Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Cosmological infrared subtractions & infrared-safe computables

  Paolo Benincasa, Francisco Vazão

  SciPost Phys. 18, 176 (2025) · published 4 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Cosmological observables in perturbation theory turn out to be plagued with infrared divergences, which represents both a conceptual and computational challenge. In this paper we present a proof of concept for a systematic procedure to remove these divergences in a large class of scalar cosmological integrals and consistently define an infrared safe computable in perturbation theory. We provide diagrammatic rules which are based on the nestohedra underlying the asymptotic structure of such integrals.

  2 citations

• Cosmology of the companion-axion model: Dark matter, gravitational waves, and primordial black holes

  Zhe Chen, Archil Kobakhidze, Ciaran O'Hare, Zachary S. C. Picker, Giovanni Pierobon

  SciPost Phys. 18, 175 (2025) · published 4 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The companion-axion model introduces a second QCD axion to rescue the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong-CP problem from the effects of colored gravitational instantons. As in single-axion models, the two axions predicted by the companion-axion model are attractive candidates for dark matter. The model is defined by two free parameters, the scales of the two axions' symmetry breaking, so we can classify production scenarios in terms of the relative sizes of these two scales with respect to the scale of inflation. We study the cosmological production of companion-axion dark matter in order to predict windows of preferred axion masses, and calculate the relative abundances of the two particles. Additionally, we show that the presence of a second axion solves the cosmological domain wall problem automatically in the scenarios in which one or both of the axions are post-inflationary. We also suggest unique cosmological signatures of the companion-axion model, such as the production of a $\sim$10 nHz gravitational wave background, and $\sim 100\,M_\odot$ primordial black holes.

• Vacua, symmetries, and Higgsing of Chern-Simons matter theories

  Fabio Marino, Marcus Sperling

  SciPost Phys. 18, 174 (2025) · published 3 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Three-dimensional supersymmetric Chern–Simons matter (CSM) theories typically preserve $\mathcal{N}=3$ supersymmetry but can exhibit enhanced $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetry under special conditions. A detailed understanding of the moduli space of CSM theories, however, has remained elusive. This paper addresses this gap by systematically analysing the maximal branches of the moduli space of $\mathcal{N}=3$ and $\mathcal{N}=4$ CSM realised via Type IIB brane constructions. Firstly, for $\mathcal{N}=4$ theories with Chern–Simons levels equal $1$, the $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ dualisation algorithm is employed to construct dual Lagrangian 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ theories without CS terms. This allows the full moduli space to be determined using quiver algorithms that compute Higgs and Coulomb branch Hasse diagrams and associated RG flows. Secondly, for $\mathcal{N}=4$ theories with CS-levels greater $1$, where $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ dualisation does not yield CS-free Lagrangians, a new prescription is introduced to derive two magnetic quivers, $\mathsf{MQ}_A $ and $\mathsf{MQ}_B$, whose Coulomb branches capture the maximal A and B branches of the original $\mathcal{N}=4$ CSM theory. Applying the decay and fission algorithm to $ \mathsf{MQ}_{A/B}$ then enables the systematic analysis of A/B branch RG flows and their geometric structures. Thirdly, for $\mathcal{N}=3$ CSM theories, one magnetic quiver for each maximal (hyper-Kähler) branch is derived from the brane system. This provides an efficient and comprehensive characterisation of these previously scarcely studied features.

• Higher spin swampland conjecture for massive AdS$_{3}$ gravity

  Rajae Sammani, El Hassan Saidi

  SciPost Phys. 18, 173 (2025) · published 3 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this paper, we show that a possible version of the swampland weak gravity conjecture for higher spin (HS) massive topological AdS$_{3}$ gravity can be expressed in terms of mass M$_{\mathrm{hs}}$, charge Q$_{\mathrm{hs}}$ and coupling constant ${\large g}_{\mathrm{hs}}$ of 3D gravity coupled to higher spin fields as M$_{\mathrm{hs}}≤ \sqrt{2}$Q$_{\mathrm{hs}}{\large g}_{\mathrm{hs}}M_{\mathrm{Pl}}$. The higher spin charge is given by the $SO(1,2)$ quadratic Casimir Q$_{\mathrm{hs}}^{2}=s\left( s-1\right) $ and the HS coupling constant by ${\large g}_{\mathrm{hs}}^{2}=2/\left( M_{\mathrm{Pl}}^{2}l_{\mathrm{AdS}_{3}}^{2}\right) $ while the mass expressed like $\left( l_{\mathrm{AdS}_{3}}\text{M}_{\mathrm{hs}}\right) ^{2}$ is defined as $\left( 1+\mathrm{\mu }l_{\mathrm{AdS}_{3}}\right) ^{2}s\left( s-1\right) +\left[1-\left( \mathrm{\mu }l_{\mathrm{AdS}_{3}}\right) ^{2}\left( s-1\right) \right]$.

  1 citation

• Electroweak double-box integrals for Møller scattering

  Niklas Schwanemann, Stefan Weinzierl

  SciPost Phys. 18, 172 (2025) · published 3 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present for Møller scattering planar and non-planar two-loop double-box integrals where three electroweak gauge bosons are exchanged between the fermion lines, among which at least one is a photon. These integrals are relevant for the NNLO electroweak corrections to Møller scattering.

