Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• QED at NNLO with McMule

  P. Banerjee, T. Engel, A. Signer, Y. Ulrich

  SciPost Phys. 9, 027 (2020) · published 31 August 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  McMule is a framework for fully differential higher-order QED calculations of scattering and decay processes involving leptons. It keeps finite lepton masses, which regularises collinear singularities. Soft singularities are treated with dimensional regularisation and using FKS$^\ell$ subtraction. We describe the implementation of the framework in Fortran 95, list the processes that are currently implemented, and give instructions on how to run the code. In addition, we present new phenomenological results for muon-electron scattering and lepton-proton scattering, including the dominant NNLO corrections. While the applications presented focus on MUonE, MUSE, and P2, the code can be used for a large number of planned and running experiments.

  34 citations

• JT gravity at finite cutoff

  Luca V. Iliesiu, Jorrit Kruthoff, Gustavo J. Turiaci, Herman Verlinde

  SciPost Phys. 9, 023 (2020) · published 21 August 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We compute the partition function of 2D Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity at finite cutoff in two ways: (i) via an exact evaluation of the Wheeler-DeWitt wavefunctional in radial quantization and (ii) through a direct computation of the Euclidean path integral. Both methods deal with Dirichlet boundary conditions for the metric and the dilaton. In the first approach, the radial wavefunctionals are found by reducing the constraint equations to two first order functional derivative equations that can be solved exactly, including factor ordering. In the second approach we perform the path integral exactly when summing over surfaces with disk topology, to all orders in perturbation theory in the cutoff. Both results precisely match the recently derived partition function in the Schwarzian theory deformed by an operator analogous to the $T\overline{T}$ deformation in 2D CFTs. This equality can be seen as concrete evidence for the proposed holographic interpretation of the $T\overline{T}$ deformation as the movement of the AdS boundary to a finite radial distance in the bulk.

  44 citations

• Toward a 3d Ising model with a weakly-coupled string theory dual

  Nabil Iqbal, John McGreevy

  SciPost Phys. 9, 019 (2020) · published 13 August 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  It has long been expected that the 3d Ising model can be thought of as a string theory, where one interprets the domain walls that separate up spins from down spins as two-dimensional string worldsheets. The usual Ising Hamiltonian measures the area of these domain walls. This theory has string coupling of unit magnitude. We add new local terms to the Ising Hamiltonian that further weight each spin configuration by a factor depending on the genus of the corresponding domain wall, resulting in a new 3d Ising model that has a tunable bare string coupling $g_s$. We use a combination of analytical and numerical methods to analyze the phase structure of this model as $g_s$ is varied. We study statistical properties of the topology of worldsheets and discuss the prospects of using this new deformation at weak string coupling to find a worldsheet description of the 3d Ising transition.

  14 citations

• Topological holography: The example of the D2-D4 brane system

  Nafiz Ishtiaque, Seyed Faroogh Moosavian, Yehao Zhou

  SciPost Phys. 9, 017 (2020) · published 5 August 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose a toy model for holographic duality. The model is constructed by embedding a stack of $N$ D2-branes and $K$ D4-branes (with one dimensional intersection) in a 6D topological string theory. The world-volume theory on the D2-branes (resp. D4-branes) is 2D BF theory (resp. 4D Chern-Simons theory) with $\mathrm{GL}_N$ (resp. $\mathrm{GL}_K$) gauge group. We propose that in the large $N$ limit the BF theory on $\mathbb{R}^2$ is dual to the closed string theory on $\mathbb R^2 \times \mathbb R_+ \times S^3$ with the Chern-Simons defect on $\mathbb R \times \mathbb R_+ \times S^2$. As a check for the duality we compute the operator algebra in the BF theory, along the D2-D4 intersection -- the algebra is the Yangian of $\mathfrak{gl}_K$. We then compute the same algebra, in the guise of a scattering algebra, using Witten diagrams in the Chern-Simons theory. Our computations of the algebras are exact (valid at all loops). Finally, we propose a physical string theory construction of this duality using a D3-D5 brane configuration in type IIB -- using supersymmetric twist and $\Omega$-deformation.

  16 citations

• The non-rational limit of D-series minimal models

  Sylvain Ribault

  SciPost Phys. Core 3, 002 (2020) · published 31 July 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the limit of D-series minimal models when the central charge tends to a generic irrational value $c\in (-\infty, 1)$. We find that the limit theory's diagonal three-point structure constant differs from that of Liouville theory by a distribution factor, which is given by a divergent Verlinde formula. Nevertheless, correlation functions that involve both non-diagonal and diagonal fields are smooth functions of the diagonal fields' conformal dimensions. The limit theory is a non-trivial example of a non-diagonal, non-rational, solved two-dimensional conformal field theory.

