Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Cons-training tensor networks: Embedding and optimization over discrete linear constraints

  Javier Lopez-Piqueres, Jing Chen

  SciPost Phys. 18, 192 (2025) · published 17 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this study, we introduce a novel family of tensor networks, termed constrained matrix product states (MPS), designed to incorporate exactly arbitrary discrete linear constraints, including inequalities, into sparse block structures. These tensor networks are particularly tailored for modeling distributions with support strictly over the feasible space, offering benefits such as reducing the search space in optimization problems, alleviating overfitting, improving training efficiency, and decreasing model size. Central to our approach is the concept of a quantum region, an extension of quantum numbers traditionally used in $U(1)$ symmetric tensor networks, adapted to capture any linear constraint, including the unconstrained scenario. We further develop a novel canonical form for these new MPS, which allow for the merging and factorization of tensor blocks according to quantum region fusion rules and permit optimal truncation schemes. Utilizing this canonical form, we apply an unsupervised training strategy to optimize arbitrary objective functions subject to discrete linear constraints. Our method's efficacy is demonstrated by solving the quadratic knapsack problem, achieving superior performance compared to a leading nonlinear integer programming solver. Additionally, we analyze the complexity and scalability of our approach, demonstrating its potential in addressing complex constrained combinatorial optimization problems.

• The asymmetric Fermi surface of Bi2201

  Steef Smit, Kourosh L. Shirkoohi, Saumya Mukherjee, Sergio Barquero Pierantoni, Lewis Bawden, Erik van Heumen, Arnaud P. N. Tchiomo, Jans Henke, Jasper van Wezel, Yingkai Huang, Takeshi Kondo, Tsunehiro Takeuchi, Timur K. Kim, Cephise Cacho, Marta Zonno, Sergey Gorovikov, Stephen B. Dugdale, Jorge I. Facio, Mariia Roslova, Laura Folkers, Anna Isaeva, Nigel E. Hussey, Mark S. Golden

  SciPost Phys. 18, 191 (2025) · published 17 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) performed on the single-layered cuprate (Pb$_{1-y}$,Bi$_y$)$_2$Sr$_{2-x}$La$_x$CuO$_{6+\delta}$ (Bi2201) reveals a 6-10% difference in the nodal $k_F$ vectors along the $\Gamma$Y and $\Gamma$X directions. This asymmetry is notably larger than the 2% orthorhombic distortion in the CuO$_2$ plane lattice constants determined using X-ray crystallography from the same samples. First principles calculations indicate that crystal-field splitting of the bands lies at the root of the $k_{F}$ asymmetry. Concomitantly, the nodal Fermi velocities for the $\Gamma$Y quadrant exceed those for $\Gamma$X by 4%. Momentum distribution curve widths for the two nodal dispersions are also anisotropic, showing identical energy dependencies, bar a scaling factor of $\sim$ 1.17$± 0.05$ between $\Gamma$Y and $\Gamma$X. Consequently, the imaginary part of the self-energy is found to be 10-20% greater along $\Gamma$Y than $\Gamma$X. These results emphasize the need to account for Fermi surface asymmetry in the analysis of ARPES data on Bi-based cuprate high temperature superconductors such as Bi2201. To illustrate this point, an orthorhombic tight-binding model (with twofold in-plane symmetry) was used to fit ARPES Fermi surface maps spanning all four quadrants of the Brillouin zone, and the ARPES-derived hole-doping (Luttinger count) was extracted. Comparison of the Luttinger count with one assuming four-fold in-plane symmetry strongly suggests the marked spread in previously-reported Fermi surface areas from ARPES on Bi2201 results from the differences in $k_F$ along $\Gamma$Y and $\Gamma$X. Using this analysis, a new, linear relationship emerges between the hole-doping derived from ARPES ($p_{\text{ARPES}}$) and that derived using the Presland ($p_{\text{Presland}}$) relation such that $p_{\text{ARPES}} = p_{\text{Presland}}+0.11$. The implications for this difference between the ARPES- and Presland-derived estimates for $p$ are discussed and possible future directions to elucidate the origin of this discrepancy are presented.

• On the interactions and equilibrium between Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton black holes

  Ulrich K. Beckering Vinckers, Tomás Ortín

  SciPost Phys. Core 8, 044 (2025) · published 17 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the interactions and the conditions for the equilibrium of forces between generic non-rotating black holes of the Einstein–Maxwell–dilaton (EMD) theory. We study known (and some new) solutions of the time-symmetric initial-data problem describing an arbitrary number of those black holes, some of them with primary scalar hair. We show how one can distinguish between initial data corresponding to dynamical situations in which the black holes (one or many) are not in equilibrium and initial data which are just constant-time slices of a static solution of the full equations of motion describing static black holes using (self-)interaction energies. For a single black hole, non-vanishing self-interaction energy is always related to primary scalar hair and to a dynamical black hole. Removing the self-interaction energies in multi-center solutions we get interaction energies related to the attractive and repulsive forces acting on the black holes. As shown by Brill and Lindquist, for widely separated black holes, these take the standard Newtonian and Coulombian forms plus an additional interaction term associated with the scalar charges which is attractive for like charges.

