Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Fingerprints of quantum criticality in locally resolved transport

  Xiaoyang Huang, Andrew Lucas

  SciPost Phys. 13, 004 (2022) · published 21 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Understanding electrical transport in strange metals, including the seeming universality of Planckian $T$-linear resistivity, remains a longstanding challenge in condensed matter physics. We propose that local imaging techniques, such as nitrogen vacancy center magnetometry, can locally identify signatures of quantum critical response which are invisible in measurements of a bulk electrical resistivity. As an illustrative example, we use a minimal holographic model for a strange metal in two spatial dimensions to predict how electrical current will flow in regimes dominated by quantum critical dynamics on the Planckian length scale. We describe the crossover between quantum critical transport and hydrodynamic transport (including Ohmic regimes), both in charge neutral and finite density systems. We compare our holographic predictions to experiments on charge neutral graphene, finding quantitative agreement with available data; we suggest further experiments which may determine the relevance of our framework to transport on Planckian scales in this material. More broadly, we propose that locally imaged transport be used to test the universality (or lack thereof) of microscopic dynamics in the diverse set of quantum materials exhibiting $T$-linear resistivity.

  1 citation

• Higher spin partition functions via the quasinormal mode method in de Sitter quantum gravity

  Victoria L. Martin, Andrew Svesko

  SciPost Phys. 9, 039 (2020) · published 14 September 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this note we compute the 1-loop partition function of spin-$s$ fields on Euclidean de Sitter space $S^{2n+1}$ using the quasinormal mode method. Instead of computing the quasinormal mode frequencies from scratch, we use the analytic continuation prescription $L_{\text{AdS}}\to iL_{\text{dS}}$, appearing in the dS/CFT correspondence, and Wick rotate the normal mode frequencies of fields on thermal $\text{AdS}_{2n+1}$ into the quasinormal mode frequencies of fields on de Sitter space. We compare the quasinormal mode and heat kernel methods of calculating 1-loop determinants, finding exact agreement, and furthermore explicitly relate these methods via a sum over the conformal dimension. We discuss how the Wick rotation of normal modes on thermal $\text{AdS}_{2n+1}$ can be generalized to calculating 1-loop partition functions on the thermal spherical quotients $S^{2n+1}/\mathbb{Z}_{p}$. We further show that the quasinormal mode frequencies encode the group theoretic structure of the spherical spacetimes in question, analogous to the recent analysis made for thermal AdS in (1910.07607) and (1910.11913).

  1 citation

• Nodal-antinodal dichotomy from anisotropic quantum critical continua in holographic models

  Ronnie Rodgers, Jewel Kumar Ghosh, Alexander Krikun

  SciPost Phys. 14, 161 (2023) · published 19 June 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We demonstrate that the absence of stable quasiparticle excitations on parts of the Fermi surface, similar to the "nodal-antinodal dichotomy" in underdoped cuprate superconductors, can be reproduced in models of strongly correlated electrons defined via a holographic dual. We show analytically that the anisotropy of the quantum critical continuum, which is a feature of these models, may lead to washing out the quasiparticle peak in one direction while leaving it intact in the perpendicular one. The effect relies on the qualitatively different scaling of the self-energy in different directions. Using the explicit example of the anisotropic Q-lattice model, we demonstrate how this effect emerges due to specific features of the near horizon geometry of the black hole in the dual description.

  1 citation

• Nuclear matter effects on jet production at electron-ion colliders

  Hai Tao Li, Ze Long Liu, Ivan Vitev

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 134 (2022) · published 14 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In these proceedings we report recent progress on understanding hadron and jet production in electron-nucleus collisions at the future Electron-Ion Collider [1,2]. These processes will play an essential role in the exploration of the partonic structure of nuclei and the study of parton shower evolution in strongly-interacting matter. We employ the framework of soft-collinear effective theory, generalized to include in-medium interactions, to present the first theoretical results for inclusive hadron and jet cross sections, as well as the jet charge modification in deep inelastic scattering on nuclei. We further demonstrate how to separate initial-state and final-state effects.

  1 citation

• Dualities and loops on squashed $S^3$

  Charles Thull

  SciPost Phys. 15, 156 (2023) · published 12 October 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric gauge theories on the squashed three-sphere with six preserved supercharges. We first discuss how Wilson and vortex loops preserve up to four of the supercharges and we find squashing independence for the expectation values of these 2/3-BPS loops. We then show how the additional supersymmetries facilitate the analytic matching of partition functions and loop operator expectation values to those in the mirror dual theory, allowing one to lift all the results that were previously established on the round sphere to the squashed sphere. Additionally, on the squashed sphere with four preserved supercharges, we numerically evaluate the partition functions of ABJM and its dual super-Yang-Mills at low ranks of the gauge group. We find matching values of their partition functions, prompting us to conjecture the general equality on the squashed sphere. From the numerics we also observe the squashing dependence of the Lee-Yang zeros and of the non-perturbative corrections to the all order large $N$ expression for the ABJM partition function.

