Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Machine learning in top quark physics at ATLAS and CMS

  Matthias Komm, on behalf of the ATLAS and CMS collaborations

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 18, 002 (2026) · published 29 January 2026 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  This note presents an overview of current and potential future applications of machine-learning-based techniques in the study of the top quark. The research community has developed a diverse set of ideas and tools, including algorithms for the efficient reconstruction of recorded collision events and innovative methods for statistical inference. Recent applications of some techniques by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations are also highlighted.

• Differential cross section measurements of top quark pair production for variables of the dineutrino system with the CMS experiment

  Sandra Consuegra Rodríguez, on behalf of the CMS Collaboration

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 18, 001 (2026) · published 29 January 2026 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Differential top quark pair cross sections are measured in the dilepton final state as a function of kinematic variables associated to the dineutrino system. The measurements are performed making use of the Run 2 dataset collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC collider, corresponding to proton-proton collisions recorded at center of mass energy of 13 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The measured cross sections are found in agreement with theory predictions and Monte Carlo simulations of Standard Model processes.

• Equivariant parameter families of spin chains: A discrete MPS formulation

  Ken Shiozaki

  SciPost Phys. 20, 024 (2026) · published 28 January 2026 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We analyze topological phase transitions and higher Berry curvature in one-dimensional quantum spin systems, using a framework that explicitly incorporates the symmetry group action on the parameter space. Based on a $G$-compatible discretization of the parameter space, we incorporate both group cochains and parameter-space differentials, enabling the systematic construction of equivariant topological invariants. We derive a fixed-point formula for the higher Berry invariant in the case where the symmetry action has isolated fixed points. This reveals that the phase transition point between Haldane and trivial phases acts as a monopole-like defect where higher Berry curvature emanates. We further discuss hierarchical structures of topological defects in the parameter space, governed by symmetry reductions and compatibility with subgroup structures.

• Les Houches lectures on non-perturbative topological strings

  Marcos Mariño

  SciPost Phys. Lect. Notes 112 (2026) · published 27 January 2026 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In these lecture notes for the Les Houches School on Quantum Geometry I give an introductory overview of non-perturbative aspects of topological string theory. After a short summary of the perturbative aspects, I first consider the non-perturbative sectors of the theory as unveiled by the theory of resurgence. I give a self-contained derivation of recent results on non-perturbative amplitudes, and I explain the conjecture relating the resurgent structure of the topological string to BPS invariants. In the second part of the lectures I introduce the topological string/spectral theory (TS/ST) correspondence, which provides a non-perturbative definition of topological string theory on toric Calabi–Yau manifolds in terms of the spectral theory of quantum mirror curves.

• evortran: A modern Fortran package for genetic algorithms with applications from LHC data fitting to LISA signal reconstruction

  Thomas Biekötter

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 64 (2026) · published 27 January 2026 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  evortran is a modern Fortran library designed for high-performance genetic algorithms and evolutionary optimization. evortran can be used to tackle a wide range of problems in high-energy physics and beyond, such as derivative-free parameter optimization, complex search taks, parameter scans and fitting experimental data under the presence of instrumental noise. The library is built as an fpm package with flexibility and efficiency in mind, while also offering a simple installation process, user interface and integration into existing Fortran (or Python) programs. evortran offers a variety of selection, crossover, mutation and elitism strategies, with which users can tailor an evolutionary algorithm to their specific needs. evortran supports different abstraction levels: from operating directly on individuals and populations, to running full evolutionary cycles, and even enabling migration between independently evolving populations to enhance convergence and maintain diversity. In this paper, we present the functionality of the evortran library, demonstrate its capabilities with example benchmark applications, and compare its performance with existing genetic algorithm frameworks. As physics-motivated applications, we use evortran to confront extended Higgs sectors with LHC data and to reconstruct gravitational wave spectra and the underlying physical parameters from LISA mock data, demonstrating its effectiveness in realistic, data-driven scenarios.

  1 citation

• Codebase release 1.0 for evortran

  Thomas Biekötter

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 64-r1.0 (2026) · published 27 January 2026 | Toggle abstract · src

  evortran is a modern Fortran library designed for high-performance genetic algorithms and evolutionary optimization. evortran can be used to tackle a wide range of problems in high-energy physics and beyond, such as derivative-free parameter optimization, complex search taks, parameter scans and fitting experimental data under the presence of instrumental noise. The library is built as an fpm package with flexibility and efficiency in mind, while also offering a simple installation process, user interface and integration into existing Fortran (or Python) programs. evortran offers a variety of selection, crossover, mutation and elitism strategies, with which users can tailor an evolutionary algorithm to their specific needs. evortran supports different abstraction levels: from operating directly on individuals and populations, to running full evolutionary cycles, and even enabling migration between independently evolving populations to enhance convergence and maintain diversity. In this paper, we present the functionality of the evortran library, demonstrate its capabilities with example benchmark applications, and compare its performance with existing genetic algorithm frameworks. As physics-motivated applications, we use evortran to confront extended Higgs sectors with LHC data and to reconstruct gravitational wave spectra and the underlying physical parameters from LISA mock data, demonstrating its effectiveness in realistic, data-driven scenarios.

