Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Wegner's Ising gauge spins versus Kitaev's Majorana partons: Mapping and application to anisotropic confinement in spin-orbital liquids

  Urban F. P. Seifert, Sergej Moroz

  SciPost Phys. 16, 147 (2024) · published 5 June 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Emergent gauge theories take a prominent role in the description of quantum matter, supporting deconfined phases with topological order and fractionalized excitations. A common construction of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theories, first introduced by Wegner, involves Ising gauge spins placed on links and subject to a discrete $\mathbb{Z}_2$ Gauss law constraint. As shown by Kitaev, $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theories also emerge in the exact solution of certain spin systems with bond-dependent interactions. In this context, the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge field is constructed from Majorana fermions, with gauge constraints given by the parity of Majorana fermions on each site. In this work, we provide an explicit Jordan-Wigner transformation that maps between these two formulations on the square lattice, where the Kitaev-type gauge theory emerges as the exact solution of a spin-orbital (Kugel-Khomskii) Hamiltonian. We then apply our mapping to study local perturbations to the spin-orbital Hamiltonian, which correspond to anisotropic interactions between electric-field variables in the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge theory. These are shown to induce anisotropic confinement that is characterized by emergence of weakly-coupled one-dimensional spin chains. We study the nature of these phases and corresponding confinement transitions in both absence and presence of itinerant fermionic matter degrees of freedom. Finally, we discuss how our mapping can be applied to the Kitaev spin-1/2 model on the honeycomb lattice.

  2 citations

• Generative invertible quantum neural networks

  Armand Rousselot, Michael Spannowsky

  SciPost Phys. 16, 146 (2024) · published 4 June 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Invertible Neural Networks (INN) have become established tools for the simulation and generation of highly complex data. We propose a quantum-gate algorithm for a Quantum Invertible Neural Network (QINN) and apply it to the LHC data of jet-associated production of a Z-boson that decays into leptons, a standard candle process for particle collider precision measurements. We compare the QINN's performance for different loss functions and training scenarios. For this task, we find that a hybrid QINN matches the performance of a significantly larger purely classical INN in learning and generating complex data.

  3 citations

• Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz and generalised hydrodynamics in the sine-Gordon model

  Botond C. Nagy, Gábor Takács, Márton Kormos

  SciPost Phys. 16, 145 (2024) · published 4 June 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We set up a hydrodynamic description of the non-equilibrium dynamics of sine-Gordon quantum field theory for generic coupling. It is built upon an explicit form of the Bethe Ansatz description of general thermodynamic states, with the structure of the resulting coupled integral equations encoded in terms of graphical diagrams. The resulting framework is applied to derive results for the Drude weights of charge and energy. Quantities associated with the charge universally have fractal dependence on the coupling, which is notably absent from those associated with energy, a feature explained by the different roles played by reflective scattering in transporting these quantities. We then present far-from-equilibrium results, including explicit time evolution starting from bipartite initial states and dynamical correlation functions. Our framework can be applied to explore numerous other aspects of non-equilibrium dynamics, which opens the way to a wide array of theoretical studies and potential novel experimental predictions.

  3 citations

• One-shot holography

  Chris Akers, Adam Levine, Geoff Penington, Elizabeth Wildenhain

  SciPost Phys. 16, 144 (2024) · published 4 June 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Following the work of [J. High Energy Phys. 04, 062 (2021)], we define a generally covariant max-entanglement wedge of a boundary region B, which we conjecture to be the bulk region reconstructible from B. We similarly define a covariant min-entanglement wedge, which we conjecture to be the bulk region that can influence the state on B. We prove that the min- and max-entanglement wedges obey various properties necessary for this conjecture, such as nesting, inclusion of the causal wedge, and a reduction to the usual quantum extremal surface prescription in the appropriate special cases. These proofs rely on one-shot versions of the (restricted) quantum focusing conjecture (QFC) that we conjecture to hold. We argue that these QFCs imply a one-shot generalized second law (GSL) and quantum Bousso bound. Moreover, in a particular semiclassical limit we prove this one-shot GSL directly using algebraic techniques. Finally, in order to derive our results, we extend both the frameworks of one-shot quantum Shannon theory and state-specific reconstruction to finite-dimensional von Neumann algebras, allowing nontrivial centers.

  19 citations

• Fusion surface models: 2+1d lattice models from fusion 2-categories

  Kansei Inamura, Kantaro Ohmori

  SciPost Phys. 16, 143 (2024) · published 3 June 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We construct (2+1)-dimensional lattice systems, which we call fusion surface models. These models have finite non-invertible symmetries described by general fusion 2-categories. Our method can be applied to build microscopic models with, for example, anomalous or non-anomalous one-form symmetries, 2-group symmetries, or non-invertible one-form symmetries that capture non-abelian anyon statistics. The construction of these models generalizes the construction of the 1+1d anyon chains formalized by Aasen, Fendley, and Mong. Along with the fusion surface models, we also obtain the corresponding three-dimensional classical statistical models, which are 3d analogues of the 2d Aasen-Fendley-Mong height models. In the construction, the "symmetry TFTs" for fusion 2-category symmetries play an important role.