  1 citation

• Robust extended states in Anderson model on partially disordered random regular graphs

  Daniil Kochergin, Ivan M. Khaymovich, Olga Valba, Alexander Gorsky

  SciPost Phys. 16, 106 (2024) · published 19 April 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this work we analytically explain the origin of the mobility edge in the partially disordered random regular graphs of degree d, i.e., with a fraction $\beta$ of the sites being disordered, while the rest remain clean. It is shown that the mobility edge in the spectrum survives in a certain range of parameters (d,$\beta$) at infinitely large uniformly distributed disorder. The critical curve separating extended and localized states is derived analytically and confirmed numerically. The duality in the localization properties between the sparse and extremely dense RRG has been found and understood.

  1 citation

• Mirror symmetry for five-parameter Hulek-Verrill manifolds

  Philip Candelas, Xenia de la Ossa, Pyry Kuusela, Joseph McGovern

  SciPost Phys. 15, 144 (2023) · published 6 October 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the mirrors of five-parameter Calabi-Yau threefolds first studied by Hulek and Verrill in the context of observed modular behaviour of the zeta functions for Calabi-Yau manifolds. Toric geometry allows for a simple explicit construction of these mirrors, which turn out to be familiar manifolds. These are elliptically fibred in multiple ways. By studying the singular fibres, we are able to identify the rational curves of low degree on the mirror manifolds. This verifies the mirror symmetry prediction obtained by studying the mirror map near large complex structure points. We undertake also an extensive study of the periods of the Hulek-Verrill manifolds and their monodromies. On the mirror, we compute the genus-zero and -one instanton numbers, which are labelled by 5 indices, as $h^{1,1}\!=5$. There is an obvious permutation symmetry on these indices, but in addition there is a surprising repetition of values. We trace this back to an $S_{6}$ symmetry made manifest by certain constructions of the complex structure moduli space of the Hulek-Verrill manifold. Among other consequences, we see in this way that the moduli space has six large complex structure limits. It is the freedom to expand the prepotential about any one of these points that leads to this symmetry in the instanton numbers. An intriguing fact is that the group that acts on the instanton numbers is larger than $S_6$ and is in fact an infinite hyperbolic Coxeter group, that we study. The group orbits have a "web" structure, and with certain qualifications the instanton numbers are only nonzero if they belong to what we term "positive webs". This structure has consequences for instanton numbers at all genera.

  1 citation

• Muon Decay

  W. Fetscher

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 5, 006 (2021) · published 6 September 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The decay of the muon has been studied at PSI with several precision measurements: The longitudinal polarization PL(E) with the muon decay parameters ξ′, ξ′′, the Time- Reversal Invariance (TRI) conserving transverse polarization PT1(E) with the muon de- cay parameters η, η′′, the TRI violating transverse polarization PT2(E), with α′/A, β′/A and the muon decay asymmetry with Pμξ. The detailed theoretical analysis of all mea- surements of normal and inverse muon decay has led for the first time to a lower limit |g V | > 0.960 ("V − A") and upper limits for nine other possible complex couplings, espe- cially the scalar coupling |g S | < 0.550 which had not been excluded before.

  1 citation

• Scattering and Strebel graphs

  Pronobesh Maity

  SciPost Phys. 13, 010 (2022) · published 26 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider a special scattering experiment with n particles in $\mathbb{R}^{n-3,1}$. The scattering equations in this set-up become the saddle-point equations of a Penner-like matrix model, where in the large $n$ limit, the spectral curve is directly related to the unique Strebel differential on a Riemann sphere with three punctures. The solutions to the scattering equations localize along different kinds of graphs, tuned by a kinematic variable. We conclude with a few comments on a connection between these graphs and scattering in the Gross-Mende limit.

  1 citation

• Remarks on Berry connection in QFT, anomalies, and applications

  Mykola Dedushenko

  SciPost Phys. 15, 167 (2023) · published 17 October 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Berry connection has been recently generalized to higher-dimensional QFT, where it can be thought of as a topological term in the effective action for background couplings. Via the inflow, this term corresponds to the boundary anomaly in the space of couplings, another notion recently introduced in the literature. In this note we address the question of whether the old-fashioned Berry connection (for time-dependent couplings) still makes sense in a QFT on $\Sigma^{(d)}× \mathbb{R}$, where $\Sigma^{(d)}$ is a $d$-dimensional compact space and $\mathbb{R}$ is time. Compactness of $\Sigma^{(d)}$ relieves us of the IR divergences, so we only have to address the UV issues. We describe a number of cases when the Berry connection is well defined (which includes the $tt^*$ equations), and when it is not. We also mention a relation to the boundary anomalies and boundary states on the Euclidean $\Sigma^{(d)} × \mathbb{R}_{≥ 0}$. We then work out the examples of a free 3D Dirac fermion and a 3D $\mathcal{N}=2$ chiral multiplet. Finally, we consider 3D theories on $\mathbb{T}^2× \mathbb{R}$, where the space $\mathbb{T}^2$ is a two-torus, and apply our machinery to clarify some aspects of the relation between 3D SUSY vacua and elliptic cohomology. We also comment on the generalization to higher genus.

  1 citation