  1 citation

• Many-body localization in a quantum Ising model with the long-range interaction: Accurate determination of the transition point

  Illia Lukin, Andrii Sotnikov, Alexander L. Burin

  SciPost Phys. 20, 023 (2026) · published 27 January 2026 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We investigate the many-body localization (MBL) transition in the quantum Ising model with long-range interactions. Unlike spin chains with short-range interactions, where the MBL transition point remains elusive due to strong finite-size effects and local fluctuations, long-range interactions suppress such fluctuations and enable clearer signatures of critical behavior. Using exact results from a related Bethe lattice localization problem, we estimate the MBL threshold within logarithmic accuracy and find consistency with exact diagonalization. Although the critical disorder diverges in the thermodynamic limit, our results demonstrate that the critical regime can still be probed and highlight the relevance of this model to systems with dipole-dipole, elastic, or indirect exchange interactions.

• Quantum Monte Carlo simulations in the restricted Hilbert space of Rydberg atom arrays

  Pranay Patil

  SciPost Phys. 20, 022 (2026) · published 27 January 2026 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Rydberg atom arrays have emerged as a powerful platform to simulate a number of exotic quantum ground states and phase transitions. To verify these capabilities numerically, we develop a versatile quantum Monte Carlo sampling technique which operates in the reduced Hilbert space generated by enforcing the constraint of a Rydberg blockade. We use the framework of stochastic series expansion and show that in the restricted space, the configuration space of operator strings can be understood as a hard rod gas in $d+1$ dimensions. We use this mapping to develop cluster algorithms which can be visualized as various non-local movements of rods. We study the efficiency of each of our updates individually and collectively. To elucidate the utility of the algorithm, we show that it can efficiently generate the phase diagram of a Rydberg atom array, to temperatures much smaller than all energy scales involved, on a kagomé link lattice. This is of broad interest as the presence of a $Z_2$ spin liquid has been hypothesized recently.

• The inclusive Higgs boson cross-section in gluon-gluon fusion in soft-virtual approximation at fourth order in QCD

  Goutam Das, Sven-Olaf Moch

  SciPost Phys. Comm. Rep. 17 (2026) · published 27 January 2026 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present precise results for the inclusive Higgs boson cross-section in gluon-gluon fusion at the LHC considering state-of-the-art fourth-order results in perturbative QCD arising from the dominant soft and virtual gluon emissions. Utilizing four-loop QCD results for the gluon-form factor, the splitting function and related anomalous dimensions, we study the effects of threshold enhanced soft gluon emissions and estimate their impact on the total cross-section at the fourth order. Our study highlights the role of these higher-order contributions in improving the perturbative convergence and in significantly reducing the renormalization and factorization scale uncertainties. The results provide strong evidence for the perturbative stability and reliability of Higgs boson cross-section predictions at the LHC, thereby reinforcing the robustness of theoretical inputs in precision Higgs phenomenology. We also provide cross-section predictions using a large set of available parton distribution functions and show that, together with the value of the strong coupling $\alpha_{\rm s}(m_Z)$, they cause the largest residual uncertainty for the Higgs boson cross-section in gluon-gluon fusion.

• $\kappa$-symmetric M5 brane web for defects in $\mathrm{AdS_7 / CFT_6}$ holography

  Varun Gupta

  SciPost Phys. Core 9, 004 (2026) · published 27 January 2026 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this work, we will continue our analysis of some general probe M5 brane solutions from our previous work in $AdS_7 × S^4$ spacetime (appeared in arXiv: 2109.08551). These are codimension-2 in $AdS_7$ and preserve at least 2 supercharges when the worldvolume 3-form flux field strength is zero. We will turn on the field strength and find that the embedding conditions are modified, excluding certain branes contained in the previous result. The new main result here is very general, so we pick simpler embedding conditions that describe highly symmetric examples that preserve half of the supersymmetry of the 11 dimensions. When the flux field is zero, worldvolumes have $AdS_5 × S^1$ topology. We turn the flux field value non-zero in these examples and analyze how the shape of the worldvolume deforms as supersymmetry is broken by some additional fractions.