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At least 271 records · Page 15
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DOE OSTI2020

Gluing. Part I. Integrals and symmetries

We review some aspects of the cutting and gluing law in local quantum field theory (QFT) and study it from a new point of view. In particular, we emphasize the description of gluing by a path integral over a space of polarized boundary conditions, which are given by leaves of some Lagrangian foliation in the phase space. We think of this path integral as a non-local (d – 1)-dimensional gluing theory associated to the parent local d-dimensional QFT. This is a novel point of view paving the way for applications of the standard QFT techniques (that do not rely on locality) to the gluing theory. We describe various properties of this procedure and spell out conditions under which symmetries of the parent theory lead to symmetries of the gluing theory. The purpose of this paper is to set up a playground for the companion paper where these techniques are applied to obtain new results in supersymmetric theories.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Fermionic shift symmetries in (anti) de Sitter space

We study extended shift symmetries that arise for fermionic fields on anti-de Sitter (AdS) space and de Sitter (dS) space for particular values of the mass relative to the curvature scale. We classify these symmetries for general mixed-symmetry fermionic fields in arbitrary dimension and describe how fields with these symmetries arise as the decoupled longitudinal modes of massive fermions as they approach partially massless points. For the particular case of AdS 4 , we look for non-trivial Lie superalgebras that can underly interacting theories that involve these fields. We study from this perspective the minimal such theory, the Akulov-Volkov theory on AdS 4 , which is a non-linear theory of a spin-1/2 Goldstino field that describes the spontaneous breaking of $\mathcal{N}$ = 1 supersymmetry on AdS 4 down to the isometries of AdS 4 . We show how to write the nonlinear supersymmetry transformation for this theory using the fermionic ambient space formalism. We also study the Lie superalgebras of candidate multi-field examples and rule out the existence of a supersymmetric special galileon on AdS 4 .

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Moduli axions, stabilizing moduli, and the large field swampland conjecture in heterotic M-theory

We compute the F- and D-term potential energy for the dilaton, complex structure, and Kähler moduli of realistic vacua of heterotic M-theory compactified on Calabi-Yau threefolds where, for simplicity, we choose ℎ 1,1 = ℎ 2,1 = 1. However, the formalism is immediately applicable to the “universal” moduli of Calabi-Yau threefolds with ℎ 1,1 = ℎ 1,2 > 1 as well. The F-term potential is computed using the nonperturbative complex structure, gaugino condensate and “world sheet instanton” superpotentials in theories in which the hidden sector contains an anomalous U⁡(1) structure group. The Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation induces inhomogeneous “axion” transformations for the imaginary components of the dilaton and Kähler modulus—which then produce a D-term potential. V D is a function of the real components of the dilaton and Kähler modulus (s and t) that is minimized and precisely vanishes along a unique line in the s–t plane. Excitations transverse to this line have a mass m anom which is an explicit function of t. The F-term potential energy is then evaluated along the V D = 0 line. For values of t small enough that m anom ≳ M U —where M U is the compactification scale—we plot V F for a realistic choice of coefficients as a function of the Pfaffian parameter p. We find values of p for which V F has a global minimum at negative or zero vacuum density or a metastable minimum with positive vacuum density. In all three cases, the s, t, and associated “axion” moduli are completely stabilized. Finally, we show that, for any of these vacua, the large t behavior of the potential energy satisfies the “large scalar field” Swampland conjecture.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Local Poincaré algebra from quantum chaos

