Fermionic vacuum polarization around a cosmic string in compactified AdS spacetime

We investigate topological effects of a cosmic string and compactification of a spatial dimension on the vacuum expectation value (VEV) of the energy-momentum tensor for a fermionic field in (4+1)-dimensional locally AdS spacetime. The contribution induced by the compactification is explicitly extracted by using the Abel-Plana summation formula. The mean energy-momentum tensor is diagonal and the vacuum stresses along the direction perpendicular to the AdS boundary and along the cosmic string are equal to the energy density. All the components are even periodic functions of the magnetic fluxes inside the string core and enclosed by compact dimension, with the period equal to the flux quantum. The vacuum energy density can be either positive or negative, depending on the values of the parameters and the distance from the string. The topological contributions in the VEV of the energy-momentum tensor vanish on the AdS boundary. Near the string the effects of compactification and gravitational field are weak and the leading term in the asymptotic expansion coincides with the corresponding VEV in (4+1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. At large distances, the decay of the cosmic string induced contribution in the vacuum energy-momentum tensor, as a function of the proper distance from the string, follows a power law. For a cosmic string in the Minkowski bulk and for massive fields the corresponding fall off is exponential. Within the framework of the AdS/CFT correspondence, the geometry for conformal field theory on the AdS boundary corresponds to the standard cosmic string in (3+1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime compactified along its axis.

Multi-critical point principle as the origin of classical conformality and its generalizations

Multi-critical point principle (MPP) is one of the interesting theoretical possibilities that can explain the fine-tuning problems of the Universe. It simply claims that “the coupling constants of a theory are tuned to one of the multi-critical points, where some of the extrema of the effective potential are degenerate.” One of the simplest examples is the vanishing of the second derivative of the effective potential around a minimum. This corresponds to the so-called classical conformality, because it implies that the renormalized mass m2 vanishes. More generally, the form of the effective potential of a model depends on several coupling constants, and we should sweep them to find all the multi-critical points. In this paper, we study the multi-critical points of a general scalar field φ at one-loop level under the circumstance that the vacuum expectation values of the other fields are all zero. For simplicity, we also assume that the other fields are either massless or so heavy that they do not contribute to the low energy effective potential of φ. This assumption makes our discussion very simple because the resultant one-loop effective potential is parametrized by only four effective couplings. Although our analysis is not completely general because of the assumption, it still can be widely applicable to many models of the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism and its generalizations. After classifying the multi-critical points at low-energy scales, we will briefly mention the possibility of criticalities at high-energy scales and their implications for cosmology.

Theory space of one unitary matrix model and its critical behavior associated with Argyres–Douglas theory

The lowest critical point of one unitary matrix model with cosine plus logarithmic potential is known to correspond with the [Formula: see text] Argyres–Douglas (AD) theory and its double scaling limit derives the Painlevé II equation with parameter. Here, we consider the critical points associated with all cosine potentials and determine the scaling operators, their vacuum expectation values (vevs) and their scaling dimensions from perturbed string equations at planar level. These dimensions agree with those of [Formula: see text] AD theory.

Scale-invariance, dynamically induced Planck scale and inflation in the Palatini formulation

We present two scale invariant models of inflation in which the addition of quadratic in curvature terms in the usual Einstein-Hilbert action, in the context of Palatini formulation of gravity, manages to reduce the value of the tensor-to-scalar ratio. In both models the Planck scale is dynamically generated via the vacuum expectation value of the scalar fields.

Wilson loop correlators in $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 superconformal quivers

We complete the program of [1] about perturbative approaches for $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 superconformal quiver theories in four dimensions. We consider several classes of observables in presence of Wilson loops, and we evaluate them with the help of supersymmetric localization. We compute Wilson loop vacuum expectation values, correlators of multiple coincident Wilson loops and one-point functions of chiral operators in presence of them acting as superconformal defects. We extend this analysis to the most general case considering chiral operators and multiple Wilson loops scattered in all the possible ways among the vector multiplets of the quiver. Finally, we identify twisted and untwisted observables which probe the orbifold of AdS5 × S5 with the aim of testing possible holographic perspectives of quiver theories in $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2.

