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At least 1,675 records · Page 93

Burns space and holography

We elaborate on various aspects of our top-down celestial holographic duality wherein the semiclassical bulk spacetime is a 4d asymptotically flat, self-dual Kähler geometry known as Burns space. The bulk theory includes an open string sector comprising a 4d WZW model and a closed string sector called “Mabuchi gravity” capturing fluctuations of the Kähler potential. Starting with the type I topological B-model on the twistor space of flat space, we obtain the twistor space of Burns space from the backreaction of a stack of N coincident D1 branes, while the chiral algebra is obtained from (a twist of) the brane worldvolume theory. One striking consequence of this duality is that all loop-level scattering amplitudes of the theory on Burns space can be expressed as correlation functions of an explicit 2d chiral algebra.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Nonperturbative quantum gravity in a closed Lorentzian universe

We study how meaningful physical predictions can arise in nonperturbative quantum gravity in a closed Lorentzian universe. In such settings, recent developments suggest that the quantum gravitational Hilbert space is one-dimensional and real for each α-sector, as induced by spacetime wormholes. This appears to obstruct the conventional quantum-mechanical prescription of assigning probabilities via projection onto a basis of states. While previous approaches have introduced external observers or augmented the theory to resolve this issue, we argue that quantum gravity itself contains all the necessary ingredients to make physical predictions. We demonstrate that the emergence of classical observables and probabilistic outcomes can be understood as a consequence of partial observability: physical observers access only a subsystem of the universe. Tracing out the inaccessible degrees of freedom yields reduced density matrices that encode classical information, with uncertainties exponentially suppressed by the environment’s entropy. We develop this perspective using both the Lorentzian path integral and operator formalisms and support it with a simple microscopic model. Our results show that quantum gravity in a closed universe naturally gives rise to meaningful, robust predictions without recourse to external constructs.

AdS-CFT Correspondence↗

Duality and supersymmetry constraints on the weak gravity conjecture

Positivity bounds coming from consistency of UV scattering amplitudes are not always sufficient to prove the weak gravity conjecture for theories beyond Einstein-Maxwell. Additional ingredients about the UV may be necessary to exclude those regions of parameter space which are naïvely in conflict with the predictions of the weak gravity conjecture. In this paper we explore the consequences of imposing additional symmetries inherited from the UV theory on higher-derivative operators for Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton-axion theory. Using black hole thermodynamics, for a preserved SL(2, $\mathbb{R}$) symmetry we find that the weak gravity conjecture then does follow from positivity bounds. For a preserved O(d, d; $\mathbb{R}$) symmetry we find a simple condition on the two Wilson coefficients which ensures the positivity of corrections to the charge-to-mass ratio and that follows from the null energy condition alone. We find that imposing supersymmetry on top of either of these symmetries gives corrections which vanish identically, as expected for BPS states.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Chern-Weil global symmetries and how quantum gravity avoids them

We draw attention to a class of generalized global symmetries, which we call “Chern-Weil global symmetries,” that arise ubiquitously in gauge theories. The Noether currents of these Chern-Weil global symmetries are given by wedge products of gauge field strengths, such as F 2 $\wedge$ H 3 and tr(F$^2_2$), and their conservation follows from Bianchi identities. As a result, they are not easy to break. However, it is widely believed that exact global symmetries are not allowed in a consistent theory of quantum gravity. As a result, any Chern-Weil global symmetry in a low-energy effective field theory must be either broken or gauged when the theory is coupled to gravity. In this paper, we explore the processes by which Chern-Weil symmetries may be broken or gauged in effective field theory and string theory. We will see that many familiar phenomena in string theory, such as axions, Chern-Simons terms, worldvolume degrees of freedom, and branes ending on or dissolving in other branes, can be interpreted as consequences of the absence of Chern-Weil symmetries in quantum gravity, suggesting that they might be general features of quantum gravity. We further discuss implications of breaking and gauging Chern-Weil symmetries for particle phenomenology and for boundary CFTs of AdS bulk theories. Chern-Weil global symmetries thus offer a unified framework for understanding many familiar aspects of quantum field theory and quantum gravity.

