall and Ohmic nonlinear responses

  Stepan S. Tsirkin, Ivo Souza

  SciPost Phys. Core 5, 039 (2022) · published 8 August 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The symmetric and antisymmetric parts of the linear conductivity describe the dissipative (Ohmic) and nondissipative (Hall) parts of the current. The Hall current is always transverse to the applied electric field regardless of its orientation; the Ohmic current is purely longitudinal in cubic crystals, but in lower-symmetry crystals it has a transverse component whenever the field is not aligned with a principal axis. In this work, we extend that analysis beyond the linear regime. We consider all possible ways of partitioning the current at any order in the electric field without taking symmetry into account, and find that the Hall vs Ohmic decomposition is the only one that satisfies certain basic requirements. A general prescription is given for achieving that decomposition, and the case of the quadratic conductivity is analyzed in detail. By performing a symmetry analysis we find that in five of the 122 magnetic point groups the quadratic dc conductivity is purely Ohmic and even under time reversal, a type of response that is entirely disorder mediated.

  11 citations

• Automated construction of $U(1)$-invariant matrix-product operators from graph representations

  Sebastian Paeckel, Thomas Köhler, Salvatore R. Manmana

  SciPost Phys. 3, 035 (2017) · published 17 November 2017 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present an algorithmic construction scheme for matrix-product-operator (MPO) representations of arbitrary $U(1)$-invariant operators whenever there is an expression of the local structure in terms of a finite-states machine (FSM). Given a set of local operators as building blocks, the method automatizes two major steps when constructing a $U(1)$-invariant MPO representation: (i) the bookkeeping of auxiliary bond-index shifts arising from the application of operators changing the local quantum numbers and (ii) the appearance of phase factors due to particular commutation rules. The automatization is achieved by post-processing the operator strings generated by the FSM. Consequently, MPO representations of various types of $U(1)$-invariant operators can be constructed generically in MPS algorithms reducing the necessity of expensive MPO arithmetics. This is demonstrated by generating arbitrary products of operators in terms of FSM, from which we obtain exact MPO representations for the variance of the Hamiltonian of a $S=1$ Heisenberg chain.

  11 citations

• A general definition of $JT_a$ -- deformed QFTs

  Tarek Anous, Monica Guica

  SciPost Phys. 10, 096 (2021) · published 30 April 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose a general path-integral definition of two-dimensional quantum field theories deformed by an integrable, irrelevant vector operator constructed from the components of the stress tensor and those of a $U(1)$ current. The deformed theory is obtained by coupling the original QFT to a flat dynamical gauge field and "half" a flat dynamical vielbein. The resulting partition function is shown to satisfy a geometric flow equation, which perfectly reproduces the flow equations for the deformed energy levels that were previously derived in the literature. The S-matrix of the deformed QFT differs from the original S-matrix only by an overall phase factor that depends on the charges and momenta of the external particles, thus supporting the conjecture that such QFTs are UV complete, although intrinsically non-local. For the special case of an integrable QFT, we check that this phase factor precisely reproduces the change in the finite-size spectrum via the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz equations.

  11 citations

• On the Q operator and the spectrum of the XXZ model at root of unity

  Yuan Miao, Jules Lamers, Vincent Pasquier

  SciPost Phys. 11, 067 (2021) · published 22 September 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ chain is a paradigmatic quantum integrable model. Although it can be solved exactly via Bethe ansatz techniques, there are still open issues regarding the spectrum at root of unity values of the anisotropy. We construct Baxter's Q operator at arbitrary anisotropy from a two-parameter transfer matrix associated to a complex-spin auxiliary space. A decomposition of this transfer matrix provides a simple proof of the transfer matrix fusion and Wronskian relations. At root of unity a truncation allows us to construct the Q operator explicitly in terms of finite-dimensional matrices. From its decomposition we derive truncated fusion and Wronskian relations as well as an interpolation-type formula that has been conjectured previously. We elucidate the Fabricius-McCoy (FM) strings and exponential degeneracies in the spectrum of the six-vertex transfer matrix at root of unity. Using a semicyclic auxiliary representation we give a conjecture for creation and annihilation operators of FM strings for all roots of unity. We connect our findings with the 'string-charge duality' in the thermodynamic limit, leading to a conjecture for the imaginary part of the FM string centres with potential applications to out-of-equilibrium physics.