Phase transitions in the logarithmic Maxwell O(3)-sigma model

We investigate the presence of topological structures and multiple phase transitions in the O(3)-sigma model with the gauge field governed by Maxwell’s term and subject to a so-called Gausson’s self-dual potential. To carry out this study, it is numerically shown that this model supports topological solutions in 3-dimensional spacetime. In fact, to obtain the topological solutions, we assume a spherically symmetrical ansatz to find the solutions, as well as some physical behaviors of the vortex, as energy and magnetic field. It is presented a planar view of the magnetic field as an interesting configuration of a ring-like profile. To calculate the differential configurational complexity (DCC) of structures, the spatial energy density of the vortex is used. In fact, the DCC is important because it provides us with information about the possible phase transitions associated with the structures located in the Maxwell–Gausson model in 3D. Finally, we note from the DCC profile an infinite set of kink-like solutions associated with the parameter that controls the vacuum expectation value.

Linearized supergravity with a dynamical preferred frame

We study supersymmetric extension of the Einstein-aether gravitational model where local Lorentz invariance is broken down to the subgroup of spatial rotations by a vacuum expectation value of a timelike vector field called aether. Embedding aether into a chiral vector superfield, we construct the most general action which describes dynamics of linear perturbations around the Lorentz-violating vacuum and is invariant under the linearized supergravity transformations. The analysis is performed both in the off-shell non-minimal superfield formulation of supergravity and in the “on-shell” approach invoking only physical component fields. The resulting model contains a single free coupling, in addition to the standard supergravity parameters. The spectrum of physical excitations features an enhanced on-shell gravity multiplet comprising four states with helicities 2, 3/2, 3/2 and 1 propagating with superluminal velocity. The remaining excitations propagate with the speed of light. We outline the observational constraints on the model following from its low-energy phenomenology.

Exploring multi-Higgs models with softly broken large discrete symmetry groups

We develop methods to study the scalar sector of multi-Higgs models with large discrete symmetry groups that are softly broken. While in the exact symmetry limit, the model has very few parameters and can be studied analytically, proliferation of quadratic couplings in the most general softly broken case makes the analysis cumbersome. We identify two sets of soft breaking terms which play different roles: those which preserve the symmetric vacuum expectation value alignment, and the remaining terms which shift it. Focusing on alignment preserving terms, we check which structural features of the symmetric parent model are conserved and which are modified. We find remarkable examples of structural features which are inherited from the parent symmetric model and which persist even when no exact symmetry is left. The general procedure is illustrated with the example of the three-Higgs-doublet model with the softly broken symmetry group $$\Sigma (36)$$ Σ ( 36 ) .

The Abelian Higgs model under a gauge invariant looking glass: exploiting new Ward identities for gauge invariant operators and the Equivalence Theorem

The content of two additional Ward identities exhibited by the U(1) Higgs model is exploited. These novel Ward identities can be derived only when a pair of local composite operators providing a gauge invariant setup for the Higgs particle and the massive vector boson is introduced in the theory from the beginning. Among the results obtained from the above mentioned Ward identities, we underline a new exact relationship between the stationary condition for the vacuum energy, the vanishing of the tadpoles and the vacuum expectation value of the gauge invariant scalar operator. We also present a characterization of the two-point correlation function of the composite operator corresponding to the vector boson in terms of the two-point function of the elementary gauge fields. Finally, a discussion on the connection between the cartesian and the polar parametrization of the complex scalar field is presented in the light of the Equivalence Theorem. The latter can in the current case be understood in the language of a constrained cohomology, which also allows to rewrite the action in terms of the aforementioned gauge invariant operators. We also comment on the diminished role of the global U(1) symmetry and its breaking.

One-loop corrections to the Higgs boson invisible decay in the dark doublet phase of the N2HDM

The Higgs invisible decay width may soon become a powerful tool to probe extensions of the Standard Model with dark matter candidates at the Large Hadron Collider. In this work, we calculate the next-to-leading order (NLO) electroweak corrections to the 125 GeV Higgs decay width into two dark matter particles. The model is the next-to-minimal 2-Higgs-doublet model (N2HDM) in the dark doublet phase, that is, only one doublet and the singlet acquire vacuum expectation values. We show that the present measurement of the Higgs invisible branching ratio, BR(H → invisible < 0.11), does not lead to constraints on the parameter space of the model at leading order. This is due to the very precise measurements of the Higgs couplings but could change in the near future. Furthermore, if NLO corrections are required not to be unphysically large, no limits on the parameter space can be extracted from the NLO results.