Brane dynamics in gauge theories↗

Angular fractals in thermal QFT

We show that thermal effective field theory controls the long-distance expansion of the partition function of a d-dimensional QFT, with an insertion of any finite-order spatial isometry. Consequently, the thermal partition function on a sphere displays a fractal-like structure as a function of angular twist, reminiscent of the behavior of a modular form near the real line. As an example application, we find that for CFTs, the effective free energy of even-spin minus odd-spin operators at high temperature is smaller than the usual free energy by a factor of 1/2 d . Near certain rational angles, the partition function receives subleading contributions from “Kaluza-Klein vortex defects” in the thermal EFT, which we classify. We illustrate our results with examples in free and holographic theories, and also discuss nonperturbative corrections from worldline instantons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Prescriptive unitarity for non-planar six-particle amplitudes at two loops

We extend the applications of prescriptive unitarity beyond the planar limit to provide local, polylogarithmic, integrand-level representations of six-particle MHV scattering amplitudes in both maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and gravity. The integrand basis we construct is diagonalized on a spanning set of non-vanishing leading singularities that ensures the manifest matching of all soft-collinear singularities in both theories. As a consequence, this integrand basis naturally splits into infrared-finite and infrared-divergent parts, with hints toward an integrand-level exponentiation of infrared divergences. Importantly, we use the same basis of integrands for both theories, so that the presence or absence of residues at infinite loop momentum becomes a feature detectable by inspecting the cuts of the theory. Complete details of our results are provided as sup- plementary material.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Unitarization from geometry

We study the perturbative unitarity of scattering amplitudes in general dimensional reductions of Yang–Mills theories and general relativity on closed internal manifolds. For the tree amplitudes of the dimensionally reduced theory to have the expected high-energy behavior of the higher-dimensional theory, the masses and cubic couplings of the Kaluza–Klein states must satisfy certain sum rules that ensure there are nontrivial cancellations between Feynman diagrams. These sum rules give constraints on the spectra and triple overlap integrals of eigenfunctions of Laplacian operators on the internal manifold and can be proven directly using Hodge and eigenfunction decompositions. One consequence of these constraints is that there is an upper bound on the ratio of consecutive eigenvalues of the scalar Laplacian on closed Ricci-flat manifolds with special holonomy. This gives a sharp bound on the allowed gaps between Kaluza–Klein excitations of the graviton that also applies to Calabi–Yau compactifications of string theory.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Island for gravitationally prepared state and pseudo entanglement wedge

We consider spacetime initiated by a finite-sized initial boundary as a generalization of the Hartle-Hawking no-boundary state. We study entanglement entropy of matter state prepared by such spacetime. We find that the entanglement entropy for large subregion is given either by the initial state entanglement or the entanglement island, preventing the entropy to grow arbitrarily large. Consequently, the entanglement entropy is always bounded from above by the boundary area of the island, leading to an entropy bound in terms of the island. The island I is located in the analytically continued spacetime, either at the bra or the ket part of the spacetime in Schwinger-Keldysh formalism. The entanglement entropy is given by an average of complex pseudo generalized entropy for each entanglement island. We find a necessary condition of the initial state to be consistent with the strong sub-additivity, which requires that any probe degrees of freedom are thermally entangled with the rest of the system. We then find a large parameter region where the spacetime with finite-sized initial boundary, which does not have the factorization puzzle at leading order, dominates over the Hartle-Hawking no-boundary state or the bra ket wormhole. Due to the absence of a moment of time reflection symmetry, the island in our setup is a generalization of the entanglement wedge, called pseudo entanglement wedge. In pseudo entanglement wedge reconstruction, we consider reconstructing the bulk matter transition matrix on A ∪ I, from a fine-grained state on A. The bulk transition matrix is given by a thermofield double state with a projection by the initial state. We also provide an AdS/BCFT model by considering EOW branes with corners. We also find the exponential hardness of such reconstruction task using a generalization of Python’s lunch conjecture to pseudo generalized entropy.

2D gravity↗

Emergent unitarity in de Sitter from matrix integrals

We study Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity with positive cosmological constant as a model for de Sitter quantum gravity. We focus on the quantum mechanics of the model at past and future infinity. There is a Hilbert space of asymptotic states and an infinite-time evolution operator between the far past and far future. This evolution is not unitary, although we find that it acts unitarily on a subspace up to non-perturbative corrections. These corrections come from processes which involve changes in the spatial topology, including the nucleation of baby universes. There is significant evidence that this 1+1 dimensional model is dual to a 0+0 dimensional matrix integral in the double-scaled limit. So the bulk quantum mechanics, including the Hilbert space and approximately unitary evolution, emerge from a classical integral. We find that this emergence is a robust consequence of the level repulsion of eigenvalues along with the double scaling limit, and so is rather universal in random matrix theory.