• Quantum many-body thermal machines enabled by atom-atom correlations

  Raymon S. Watson, Karen V. Kheruntsyan

  SciPost Phys. 18, 190 (2025) · published 16 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Particle-particle correlations, characterized by Glauber's second-order correlation function, play an important role in the understanding of various phenomena in radio and optical astronomy, quantum and atom optics, particle physics, condensed matter physics, and quantum many-body theory. However, the relevance of such correlations to quantum thermodynamics has so far remained illusive. Here, we propose and investigate a class of quantum many-body thermal machines whose operation is directly enabled by second-order atom-atom correlations in an ultracold atomic gas. More specifically, we study quantum thermal machines that operate in a sudden interaction-quench Otto cycle and utilize a one-dimensional Lieb-Liniger gas of repulsively interacting bosons as the working fluid. The atom-atom correlations in such a gas are different to those of a classical ideal gas, and are a result of the interplay between interparticle interactions, quantum statistics, and thermal fluctuations. We show that operating these thermal machines in the intended regimes, such as a heat engine, refrigerator, thermal accelerator, or heater, would be impossible without such atom-atom correlations. Our results constitute a step forward in the design of conceptually new quantum thermodynamic devices which take advantage of uniquely quantum resources such as quantum coherence, correlations, and entanglement.

  4 citations

• Characteristic features of an active polar filament pushing a load

  Prabhakar Maurya, Shalabh Kumar Anand, Sunil Pratap Singh

  SciPost Phys. 18, 189 (2025) · published 16 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present the structural and dynamical behavior of an active polar filament that is pushing a load using overdamped Langevin dynamics simulations. By varying the bending rigidity and the connectivity between the filament and the load, we smoothly transition the boundary condition of the filament from pivoted to clamped. In the clamped state, the load remains strongly aligned with the filament, whereas in the pivoted state, the load is free to rotate at its attachment point. Under the pivoted boundary condition, the active polar filament buckles and exhibits various fascinating dynamical phases, including snake-like motion, rotational motion, and helical conformations. However, under the clamped boundary condition, the helical phase disappears, and the filament attains either an extended or a bent conformation. The transition from the extended state to the helical phase is characterized using a global helical order parameter in the parameter space of active force and a physical quantity associated with the boundary condition. We have obtained various power laws relating the curvature radius of the helical phase, effective diffusivity, and rotational motion of the monomers to the active force. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the filament’s effective diffusivity in the helical phase exhibits a non-monotonic dependence on the active force: it initially increases linearly but decreases sharply at high active force strengths.

• Four no-go theorems on the existence of spin and orbital angular momentum of massless bosons

  Eric Palmerduca, Hong Qin

  SciPost Phys. 18, 188 (2025) · published 16 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The past decades have seen substantial interest in the so-called orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light, driven largely by its diverse range of applications. However, there are fundamental theoretical issues with decomposing the angular momentum of massless particles, such as photons, into spin (SAM) and orbital angular momentum parts. While the angular momentum of massive particles has a natural splitting into the Wigner SAM and OAM, there are numerous proposed splittings for photons and no consensus about which is correct. Moreover, it has been shown that most of the proposed SAM and OAM operators do not satisfy the defining commutation relations of angular momentum operators and are thus not legitimate splittings. Here, we prove that it is generally impossible to split the total angular momentum operator of massless bosons, such as photons and gravitons, into spin and orbital parts. We prove two further generalizations of this result, showing that there are no SAM-OAM splittings even if (1) the SAM operator generates non-internal symmetries or (2) if one allows the SAM and OAM operators to generate non-SO(3) symmetries.