The local two-dimensional Poincaré algebra near the horizon of an eternal AdS black hole, or in proximity to any bifurcate Killing horizon, is generated by the Killing flow and outward null translations on the horizon. In holography, this local Poincaré algebra is reflected as a pair of unitary flows in the boundary Hilbert space whose generators under modular flow grow and decay exponentially with a maximal Lyapunov exponent. This is a universal feature of many geometric vacua of quantum gravity. To explain this universality, we show that a two-dimensional Poincaré algebra emerges in any quantum system that has von Neumann subalgebras associated with half-infinite modular time intervals (modular future and past subalgebras) in a limit analogous to the near-horizon limit. In ergodic theory, quantum dynamical systems with future or past algebras are called quantum K-systems. The surprising statement is that modular K-systems are always maximally chaotic. Interacting quantum systems in the thermodynamic limit and large N theories above the Hawking-Page phase transition are examples of physical theories with future/past subalgebras. We prove that the existence of (modular) future/past von Neumann subalgebras also implies a second law of (modular) thermodynamics and the exponential decay of (modular) correlators. We generalize our results from the modular flow to any dynamical flow with a positive generator and interpret the positivity condition as quantum detailed balance.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Double winding condensate CFT

We conjecture a two-dimensional conformal field theory built out of a linear dilaton and a compact β γ system deformed by winding condensates on each of the compact cycles. In particular, explicit expressions of the residues of the correlation functions are provided. As a worldsheet theory, it describes a stringy black hole in AdS 3 (supported by the Kalb-Ramond flux) at the Hawking-Page temperature. It is expected to be connected to the Horowitz-Polchinski-like solution near the Hagedorn temperature of thermal AdS 3 and Euclidean BTZ blackhole as we vary the temperature.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Semiclassics with ’t Hooft flux background for QCD with 2-index quarks

We study quantum chromodynamics including the two-index symmetric or anti-symmetric quark (QCD(Sym/ASym)) on small $\mathbb{R}^2$× T 2 with a suitable magnetic flux. We first discuss the ’t Hooft anomaly of these theories and claim that discrete chiral symmetry should be spontaneously broken completely to satisfy the anomaly matching condition. The T 2 compactification with the magnetic flux preserves the ’t Hooft anomaly, and the 2d effective theory is constrained by the same anomaly of 4d QCD(Sym/ASym). We demonstrate the spontaneous breakdown of chiral symmetry using the dilute gas of center vortices, which confirms the prediction of the ’t Hooft anomaly. We also find that each vacuum maintains the charge conjugation symmetry, and this gives affirmative support for the nonperturbative large-N orientifold equivalence between QCD(Sym/ASym) and $\mathcal{N}$ = 1 supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills theory.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

3d-3d correspondence for mapping tori

One of the main challenges in 3d-3d correspondence is that no existent approach offers a complete description of 3d N = 2 SCFT T [ M 3 ] — or, rather, a “collection of SCFTs” as we refer to it in the paper — for all types of 3-manifolds that include, for example, a 3-torus, Brieskorn spheres, and hyperbolic surgeries on knots. The goal of this paper is to overcome this challenge by a more systematic study of 3d-3d correspondence that, first of all, does not rely heavily on any geometric structure on M 3 and, secondly, is not limited to a particular supersymmetric partition function of T [ M 3 ]. In particular, we propose to describe such “collection of SCFTs” in terms of 3d N = 2 gauge theories with “non-linear matter” fields valued in complex group manifolds. As a result, we are able to recover familiar 3-manifold invariants, such as Turaev torsion and WRT invariants, from twisted indices and half-indices of T [ M 3 ], and propose new tools to compute more recent q -series invariants Z * ( M 3 ) in the case of manifolds with b 1 > 0. Although we use genus-1 mapping tori as our “case study,” many results and techniques readily apply to more general 3-manifolds, as we illustrate throughout the paper.

Topological Field Theories↗
DOE OSTI2023

Holographic entanglement from the UV to the IR

In AdS/CFT, observables on the boundary are invariant under renormalization group (RG) flow in the bulk. In this paper, we study holographic entanglement entropy under bulk RG flow and find that it is indeed invariant. We focus on tree-level RG flow, where massive fields in a UV theory are integrated out to give the IR theory. We explicitly show that in several simple examples, holographic entanglement entropy calculated in the UV theory agrees with that calculated in the IR theory. Moreover, we give an argument for this agreement to hold for general tree-level RG flow. Along the way, we generalize the replica method of calculating holographic entanglement entropy to bulk theories that include matter fields with nonzero spin.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Peculiarities of beta functions in sigma models

