Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Strings and membranes from $\mathcal{A}$-theory five brane

  Machiko Hatsuda, Ondřej Hulík, William D. Linch, Warren D. Siegel, Di Wang, Yu-Ping Wang

  SciPost Phys. 19, 009 (2025) · published 7 July 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The $\mathcal{A}$-theory takes U-duality symmetry as a guiding principle, with the SL(5) U-duality symmetry being described as the world-volume theory of a 5-brane. Furthermore, by unifying the 6-dimensional world-volume Lorentz symmetry with the SL(5) spacetime symmetry, it extends to SL(6) U-duality symmetry. The SL(5) spacetime vielbein fields and the 5-brane world-volume vielbein fields are mixed under the SL(6) U-duality transformation. We demonstrate that consistent sectionings of the SL(6) $\mathcal{A}$5-brane world-volume Lagrangian yield Lagrangians of the $\mathcal{T}$-string with O(D,D) T-duality symmetry, the conventional string, the $\mathcal{M}$5-brane with GL(4) duality symmetry, and the non-perturbative M2-brane in supergravity theory. The GL(4) covariant Lagrangian of the $\mathcal{M}$5-brane derived in this manner is a new, perturbatively quantizable theory.

• Quantized Berry winding from an emergent $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry

  Thibaud Louvet, Pierre Delplace, Mark-Oliver Goerbig, David Carpentier

  SciPost Phys. 15, 129 (2023) · published 3 October 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Linear crossings of energy bands occur in a wide variety of materials. In this paper we address the question of the quantization of the Berry winding characterizing the topology of these crossings in dimension $D=2$. Based on the historical example of $2$-bands crossing occuring in graphene, we propose to relate these Berry windings to the topological Chern number within a $D=3$ dimensional extension of these crossings. This dimensional embedding is obtained through a choice of a gap-opening potential. We show that the presence of an (emergent) $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry, local in momentum and antiunitary, allows the quantization of the Berry windings as multiples of $\pi$. We illustrate this quantization mechanism on a variety of three-band crossings.

• Refined cyclic renormalization group in Russian doll model

  Vedant Motamarri, Ivan M. Khaymovich, Alexander Gorsky

  SciPost Phys. 17, 157 (2024) · published 6 December 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Focusing on Bethe-Ansatz integrable models, robust to both time-reversal symmetry breaking and disorder, we consider the Russian Doll Model (RDM) for finite system sizes and energy levels. Suggested as a time-reversal-symmetry breaking deformation of Richardson's model, the well-known and simplest model of superconductivity, RDM revealed an unusual cyclic renormalization group (RG) over the system size $N$, where the energy levels repeat themselves, shifted by one after a finite period in $\ln N$, supplemented by a hierarchy of superconducting condensates, with the superconducting gaps following the so-called Efimov (exponential) scaling. The equidistant single-particle spectrum of RDM made the above Efimov scaling and cyclic RG to be asymptotically exact in the wideband limit of the diagonal potential. Here, we generalize this observation in various respects. We find that, beyond the wideband limit, when the entire spectrum is considered, the periodicity of the spectrum is not constant, but appears to be energy-dependent. Moreover, we resolve the apparent paradox of shift in the spectrum by a single level after the RG period, despite the disappearance of a finite fraction of energy levels. We also analyze the effects of disorder in the diagonal potential on the above periodicity and show that it survives only for high energies beyond the energy interval of the disorder amplitude. Our analytic analysis is supported with exact diagonalization.

• A perturbation theory for multi-time correlation functions in open quantum systems

  Piotr Szańkowski

  SciPost Phys. 19, 066 (2025) · published 3 September 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Dynamical maps are the principal subject of the open system theory. Formally, the dynamical map of a given open quantum system is a density matrix transformation that takes any initial state and sends it to the state at a later time. Physically, it encapsulates the system's evolution due to coupling with its environment. Hence, the theory provides a flexible and accurate framework for computing expectation values of open system observables. However, expectation values-or more generally, single-time correlation functions-capture only the simplest aspects of a quantum system's dynamics. A complete characterization of the dynamics requires access to multi-time correlation functions as well: phenomena like detailed balance, linear and non-linear response, non-equilibrium transport in general, or even sequential measurements of system observables are all described in terms of multi-time correlations. For closed systems, such correlations are well-defined, even though knowledge of the system's state alone is insufficient to determine them fully. In contrast, the standard dynamical map formalism for open systems does not account for multi-time correlations, as it is fundamentally limited to describing state evolution. Here, we extend the scope of open quantum system theory by developing a systematic perturbation theory for computing multi-time correlation functions.

