Complex, Lorentzian, and Euclidean simplicial quantum gravity: numerical methods and physical prospects

Evaluating gravitational path integrals in the Lorentzian has been a long-standing challenge due to the numerical sign problem. We show that this challenge can be overcome in simplicial quantum gravity. By deforming the integration contour into the complex, the sign fluctuations can be suppressed, for instance using the holomorphic gradient flow algorithm. Working through simple models, we show that this algorithm enables efficient Monte Carlo simulations for Lorentzian simplicial quantum gravity. In order to allow complex deformations of the integration contour, we provide a manifestly holomorphic formula for Lorentzian simplicial gravity. This leads to a complex version of simplicial gravity that generalizes the Euclidean and Lorentzian cases. Outside the context of numerical computation, complex simplicial gravity is also relevant to studies of singularity resolving processes with complex semi-classical solutions. Along the way, we prove a complex version of the Gauss-Bonnet theorem, which may be of independent interest.

A machine learning pipeline for autonomous numerical analytic continuation of Dyson-Schwinger equations

Dyson-Schwinger equations (DSEs) are a non-perturbative way to express n-point functions in quantum field theory. Working in Euclidean space and in Landau gauge, for example, one can study the quark propagator Dyson-Schwinger equation in the real and complex domain, given that a suitable and tractable truncation has been found. When aiming for solving these equations in the complex domain, that is, for complex external momenta, one has to deform the integration contour of the radial component in the complex plane of the loop momentum expressed in hyper-spherical coordinates. This has to be done in order to avoid poles and branch cuts in the integrand of the self-energy loop. Since the nature of Dyson-Schwinger equations is such, that they have to be solved in a self-consistent way, one cannot analyze the analytic properties of the integrand after every iteration step, as this would not be feasible. In these proceedings, we suggest a machine learning pipeline based on deep learning (DL) approaches to computer vision (CV), as well as deep reinforcement learning (DRL), that could solve this problem autonomously by detecting poles and branch cuts in the numerical integrand after every iteration step and by suggesting suitable integration contour deformations that avoid these obstructions. We sketch out a proof of principle for both of these tasks, that is, the pole and branch cut detection, as well as the contour deformation.

An effective matrix model for dynamical end of the world branes in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity

We study Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity with dynamical end of the world branes in asymptotically nearly AdS2 spacetimes. We quantize this theory in Lorentz signature, and compute the Euclidean path integral summing over topologies including dynamical branes. The latter will be seen to exactly match with a modification of the SSS matrix model. The resolution of UV divergences in the gravitational instantons involving the branes will lead us to understand the matrix model interpretation of the Wilsonian effective theory perspective on the gravitational theory. We complete this modified SSS matrix model nonperturbatively by extending the integration contour of eigenvalues into the complex plane. Furthermore, we give a new interpretation of other phases in such matrix models. We derive an effective W(Φ) dilaton gravity, which exhibits similar physics semiclassically. In the limit of a large number of flavors of branes, the effective extremal entropy S0,eff has the form of counting the states of these branes.

Pseudospectral Roaming Contour Integral Methods for Convection-Diffusion Equations

We generalize ideas in the recent literature and develop new ones in order to propose a general class of contour integral methods for linear convection–diffusion PDEs and in particular for those arising in finance. These methods aim to provide a numerical approximation of the solution by computing its inverse Laplace transform. The choice of the integration contour is determined by the computation of a few suitably weighted pseudo-spectral level sets of the leading operator of the equation. Parabolic and hyperbolic profiles proposed in the literature are investigated and compared to the elliptic contour originally proposed by Guglielmi, López-Fernández and Nino 2020, see Guglielmi et al. (Math Comput 89:1161–1191, 2020). In summary, the article provides a comparison among three different integration profiles; proposes a new fast pseudospectral roaming method; optimizes the selection of time windows on which one may arbitrarily approximate the solution by no extra computational cost with respect to the case of a fixed time instant; focuses extensively on computational aspects and it is the reference of the MATLAB code [20], where all algorithms described here are implemented.

The J-area integral applied in peridynamics

The J-integral is in its original formulation expressed as a contour integral. The contour formulation was, however, found cumbersome early on to apply in the finite element analysis, for which method the more directly applicable J-area integral formulation was later developed. In a previous study, we expressed the J-contour integral as a function of displacements only, to make the integral directly applicable in peridynamics (Stenström and Eriksson in Int J Fract 216:173–183, 2019). In this article we extend the work to include the J-area integral by deriving it as a function of displacements only, to obtain the alternative method of calculating the J-integral in peridynamics as well. The properties of the area formulation are then compared with those of the contour formulation, using an exact analytical solution for an infinite plate with a central crack in Mode I loading. The results show that the J-area integral is less sensitive to local disturbances compared to the contour counterpart. However, peridynamic implementation is straightforward and of similar scope for both formulations. In addition, discretization, effects of boundaries, both crack surfaces and other boundaries, and integration contour corners in peridynamics are considered.