In this paper we consider perturbation theory in generic two-dimensional sigma models in the so-called first-order formalism, using the coordinate regularization approach. Our goal is to analyze the first-order formalism in application to β functions and compare its results with the standard geometric calculations. Already in the second loop, we observe deviations from the geometric results that cannot be explained by the regularization/renormalization scheme choices. Moreover, in certain cases the first-order calculations produce results that are not symmetric under the classical diffeomorphisms of the target space. Although we could not present the full solution to this remarkable phenomenon, we found some indirect arguments indicating that an anomaly similar to that established in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory might manifest itself starting from the second loop. We discuss why the difference between two answers might be an infrared effect, similar to that in β functions in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories.

Sigma Models↗
DOE OSTI2022

Type IIB at eight derivatives: insights from Superstrings, Superfields and Superparticles

We study the non-linear structure of Type IIB eight-derivative couplings involving the metric and the complexified three-form G 3 . We show that, at the level of five-point string amplitudes, the kinematics in the maximally R-symmetry-violating sector is fully matched by standard superspace integrals and by superparticle amplitudes in M-theory on a two-torus. The latter approach is used to determine the complete effective action in this sector and to verify its invariance under SL(2, Z) duality. We further comment on the general structure of the higher-point kinematics. Compactifications to lower dimensions provide both tests for our results and the arena for their applications. We verify that K 3 reductions are fully consistent with the constraints of six-dimensional supersymmetry, and derive the four-dimensional flux scalar potential and axion kinetic terms at order (α') 3 in Calabi-Yau threefold reductions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Q-balls meet fuzzballs: non-BPS microstate geometries

We construct a three-parameter family of non-extremal microstate geometries, or “microstrata”, that are dual to states and deformations of the D1-D5 CFT. These families are non-extremal analogues of superstrata. We find these microstrata by using a Q-ball-inspired Ansatz that reduces the equations of motion to solving for eleven functions of one variable. We then solve this system both perturbatively and numerically and the results match extremely well. We find that the solutions have normal mode frequencies that depend upon the amplitudes of the excitations. We also show that, at higher order in perturbations, some of the solutions, having started with normalizable modes, develop a “non-normalizable” part, suggesting that the microstrata represent states in a perturbed form of the D1-D5 CFT. This paper is intended as a “Proof of Concept” for the Q-ball-inspired approach, and we will describe how it opens the way to many interesting follow-up calculations both in supergravity and in the dual holographic field theory.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Islands in non-minimal dilaton gravity: exploring effective theories for black hole evaporation

We start from (3 + 1)-dimensional Einstein gravity with minimally coupled massless scalar matter, through spherical dimensional reduction, the matter theory is non-minimally coupled with the dilaton in (1 + 1)-dimensions. Despite its simplicity, constructing a self-consistent one-loop effective theory for this model remains a challenge, partially due to a Weyl-invariant ambiguity in the effective action. With a universal splitting property for the one-loop action, the ambiguity can be identified with the state-dependent part of the covariant quantum stress tensor. By introducing on-shell equivalent auxiliary fields to construct minimal candidates of Weyl-invariant terms, we derive a one-parameter family of one-loop actions with unique, regular, and physical stress tensors corresponding to the Boulware, Hartle-Hawking and Unruh states. We further study the back-reacted geometry and the corresponding quantum extremal islands that were inaccessible without a consistent one-loop theory. Along the way, we elaborate on the implications of our construction for the non-minimal dilaton gravity model.

2D Gravity↗
DOE OSTI2024

Heavy states in 3d gravity and 2d CFT

We discuss correlators of light fields in heavy states in AdS 3 gravity and holographic 2d CFTs. In the bulk, the propagator of free fields in AdS backgrounds containing a conical defect or a BTZ black hole can be obtained by solving a wave equation, as well as by the method of images. On the boundary, these geometries are sourced by heavy operator insertions, and the propagator is dual to a heavy-light (HHLL) correlator. By matching its expansion in Virasoro blocks to our bulk results, we determine the OPE coefficients of all contributing states in both the s and t channels. In the s channel, these states are excitations of the light field on top of the heavy state, and their OPE coefficients are the amplitudes to create them. The t-channel OPE is dominated by the Virasoro vacuum block, but there is also an infinite family of light two-particle states that contribute to the correlator. The OPE coefficients that couple these states to heavy operators represent their expectation values in heavy backgrounds. We determine them exactly, derive their asymptotic form at large twist, and discuss their behavior near and above the BTZ threshold, where they become thermal one-point functions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Microstate counting via Bethe Ansätze in the 4d $ \mathcal{N} $ = 1 superconformal index