  2 citations

• Minimal areas from entangled matrices

  Jackson R. Fliss, Alexander Frenkel, Sean A. Hartnoll, Ronak M. Soni

  SciPost Phys. 18, 171 (2025) · published 2 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We define a relational notion of a subsystem in theories of matrix quantum mechanics and show how the corresponding entanglement entropy can be given as a minimisation, exhibiting many similarities to the Ryu-Takayanagi formula. Our construction brings together the physics of entanglement edge modes, noncommutative geometry and quantum internal reference frames, to define a subsystem whose reduced state is (approximately) an incoherent sum of density matrices, corresponding to distinct spatial subregions. We show that in states where geometry emerges from semiclassical matrices, this sum is dominated by the subregion with minimal boundary area. As in the Ryu-Takayanagi formula, it is the computation of the entanglement that determines the subregion. We find that coarse-graining is essential in our microscopic derivation, in order to control the proliferation of highly curved and disconnected non-geometric subregions in the sum.

  1 citation

• Generalizations of Kitaev’s honeycomb model from braided fusion categories

  Luisa Eck, Paul Fendley

  SciPost Phys. 18, 170 (2025) · published 2 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Fusion surface models, as introduced by Inamura and Ohmori, extend the concept of anyon chains to 2+1 dimensions, taking fusion 2-categories as their input. In this work, we construct and analyze fusion surface models on the honeycomb lattice built from braided fusion 1-categories. These models preserve mutually commuting plaquette operators and anomalous 1-form symmetries. Their Hamiltonian is chosen to mimic the structure of Kitaev's honeycomb model, which is unitarily equivalent to the Ising fusion surface model. In the anisotropic limit, where one coupling constant is dominant, the fusion surface models reduce to Levin-Wen string-nets. In the isotropic limit, they are described by weakly coupled anyon chains and are likely to realize chiral topological order. We focus on three specific examples: (i) Kitaev's honeycomb model with a perturbation breaking time-reversal symmetry that realizes chiral Ising topological order, (ii) a $\mathbb{Z}_N$ generalization proposed by Barkeshli et al., which potentially realizes chiral parafermion topological order, and (iii) a novel Fibonacci honeycomb model featuring a non-invertible 1-form symmetry.

  1 citation

• Coherent deflection of atomic samples and positional mesoscopic superpositions

  Luis Felipe Alves da Silva, Leandro M. R. Rocha, Miled H. Y. Moussa

  SciPost Phys. 18, 169 (2025) · published 28 May 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present a protocol based on the interplay between superradiance and superabsorption to achieve the coherent deflection of an atomic sample due to the momentum transfer from the atoms to a cavity field. The coherent character of this momentum transfer, causing the atomic sample to deflect as a whole, follows from the collective nature of the atomic superradiant pulse and its superabsorption by the cavity field. The protocol is then used for the construction of positional mesoscopic atomic superpositions in cavity quantum electrodynamics.

• Charting the space of ground states with tensor networks

  Marvin Qi, David T. Stephen, Xueda Wen, Daniel Spiegel, Markus J. Pflaum, Agnès Beaudry, Michael Hermele

  SciPost Phys. 18, 168 (2025) · published 28 May 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We employ matrix product states (MPS) and tensor networks to study topological properties of the space of ground states of gapped many-body systems. We focus on families of states in one spatial dimension, where each state can be represented as an injective MPS of finite bond dimension. Such states are short-range entangled ground states of gapped local Hamiltonians. To such parametrized families over $X$ we associate a gerbe, which generalizes the line bundle of ground states in zero-dimensional families (\textit{i.e.} in few-body quantum mechanics). The nontriviality of the gerbe is measured by a class in $H^3(X, \Z)$, which is believed to classify one-dimensional parametrized systems. We show that when the gerbe is nontrivial, there is an obstruction to representing the family of ground states with an MPS tensor that is continuous everywhere on $X$. We illustrate our construction with two examples of nontrivial parametrized systems over $X=S^3$ and $X = \R P^2 × S^1$. Finally, we sketch using tensor network methods how the construction extends to higher dimensional parametrized systems, with an example of a two-dimensional parametrized system that gives rise to a nontrivial 2-gerbe over $X = S^4$.

  2 citations

• Bayesian illumination: Inference and quality-diversity accelerate generative molecular models

  Jonas Verhellen

  SciPost Chem. 4, 001 (2025) · published 28 May 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In recent years, there have been considerable academic and industrial research efforts to develop novel generative models for high-performing, small molecules. Traditional, rules-based algorithms such as genetic algorithms have, however, been shown to rival deep learning approaches in terms of both efficiency and potency [Jensen, Chem. Sci., 2019, 12, 3567-3572]. In previous work, we showed that the addition of a quality-diversity archive to a genetic algorithm resolves stagnation issues and substantially increases search efficiency [Verhellen, Chem. Sci., 2020, 42, 11485-11491]. In this work, we expand on these insights and leverage the availability of bespoke kernels for small molecules [Griffiths, Adv. Neural. Inf. Process. Syst., 2024, 36] to integrate Bayesian optimisation into the quality-diversity process. This novel generative model, which we call Bayesian Illumination, produces a larger diversity of high-performing molecules than standard quality-diversity optimisation methods. In addition, we show that Bayesian Illumination further improves search efficiency compared to previous generative models for small molecules, including deep learning approaches, genetic algorithms, and standard quality-diversity methods.