2D gravity↗

Factorial growth at low orders in perturbative QCD: control over truncation uncertainties

A method, known as “minimal renormalon subtraction”, relates the factorial growth of a perturbative series (in QCD) to the power p of a power correction Λ p /Q p . (Λ is the QCD scale, Q some hard scale.) Here, the derivation is simplified and generalized to any p , more than one such correction, and cases with anomalous dimensions. Strikingly, the well-known factorial growth is seen to emerge already at low or medium orders, as a consequence of constraints on the Q dependence from the renormalization group. The effectiveness of the method is studied with the gluonic energy between a static quark and static antiquark (the “static energy”). Truncation uncertainties are found to be under control after next-to-leading order, despite the small exponent of the power correction ( p = 1) and associated rapid growth seen in the first four coefficients of the perturbative series.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Imaging the wakes of jets with energy-energy-energy correlators

As the partons in a high energy jet propagate through the droplet of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) produced in a heavy-ion collision they lose energy to, kick, and are kicked by the medium. The resulting modifications to the parton shower encode information about the microscopic nature of QGP. A direct consequence, however, is that the momentum and energy lost by the parton shower are gained by the medium and, since QGP is a strongly coupled liquid, this means that the jet excites a wake in the droplet of QGP. After freezeout, this wake becomes soft hadrons with net momentum in the jet direction meaning that what an experimentalist later reconstructs as a jet includes hadrons originating from both the modified parton shower and its wake. This has made it challenging to find experimental observables that provide an unambiguous view of the dynamical response of a droplet of QGP to a jet shooting through it. Recent years have seen significant substantial advances in the theoretical and experimental understanding of the substructure of jets, in particular, using correlation functions, $\langle$ ($\vec{n}$ 1 )•••$\mathcal{E}$($\vec{n}$ k ) $\rangle$, of the energy flux operator in proton-proton collisions and, recently, in heavy-ion collisions. So far, such studies have focused primarily on the two-point correlator, which allows for the identification of the angular scale of the underlying dynamics. Higher-point correlators hold the promise of mapping out the dynamics themselves. In this paper we perform the first study of the shape-dependent three-point energy-energy-energy correlator in heavy-ion collisions. Using the Hybrid Model to simulate the interactions of high energy jets with the QGP medium, we show that the three-point correlator presents us with a striking new opportunity. We find that hadrons originating from wakes are the dominant contribution to the three-point correlator in the kinematic regime in which the three points are well-separated in angle, forming a roughly equilateral triangle. This equilateral region of the correlator is far from the region populated by collinear vacuum emissions, making it a canvas on which jet wakes are laid out, where experimentalists can map their shapes. Our work provides a key step towards the systematic use of energy correlators to image and unravel the dynamical response of a droplet of QGP that has been probed by a passing jet, and motivates numerous experimental and theoretical studies.

Jets and Jet Substructure↗

-Omics potential of in vitro skin models for radiation exposure

There is a growing need to uncover biomarkers of ionizing radiation exposure that leads to a better understanding of how exposures take place, including dose type, rate, and time since exposure. As one of the first organs to be exposed to external sources of ionizing radiation, skin is uniquely positioned in terms of model systems for radiation exposure study. The simultaneous evolution of both MS-based -omics studies, as well as in vitro 3D skin models, has created the ability to develop a far more holistic understanding of how ionizing radiation affects the many interconnected biomolecular processes that occur in human skin. However, there are a limited number of studies describing the biomolecular consequences of low-dose ionizing radiation to the skin. As a result, this review will seek to explore the current state-of-the-art technology in terms of in vitro 3D skin models, as well as track the trajectory of MS-based -omics techniques and their application to ionizing radiation research, specifically, the search for biomarkers within the low-dose range.

3D tissue model↗

A Converse to Lieb–Robinson Bounds in One Dimension Using Index Theory

Abstract Unitary dynamics with a strict causal cone (or “light cone”) have been studied extensively, under the name of quantum cellular automata (QCAs). In particular, QCAs in one dimension have been completely classified by an index theory. Physical systems often exhibit only approximate causal cones; Hamiltonian evolutions on the lattice satisfy Lieb–Robinson bounds rather than strict locality. This motivates us to study approximately locality preserving unitaries (ALPUs). We show that the index theory is robust and completely extends to one-dimensional ALPUs. As a consequence, we achieve a converse to the Lieb–Robinson bounds: any ALPU of index zero can be exactly generated by some time-dependent, quasi-local Hamiltonian in constant time. For the special case of finite chains with open boundaries, any unitary satisfying the Lieb–Robinson bound may be generated by such a Hamiltonian. We also discuss some results on the stability of operator algebras which may be of independent interest.

Physics↗

Embedding ceramic components in metal structures with hybrid directed energy deposition