• Topological superconductors on superstring worldsheets

  Justin Kaidi, Julio Parra-Martinez, Yuji Tachikawa, with a mathematical appendix by Arun Debray

  SciPost Phys. 9, 010 (2020) · published 21 July 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We point out that different choices of Gliozzi-Scherk-Olive (GSO) projections in superstring theory can be conveniently understood by the inclusion of fermionic invertible phases, or equivalently topological superconductors, on the worldsheet. This allows us to find that the unoriented Type $\rm 0$ string theory with $\Omega^2=(-1)^{\sf f}$ admits different GSO projections parameterized by $n$ mod 8, depending on the number of Kitaev chains on the worldsheet. The presence of $n$ boundary Majorana fermions then leads to the classification of D-branes by $KO^n(X)\oplus KO^{-n}(X)$ in these theories, which we also confirm by the study of the D-brane boundary states. Finally, we show that there is no essentially new GSO projection for the Type $\rm I$ worldsheet theory by studying the relevant bordism group, which classifies corresponding invertible phases. This paper provides the details for the results announced in the letter \cite{Kaidi:2019pzj}.

  21 citations

• Normal modes in thermal AdS via the Selberg zeta function

  Victoria L. Martin, Andrew Svesko

  SciPost Phys. 9, 009 (2020) · published 21 July 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The heat kernel and quasinormal mode methods of computing 1-loop partition functions of spin $s$ fields on hyperbolic quotient spacetimes $\mathbb{H}^{3}/\mathbb{Z}$ are related via the Selberg zeta function. We extend that analysis to thermal $\text{AdS}_{2n+1}$ backgrounds, with quotient structure $\mathbb{H}^{2n+1}/\mathbb{Z}$. Specifically, we demonstrate the zeros of the Selberg function encode the normal mode frequencies of spin fields upon removal of non-square-integrable modes. With this information we construct the 1-loop partition functions for symmetric transverse traceless tensors in terms of the Selberg zeta function and find exact agreement with the heat kernel method.

  4 citations

• Skyrmions, Quantum Hall Droplets, and one current to rule them all

  Avner Karasik

  SciPost Phys. 9, 008 (2020) · published 20 July 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We introduce a novel Skyrme-like conserved current in the effective theory of pions and vector mesons based on the idea of hidden local symmetry. The associated charge is equivalent to the skyrmion charge for any smooth configuration. In addition, there exist singular configurations that can be identified as N_f=1 baryons charged under the new symmetry. Under this identification, the vector mesons play the role of the Chern-Simons vector fields living on the quantum Hall droplet that forms the N_f=1 baryon. We propose that this current is the correct effective expression for the baryon current at low energies. This proposal gives a unified picture for the two types of baryons and allows them to continuously transform one to the other in a natural way. In addition, Chern-Simons dualities on the droplet can be interpreted as a result of Seiberg-like duality between gluons and vector mesons.

  12 citations

• Universal bounds on transport in holographic systems with broken translations

  Matteo Baggioli, Wei-Jia Li

  SciPost Phys. 9, 007 (2020) · published 15 July 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the presence of universal bounds on transport in homogeneous holographic models with broken translations. We verify numerically that, in holographic systems with momentum dissipation, the viscosity to entropy bound might be violated but the shear diffusion constant remains bounded by below. This confirms the idea that $\eta/s$ loses its privileged role in non-relativistic systems and that, in order to find more universal bounds, one should rather look at diffusion constants. We strengthen this idea by showing that, in presence of spontaneously broken translations, the Goldstone diffusion constant satisfies a universal lower bound in terms of the Planckian relaxation time and the butterfly velocity. Additionally, all the diffusive processes in the model satisfy an upper bound, imposed by causality, which is given in terms of the thermalization time -- the imaginary part of the first non-hydrodynamic mode in the spectrum -- and the speed of longitudinal sound. Finally, we discuss the existence of a bound on the speed of sound in holographic conformal solids and we show that the conformal value acts as a lower (and not upper) bound on the speed of longitudinal phonons. Nevertheless, we show that the stiffness $\partial p/\partial \epsilon$ is still bounded by above by its conformal value. This suggests that the bounds conjectured in the past have to be considered on the stiffness of the system, related to its equation of state, and not on the propagation speed of sound.

  32 citations

• Hall viscosity and conductivity of two-dimensional chiral superconductors

  Félix Rose, Omri Golan, Sergej Moroz

  SciPost Phys. 9, 006 (2020) · published 14 July 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We compute the Hall viscosity and conductivity of non-relativistic two-dimensional chiral superconductors, where fermions pair due to a short-range attractive potential, e.g. $p+\mathrm{i}p$ pairing, and interact via a long-range repulsive Coulomb force. For a logarithmic Coulomb potential, the Hall viscosity tensor contains a contribution that is singular at low momentum, which encodes corrections to pressure induced by an external shear strain. Due to this contribution, the Hall viscosity cannot be extracted from the Hall conductivity in spite of Galilean symmetry. For mixed-dimensional chiral superconductors, where the Coulomb potential decays as inverse distance, we find an intermediate behavior between intrinsic two-dimensional superconductors and superfluids. These results are obtained by means of both effective and microscopic field theory.

  6 citations