  2 citations

• Bethe Ansatz, quantum circuits, and the F-basis

  Roberto Ruiz, Alejandro Sopena, Esperanza López, Germán Sierra, Balázs Pozsgay

  SciPost Phys. 18, 187 (2025) · published 12 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The Bethe Ansatz is a method for constructing exact eigenstates of quantum-integrable spin chains. Recently, deterministic quantum algorithms, referred to as "algebraic Bethe circuits", have been developed to prepare Bethe states for the spin-$1/2$ XXZ model. These circuits represent a unitary formulation of the standard algebraic Bethe Ansatz, expressed using matrix-product states that act on both the spin chain and an auxiliary space. In this work, we systematize these previous results, and show that algebraic Bethe circuits can be derived by a change of basis in the auxiliary space. The new basis, identical to the "F-basis" known from the theory of quantum-integrable models, generates the linear superposition of plane waves that is characteristic of the coordinate Bethe Ansatz. We explain this connection, highlighting that certain properties of the F-basis (namely, the exchange symmetry of the spins) are crucial for the construction of algebraic Bethe circuits. We demonstrate our approach by presenting new quantum circuits for the inhomogeneous spin-$1/2$ XXZ model.

  4 citations

• Chapman-Enskog theory and crossover between diffusion and superdiffusion for nearly integrable quantum gases

  Maciej Łebek, Miłosz Panfil

  SciPost Phys. 18, 186 (2025) · published 12 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Integrable systems feature an infinite number of conserved charges and on hydrodynamic scales are described by generalised hydrodynamics (GHD). This description breaks down when the integrability is weakly broken and sufficiently large space-time-scales are probed. The emergent hydrodynamics depends then on the charges conserved by the perturbation. We focus on nearly-integrable Galilean-invariant systems with conserved particle number, momentum and energy. Basing on the Boltzmann approach to integrability-breaking we describe dynamics of the system with GHD equation supplemented with a collision term. The limit of large space-time-scales is addressed using Chapman-Enskog expansion adapted to the GHD equation. For length scales larger than $\sim \lambda^{-2}$, where $\lambda$ is integrability-breaking parameter, we recover Navier-Stokes equations and find transport coefficients: viscosity and thermal conductivity. At even larger length scales, this description crosses over to Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class, characteristic to generic non-integrable one-dimensional fluids. Employing nonlinear fluctuating hydrodynamics we estimate this crossover length scale as $ \sim \lambda^{-4}$.

• Smuggling critique into impact: Research design principles for critical and actionable migration research

  Maybritt Jill Alpes

  Mig. Pol. 4, 004 (2025) · published 12 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  This article introduces critical and actionable migration research as an approach for scholars seeking to mobilize their epistemic resources to resist migration laws and policies that violate human rights principles in the short and medium term. While academia is increasingly shaped by a neoliberal “impact agenda,” violence at physical and administrative borders, as well human rights violations continue to intensify - raising questions about the potential role of academic knowledge in resisting these dynamics. Using ideal types as simplified analytical constructs, the article suggests that the limited transformative potential of academic knowledge stems from a persistant dichotomy: applied research is often not critical and critical research is often not actionable. Overcoming this dichotomy, critical and actionable migration research advances structural transformations and reframes while simultaneously remaining actionable for state actors in the short and medium term. As such, critical and actionable migration research is not applied research, nor devoid of theoretical considerations. Using the metaphor of smuggling, this article asks how migration researchers can reclaim the meaning of “impact” so that it contains the grains of critique that resist border violence and human rights violations in the short and medium term. The article’s answer is based on autobiographical explorations of what it means for an anthropologist to produce knowledge on migration from within law faculties and as policy officer and research consultant for human and refugee rights organizations. Based on this material, the article argues that “impact” is nothing to be “done” once the research is completed. To engage in critical and actionable migration research, scholars should instead theorize transformative knowledge encounters between academics and practitioners as integral parts of the research design. After a discussion of the autobiographical data and a conceptual discussion of transformative knowledge encounters, the article highlights three specific research design principles for critical and actionable migration research: (1) building innovative knowledge alliances, (2) theorizing knowledge needs, and (3) brokering the validity of truth claims.

  1 citation

• Efficient on-shell matching

  Mikael Chala, Javier L. Miras, José Santiago, Fuensanta Vilches

  SciPost Phys. 18, 185 (2025) · published 11 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose an efficient method to perform on-shell matching calculations in effective field theories. The standard off-shell approach to matching requires the use of a Green's basis that includes redundant and evanescent operators. The reduction of such a basis to a physical one is often highly non-trivial, difficult to automate and error prone. Our proposal is based on a numerical solution of the corresponding on-shell matching equations, which automatically implements in a trivial way the delicate cancellation between the non-local terms in the full theory and those in the effective one. The use of rational on-shell kinematics ensures an exact analytic solution despite the numerical procedure. In this way we only need a physical basis to perform the matching. Our procedure can be used to reduce any Green's basis to an arbitrary physical one, or to translate between physical bases; to renormalize arbitrary effective Lagrangians, directly in terms of a physical basis; and to perform finite matching, including evanescent contributions, as we discuss with explicit examples.

  4 citations