We study the superconfomal index of four-dimensional toric quiver gauge theories using a Bethe Ansatz approach recently applied by Benini and Milan. Relying on a particular set of solutions to the corresponding Bethe Ansatz equations we evaluate the superconformal index in the large N limit, thus avoiding to take any Cardy-like limit. We present explicit results for theories arising as a stack of N D 3 branes at the tip of toric Calabi-Yau cones: the conifold theory, the suspended pinch point gauge theory, the first del Pezzo theory and Y p,q quiver gauge theories. For a suitable choice of the chemical potentials of the theory we find agreement with predictions made for the same theories in the Cardy-like limit. However, for other regions of the domain of chemical potentials the superconformal index is modified and consequently the associated black hole entropy receives corrections. We work out explicitly the simple case of the conifold theory.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Neutralizing topological obstructions to bubbles of nothing

Theories with compact extra dimensions can exhibit a vacuum instability known as a bubble of nothing. These decay modes can be obstructed if the internal manifold is stabilized by fluxes, or if it carries Wilson lines for background gauge fields, or if the instanton is incompatible with the spin structure. In each of these cases the decay can proceed by adding dynamical charged membranes or gauge fields. We give a general, bottom-up procedure for constructing approximate bubble of nothing solutions in models with internal spheres stabilized by flux and study the influence of the brane tension on the tunneling exponent, finding two branches of solutions that merge at a minimal superextremal value of the tension. In the case of Wilson operators and incompatible fermions, the relevant bubble is shown to be the Euclidean Reissner-Nordstrom black hole, and the ordinary decay exponent is modified by 1/g 2 effects. We examine the Dirac operator on this background and comment on the relevance for models of supergravity with gauged R-symmetry.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Precision microstate counting for the entropy of wrapped M5-branes

We study the large N expansion of twisted partition functions of 3d N = 2 superconformal field theories arising from N M5-branes wrapped on a hyperbolic 3- manifold, M 3 . Via the 3d-3d correspondence, the partition functions of these 3d N = 2 superconformal field theories are related to simple topological invariants on the 3-manifold. The partition functions can be expressed using only classical and one-loop perturbative invariants of PSL(N, C) Chern-Simons theory around irreducible flat connections on M 3 . Using mathematical results on the asymptotics of the invariants, we compute the twisted partition functions in the large N limit including perturbative corrections to all orders in 1/N . Surprisingly, the perturbative expansion terminates at finite order. The leading part of the partition function is of order N 3 and agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the dual black holes. The subleading part, in particular the log N -terms in the field theory partition function is found to precisely match the one-loop quantum corrections in the dual eleven dimensional supergravity. The field theory results of other terms in 1/N provide a stringent prediction for higher order corrections in the holographic dual, which is M-theory.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

4-manifolds and topological modular forms

We build a connection between topology of smooth 4-manifolds and the theory of topological modular forms by considering topologically twisted compactification of 6d (1, 0) theories on 4-manifolds with flavor symmetry backgrounds. The effective 2d theory has (0, 1) supersymmetry and, possibly, a residual flavor symmetry. The equivariant topological Witten genus of this 2d theory then produces a new invariant of the 4-manifold equipped with a principle bundle, valued in the ring of equivariant weakly holomorphic (topological) modular forms. We describe basic properties of this map and present a few simple examples. As a byproduct, we obtain some new results on ’t Hooft anomalies of 6d (1, 0) theories and a better understanding of the relation between 2d (0, 1) theories and TMF spectra.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