  38 citations

• Asymptotic structure of higher dimensional Yang-Mills theory

  Temple He, Prahar Mitra

  SciPost Phys. 16, 142 (2024) · published 30 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Using the covariant phase space formalism, we construct the phase space for non-Abelian gauge theories in (d+2)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime for any d ≥ 2, including the edge modes that symplectically pair to the low energy degrees of freedom of the gauge field. Despite the fact that the symplectic form in odd and even-dimensional spacetimes appear ostensibly different, we demonstrate that both cases can be treated in a unified manner by utilizing the shadow transform. Upon quantization, we recover the algebra of the vacuum sector of the Hilbert space and derive a Ward identity that implies the leading soft gluon theorem in (d+2)-dimensional spacetime.

  5 citations

• Boundary conditions for extremal black holes from 2d gravity

  Stephane Detournay, Thomas Smoes, Raphaela Wutte

  SciPost Phys. 16, 141 (2024) · published 30 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We devise new boundary conditions for the near-horizon geometries of extremal BTZ and Kerr black holes, as well as for the ultra-cold limit of the Kerr-de Sitter black hole. These boundary conditions are obtained as the higher-dimensional uplift of recently proposed boundary conditions in two-dimensional gravity. Their asymptotic symmetries consist in the semi-direct product of a Virasoro and a current algebra, of which we determine the central extensions.

  5 citations

• Disordered $\mathcal{N} = (2, 2)$ supersymmetric field theories

  Chi-Ming Chang, Xiaoyang Shen

  SciPost Phys. 16, 140 (2024) · published 30 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We investigate a large class of $\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric field theories in two dimensions, which contains the Murugan-Stanford-Witten model, and can be naturally regarded as a disordered generalization of the two-dimensional Landau-Ginzburg models. We analyze the two and four-point functions of chiral superfields, and extract from them the central charge, the operator spectrum, and the chaos exponent in these models. Some of the models exhibit a conformal manifold parameterized by the variances of the random couplings. We compute the Zamolodchikov metrics on the conformal manifold, and demonstrate that the chaos exponent varies nontrivally along the conformal manifolds. Finally, we introduce and perform some preliminary analysis of a disordered generalization of the gauged linear sigma models, and discuss the low energy theories as ensemble averages of Calabi-Yau sigma models over complex structure moduli space.

  3 citations

• Candidate phases for SU(2) adjoint QCD$_4$ with two flavors from $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory

  Clay Córdova, Thomas T. Dumitrescu

  SciPost Phys. 16, 139 (2024) · published 29 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study four-dimensional adjoint QCD with gauge group $SU(2)$ and two Weyl fermion flavors, which has an $SU(2)_R$ chiral symmetry. The infrared behavior of this theory is not firmly established. We explore candidate infrared phases by embedding adjoint QCD into ${\mathcal N}=2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory deformed by a supersymmetry-breaking scalar mass $M$ that preserves all global symmetries and 't Hooft anomalies. This includes 't Hooft anomalies that are only visible when the theory is placed on manifolds that do not admit a spin structure. The consistency of this procedure is guaranteed by a nonabelian spin-charge relation involving the $SU(2)_R$ symmetry that is familiar from topologically twisted ${\mathcal N}=2$ theories. Since every vacuum on the Coulomb branch of the ${\mathcal N}=2$ theory necessarily matches all 't Hooft anomalies, we can generate candidate phases for adjoint QCD by deforming the theories in these vacua while preserving all symmetries and 't Hooft anomalies. One such deformation is the supersymmetry-breaking scalar mass $M$ itself, which can be reliably analyzed when $M$ is small. In this regime it gives rise to an exotic Coulomb phase without chiral symmetry breaking. By contrast, the theory near the monopole and dyon points can be deformed to realize a candidate phase with monopole-induced confinement and chiral symmetry breaking. The low-energy theory consists of two copies of a $\mathbb{CP}^1$ sigma model, which we analyze in detail. Certain topological couplings that are likely to be present in this $\mathbb{CP}^1$ model turn the confining solitonic string of the model into a topological insulator. We also examine the behavior of various candidate phases under fermion mass deformations. We speculate on the possible large-$M$ behavior of the deformed ${\mathcal N}=2$ theory and conjecture that the $\mathbb{CP}^1$ phase eventually becomes dominant.

  11 citations

• Escaping fronts in local quenches of a confining spin chain

  Anna Krasznai, Gábor Takács

  SciPost Phys. 16, 138 (2024) · published 29 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider local quenches from initial states generated by a single spin-flip in either the true or the false vacuum state of the confining quantum Ising spin chain in the ferromagnetic regime. Contrary to global quenches, where the light-cone behaviour is strongly suppressed, we find a significant light-cone signal propagating with a nonzero velocity besides the expected localised oscillating component. Combining an analytic representation of the initial state with a numerical description of the relevant excitations using the two-fermion approximation, we can construct the spectrum of post-quench excitations and their overlaps with the initial state, identifying the underlying mechanism. For confining quenches built upon the true vacuum, the propagating signal consists of superpositions of left and right-moving mesons escaping confinement. In contrast, for anti-confining quenches built upon the false vacuum it is composed of superpositions of left and right-moving bubbles which escape Wannier-Stark localisation.

  3 citations