The combined benefit of both additive and subtractive manufacturing within the same gantry system enables hybrid directed energy deposition to create complex geometries with smooth surface finish and superior dimensional accuracy. Moreover, with layer-by-layer access to the structure during both the addition and subtraction of material, the insertion of components is now possible, assuming the components can survive the high temperatures associated with the subsequent metal deposition. Ceramic inserts are of interest for a variety of reasons including (1) to create complex interwoven ductile/brittle composites for ballistics or high-temperature applications or (2) to integrate high-temperature strain or temperature sensors protected within ceramic substrate subsumed into a larger metal structure. Here, in this work, stainless steel substrates were machined to create an internal cavity for the insertion of a ceramic component. During the investigation of several different over-the-ceramic deposition strategies, components were inserted, and different process sequences were allowed to continue to envelop the inserted ceramic with varying success. Unmelted powder was used to serve both as a thermal buffer and to provide a flush surface upon which the laser cladding could continue. Subsequent depositions were attempted with both dry and wet powder (addition of machining coolant to wet). The wet powder has previously been demonstrated to not significantly impact the mechanical properties of a final structure and provided a thermal barrier to protect the ceramic piece from the extreme temperatures of the final metal deposition. The wetting of the powder provided stability and minimized displacement caused by the powder flow from the laser cladding head. Finally, the use of an oblique angle for laser cladding allowed for the redirection of some fraction of the introduced thermal energy away from the ceramic component and, consequently, improved the survival of the ceramic inserts. With this combination of techniques, ceramic inserts survived full embedding within a 3D-printed stainless steel structure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Autonomous direct freeform fabrication strategy for multi-axis additive manufacturing

Multi-axis additive manufacturing (M-AM) enables precise material deposition along both planar and curved layers, eliminating the need for support structures through a continuous material deposition approach. In contrast to conventional 2-dimensional planar layers constrained to a fixed building orientation, the deposition on freeform layers demands the specification of guided curves to determine material deposition directions which are no longer to be fixed to a build direction. There are challenges that arise when fabricating components with multiple “build” directions, necessitating the decomposition of geometries and the specification of guided curves for the resulting volumes. Furthermore, multi-axis systems introduce heightened challenges due to an increased degree of freedom in motion. Consequently, the potential risks of collision between the deposited geometry and the motion platform become a notable concern. This research proposes a freeform layering algorithm to address the challenge of seamless transitions between planar and curved layers in the process planning of M-AM. The algorithm computes 3D “printable” layers by leveraging topological information derived from the geometry to be built and integrates collision-free manufacturability considerations into the computational process. These accumulated volumes serve as a “substrate” and support volumes for subsequent deposition, allowing later layers to be built without the need for additional support material. In conclusion, the proposed method successfully devises a freeform layering approach suitable for intricate models that demand substantial support, thus enabling the fabrication of diverse geometries in a manner previously unachievable.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Noncommutative Bohnenblust–Hille inequalities

Abstract Bohnenblust–Hille inequalities for Boolean cubes have been proven with dimension-free constants that grow subexponentially in the degree (Defant et al. in Math Ann 374(1):653–680, 2019). Such inequalities have found great applications in learning low-degree Boolean functions (Eskenazis and Ivanisvili in Proceedings of the 54th annual ACM SIGACT symposium on theory of computing, pp 203–207, 2022). Motivated by learning quantum observables, a qubit analogue of Bohnenblust–Hille inequality for Boolean cubes was recently conjectured in Rouzé et al. (Quantum Talagrand, KKL and Friedgut’s theorems and the learnability of quantum Boolean functions, 2022. arXiv preprint arXiv:2209.07279 ). The conjecture was resolved in Huang et al. (Learning to predict arbitrary quantum processes, 2022. arXiv preprint arXiv:2210.14894 ). In this paper, we give a new proof of these Bohnenblust–Hille inequalities for qubit system with constants that are dimension-free and of exponential growth in the degree. As a consequence, we obtain a junta theorem for low-degree polynomials. Using similar ideas, we also study learning problems of low degree quantum observables and Bohr’s radius phenomenon on quantum Boolean cubes.

Volberg, Alexander↗

Conservative numerical schemes with optimal dispersive wave relations: Part I. Derivation and analysis

An energy-conserving and an energy-and-enstrophy conserving numerical schemes are derived by approximating the Hamiltonian formulation of the inviscid shallow water flows based on the vorticity-divergence variables. These schemes also conserve the first-order moments such as mass and vorticity, as usual. The conservative properties of the schemes stem from the skew-symmetry and singularities of the Poisson brackets, which are carefully retained in the discrete approximations. Here, the schemes operate on unstructured orthogonal dual meshes, over bounded or unbounded domains, and they are also shown to possess the same optimal dispersive wave relations as those of the Z-grid scheme, which is a consequence of the use of the vorticity and divergence variables.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Universality of the Microcanonical Entropy at Large Spin

We consider rigorous consequences of modular invariance for two-dimensional unitary non-rational CFTs with c > 1. Simple estimates for the torus partition function can lead to remarkably strong results. We show in particular that the spectral density of spin-J operators must grow like exp (π√$\frac{2}{3}$$(c - 1)$J})/√2J in any twist interval at or above (c - 1)/12, with a known twist-dependent prefactor. This proves that the large J spectrum becomes dense even without averaging over spins. For twists below (c - 1)/12 we establish that the growth must be strictly slower. Finally, we estimate how fast the maximal gap between two spin-J operators must go to zero as J becomes large.

Pal, Sridip [California Institute of Technology (C↗