• Collective modes in superconductors including Coulomb repulsion

  Joshua Althüser, Götz S. Uhrig

  SciPost Phys. 19, 067 (2025) · published 4 September 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We numerically study the collective excitations present in isotropic superconductors including a screened Coulomb interaction. By varying the screening strength, we analyze its impact on the system. We use a formulation of the effective phonon-mediated interaction between electrons that depends on the energy transfer between particles, rather than being a constant in a small energy shell around the Fermi edge. This justifies considering also rather large attractive interactions. We compute the system's Green's functions using the iterated equations of motion (iEoM) approach, which ultimately enables a quantitative analysis of collective excitations. For weak couplings, we identify the well-known amplitude (Higgs) mode at the two-particle continuum's lower edge and the phase (Anderson-Bogoliubov) mode at $\omega = 0$ for a neutral system, which shifts to higher energies as the Coulomb interaction is switched on. As the phononic coupling is increased, the Higgs mode separates from the continuum, and additional phase and amplitude modes appear, persisting even in the presence Coulomb interactions.

• Generalized lattices, conformal manifolds, and symmetries

  Shlomo S. Razamat, Michal Shemesh, Aelly Zeltzer

  SciPost Phys. 19, 069 (2025) · published 24 September 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider supersymmetric conformal quantum field theories (SCFTs) with degrees of freedom labeled by lattice data. We will assume that in terms of the corresponding lattice the interactions are nearest neighbor and exactly marginal. For example, one can construct such theories by coupling many copies of a single SCFT with exactly marginal deformations. In particular, we discuss the interplay between conformal manifolds of such theories and their global, on-site and lattice, symmetries. We show that one can interpret certain current non-conservation equations for symmetries broken by the interactions as conservation equations including the lattice directions. Moreover, we discuss a class of exactly marginal deformations which are labeled by lattice holonomies that are topological on the lattice. We discuss concrete examples of such constructions and comment on their relevance to compactifications of SCFTs.

• The double EFT expansion in quantum gravity

  José Calderón-Infante, Alberto Castellano, Alvaro Herráez

  SciPost Phys. 19, 096 (2025) · published 14 October 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this work, we aim to characterize the structure of higher-derivative corrections within low-energy Effective Field Theories (EFTs) arising from a UV-complete theory of quantum gravity. To this end, we use string theory as a laboratory and argue that such EFTs should exhibit a double EFT expansion involving higher-curvature operators. The field-theoretic expansion is governed by the mass of the lightest (tower of) new degrees of freedom, as expected from standard field theory considerations. Conversely, the quantum-gravitational expansion is suppressed relative to the Einstein-Hilbert term by the quantum gravity cutoff, $\Lambda_{\text{QG}}$, above which no local gravitational EFT description remains valid. This structure becomes manifest in the so-called asymptotic regime, where a hierarchy between the Planck scale and $\Lambda_{\text{QG}}$ emerges, the latter identified herein as the species scale. Most notably, we demonstrate the features of the double EFT expansion through an amplitudes-based approach in (toroidal compactifications of) ten-dimensional Type IIA string theory, and via a detailed analysis of the supersymmetric black hole entropy in 4d $\mathcal{N}=2$ supergravities derived from Type II Calabi–Yau compactifications. We provide further evidence for our proposal across various string theory setups, including Calabi–Yau compactifications of M/F-theory and Type II string theory. Finally, we explore the implications of this framework for the Wilson coefficients of the aforementioned higher-curvature operators, revealing potentially significant constraints in the asymptotic regime and highlighting a remarkable interplay with recent results from the S-matrix bootstrap program.

• 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.

• A large-$N$ approach to magnetic impurities in superconductors

  Chen-How Huang, Alejandro M. Lobos, Miguel A. Cazalilla

  SciPost Phys. 18, 087 (2025) · published 10 March 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Quantum spin impurities coupled to superconductors are under intense investigation for their relevance to fundamental research as well as the prospects to engineer novel quantum phases of matter. Here we develop a large-$N$ mean-field theory of a strongly coupled spin-$\tfrac{1}{2}$ quantum impurity in a conventional $s$-wave superconductor. The approach is benchmarked against Wilson's numerical renormalization group (NRG). While the large-$N$ method is not applicable in the weak-coupling regime where the Kondo temperature $T_K$ is smaller than the superconducting gap $\Delta$, it performs very well in the strong coupling regime where $T_K \gtrsim \Delta$, thus allowing us to obtain a reasonably accurate description of experimentally relevant quantities. The latter include the energy of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov subgap states, their spectral weight, as well as the local density of continuum states. The method provides a reliable analytical tool that complements other perturbative and non-perturbative methods, and can be extended to more complex impurity models for which NRG may not be easily applicable.

• Dipolar magnetostirring protocol for three-well atomtronic circuits

  Héctor Briongos-Merino, Felipe Isaule, Montserrat Guilleumas, Bruno Juliá-Díaz

  SciPost Phys. 19, 059 (2025) · published 27 August 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose a magnetostirring protocol to create persistent currents on an annular system. Under this protocol, polar bosons confined in a three-well ring circuit reach a state with high average circulation. We model the system with an extended Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian and show that the protocol can create circulation in an atomtronic circuit for a range of tunable parameters. The performance and robustness of this scheme are examined, in particular considering different interaction regimes. We also present a method for predicting the optimal protocol parameters, which improves protocol's scalability and enables its application to systems with large numbers of bosons. This overcomes computational limitations and paves the way for exploring macroscopic quantum phenomena.