Gauge field theories and propagators in curved space-time

In this paper, DeWitt’s formalism for field theories is presented; it provides a framework in which the quantization of fields possessing infinite-dimensional invariance groups may be carried out in a manifestly covariant (non-Hamiltonian) fashion, even in curved space-time. Another important virtue of DeWitt’s approach is that it emphasizes the common features of apparently very different theories such as Yang–Mills theories and General Relativity; moreover, it makes it possible to classify all gauge theories in three categories characterized in a purely geometrical way, i.e. by the algebra which the generators of the gauge group obey; the geometry of such theories is the fundamental reason underlying the emergence of ghost fields in the corresponding quantum theories, too. These “tricky extra particles”, as Feynman called them in 1964, contribute to a physical observable such as the stress-energy tensor, which can be expressed in terms of Feynman’s Green function itself. Therefore, an entire section is devoted to the study of the Green functions of the neutron scalar meson: in flat space-time, the choice of a particular Green’s function is the choice of an integration contour in the “momentum” space; in curved space-time the momentum space is no longer available, and the definition of the different Green functions requires a careful discussion itself. After the necessary introduction of bitensors, world function and parallel displacement tensor, an expansion for the Feynman propagator in curved space-time is obtained. Most calculations are explicitly shown.

Exorcising ghosts in quantum gravity

We remark that Ostrogradsky ghosts in higher-derivative gravity, with a finite number of derivatives, are fictitious as they result from an unjustified truncation performed in a complete theory containing infinitely many curvature invariants. The apparent ghosts can then be projected out of the quadratic gravity spectrum by redefining the boundary conditions of the theory in terms of an integration contour that does not enclose the ghost poles. This procedure does not alter the renormalizability of the theory. One can thus use quadratic gravity as a quantum field theory of gravity that is both renormalizable and unitary.

Trinion conformal blocks from topological strings

In this paper we investigate the relation between conformal blocks of Liouville CFT and the topological string partition functions of the rank one trinion theory T2. The partition functions exhibit jumps when passing from one chamber in the parameter space to another. Such jumps can be attributed to a change of the integration contour in the free field representation of Liouville conformal blocks. We compare the partition functions of the T2 theories representing trifundamental half hypermultiplets in N = 2, d = 4 field theories to the partition functions associated to bifundamental hypermultiplets. We find that both are related to the same Liouville conformal blocks up to inessential factors. In order to establish this picture we combine and compare results obtained using topological vertex techniques, matrix models and topological recursion. We furthermore check that the partition functions obtained by gluing two T2 vertices can be represented in terms of a four point Liouville conformal block. Our results indicate that the T2 vertex offers a useful starting point for developing an analog of the instanton calculus for SUSY gauge theories with trifundamental hypermultiplets.

Evaluation of surface energy for formation of multiple edge cracks using Medg-integral

A novel contour integral approach termed Medg is introduced for computation of the surface energy required for the formation of multiple edge cracks. The method is developed by reinterpretation of the conventional M-integral with deliberate delimitation of integration contour and selection of coordinate origin. Due to path independence, this method is efficient, easy to implement by using finite elements, and does not require a complicated mesh around the crack tips for good accuracy. Attention is also addressed to discussion of the size effects on proper interpretation of its physical meaning. The adequacy of the numerical results computed for the finite size corrections has been validated by using some of the available empirical formulations. It is observed that the size effect can be neglected when the crack size remains under one-tenth of the structure size. The results of a specific multi-cracked geotechnical structure suggest that, the damage state such as degradation of the structural stiffness due to the presence of edge cracks can be properly inspected by using Medg.

THE ANALYTICITY DOMAIN OF SPECTRAL DENSITY OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD IN A VERTICALLY INHOMOGENEOUS CONDUCTIVE MEDIUM

The electromagnetic field in electrical exploration problems is often represented as integrals with a fast-oscillating nucleus. When calculating these integrals on a computer, it is necessary to deform the contour of integration into the plane of the complex variable. The article studies the allowable deformation region of the integration contour in the case of a non-uniform medium, in which strong and weak solutions of electromagnetic field are analytical. The source of the field is a vertical dipole. A similar problem was solved for a horizontally layered medium with a harmonious electrical or magnetic dipole as a source.