  11 citations

• The quasilocal degrees of freedom of Yang-Mills theory

  Henrique Gomes, Aldo Riello

  SciPost Phys. 10, 130 (2021) · published 4 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Gauge theories possess nonlocal features that, in the presence of boundaries, inevitably lead to subtleties. We employ geometric methods rooted in the functional geometry of the phase space of Yang-Mills theories to: (\textit{1}) characterize a basis for quasilocal degrees of freedom (dof) that is manifestly gauge-covariant also at the boundary; (\textit{2}) tame the non-additivity of the regional symplectic forms upon the gluing of regions; and to (\textit{3}) discuss gauge and global charges in both Abelian and non-Abelian theories from a geometric perspective. Naturally, our analysis leads to splitting the Yang-Mills dof into Coulombic and radiative. Coulombic dof enter the Gauss constraint and are dependent on extra boundary data (the electric flux); radiative dof are unconstrained and independent. The inevitable non-locality of this split is identified as the source of the symplectic non-additivity, i.e. of the appearance of new dof upon the gluing of regions. Remarkably, these new dof are fully determined by the regional radiative dof only. Finally, a direct link is drawn between this split and Dirac's dressed electron.

  11 citations

• Ballistic macroscopic fluctuation theory

  Benjamin Doyon, Gabriele Perfetto, Tomohiro Sasamoto, Takato Yoshimura

  SciPost Phys. 15, 136 (2023) · published 4 October 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We introduce a new universal framework describing fluctuations and correlations in quantum and classical many-body systems, at the Euler hydrodynamic scale of space and time. The framework adapts the ideas of the conventional macroscopic fluctuation theory (MFT) to systems that support ballistic transport. The resulting "ballistic MFT" (BMFT) is solely based on the Euler hydrodynamics data of the many-body system. Within this framework, mesoscopic observables are classical random variables depending only on the fluctuating conserved densities, and Euler-scale fluctuations are obtained by deterministically transporting thermodynamic fluctuations via the Euler hydrodynamics. Using the BMFT, we show that long-range correlations in space generically develop over time from long-wavelength inhomogeneous initial states in interacting models. This result, which we verify by numerical calculations, challenges the long-held paradigm that at the Euler scale, fluid cells may be considered uncorrelated. We also show that the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem for non-equilibrium ballistic transport follows purely from time-reversal invariance of the Euler hydrodynamics. We check the validity of the BMFT by applying it to integrable systems, and in particular the hard-rod gas, with extensive simulations that confirm our analytical results.

  11 citations

• Quantum oscillations in interaction-driven insulators

  Andrew A. Allocca, Nigel R. Cooper

  SciPost Phys. 12, 123 (2022) · published 8 April 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In recent years it has become understood that quantum oscillations of the magnetization as a function of magnetic field, long recognized as phenomena intrinsic to metals, can also manifest in insulating systems. Theory has shown that in certain simple band insulators, quantum oscillations can appear with a frequency set by the area traced by the minimum gap in momentum space, and are suppressed for weak fields by an intrinsic "Dingle damping" factor reflecting the size of the bandgap. Here we examine quantum oscillations of the magnetization in excitonic and Kondo insulators, for which interactions play a crucial role. In models of these systems, self-consistent parameters themselves oscillate with changing magnetic field, generating additional contributions to quantum oscillations. In the low-temperature, weak-field regime, we find that the lowest harmonic of quantum oscillations of the magnetization are unaffected, so that the zero-field bandgap can still be extracted by measuring the Dingle damping factor of this harmonic. However, these contributions dominate quantum oscillations at all higher harmonics, thereby providing a route to measure this interaction effect.

  11 citations

• Fluctuations of observables for free fermions in a harmonic trap at finite temperature

  Aurélien Grabsch, Satya N. Majumdar, Grégory Schehr, Christophe Texier

  SciPost Phys. 4, 014 (2018) · published 24 March 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study a system of 1D noninteracting spinless fermions in a confining trap at finite temperature. We first derive a useful and general relation for the fluctuations of the occupation numbers valid for arbitrary confining trap, as well as for both canonical and grand canonical ensembles. Using this relation, we obtain compact expressions, in the case of the harmonic trap, for the variance of certain observables of the form of sums of a function of the fermions' positions, $\mathcal{L}=\sum_n h(x_n)$. Such observables are also called linear statistics of the positions. As anticipated, we demonstrate explicitly that these fluctuations do depend on the ensemble in the thermodynamic limit, as opposed to averaged quantities, which are ensemble independent. We have applied our general formalism to compute the fluctuations of the number of fermions $\mathcal{N}_+$ on the positive axis at finite temperature. Our analytical results are compared to numerical simulations. We discuss the universality of the results with respect to the nature of the confinement.

  11 citations