Conformal properties of hyperinvariant tensor networks

Hyperinvariant tensor networks (hyMERA) were introduced as a way to combine the successes of perfect tensor networks (HaPPY) and the multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA) in simulations of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Although this new class of tensor network shows much potential for simulating conformal field theories arising from hyperbolic bulk manifolds with quasiperiodic boundaries, many issues are unresolved. In this manuscript we analyze the challenges related to optimizing tensors in a hyMERA with respect to some quasiperiodic critical spin chain, and compare with standard approaches in MERA. Additionally, we show two new sets of tensor decompositions which exhibit different properties from the original construction, implying that the multitensor constraints are neither unique, nor difficult to find, and that a generalization of the analytical tensor forms used up until now may exist. Lastly, we perform randomized trials using a descending superoperator with several of the investigated tensor decompositions, and find that the constraints imposed on the spectra of local descending superoperators in hyMERA are compatible with the operator spectra of several minimial model CFTs.

Consciousness Beyond Neural Fields: Expanding the Possibilities of What Has Not Yet Happened

In the field theories in physics, any particular region of the presumed space-time continuum and all interactions between elementary objects therein can be objectively measured and/or accounted for mathematically. Since this does not apply to any of the field theories, or any other neural theory, of consciousness, their explanatory power is limited. As discussed in detail herein, the matter is complicated further by the facts than any scientifically operational definition of consciousness is inevitably partial, and that the phenomenon has no spatial dimensionality. Under the light of insights from research on meditation and expanded consciousness, chronic pain syndrome, healthy aging, and eudaimonic well-being, we may conceive consciousness as a source of potential energy that has no clearly defined spatial dimensionality, but can produce significant changes in others and in the world, observable in terms of changes in time. It is argued that consciousness may have evolved to enable the human species to generate such changes in order to cope with unprecedented and/or unpredictable adversity. Such coping could, ultimately, include the conscious planning of our own extinction when survival on the planet is no longer an acceptable option.

4-dimensional Chern-Simons theory and integrable field theories

These lecture notes concern the semi-holomorphic 4d Chern-Simons theory and its applications to classical integrable field theories in 2d and in particular integrable sigma-models. After introducing the main properties of the Chern-Simons theory in 3d, we will define its 4d analogue and explain how it is naturally related to the Lax formalism of integrable 2d theories. Moreover, we will explain how varying the boundary conditions imposed on this 4d theory allows to recover various occurences of integrable sigma-models through this construction, in particular illustrating this on two simple examples: the Principal Chiral Model and its Yang-Baxter deformation. These notes were written for the lectures delivered at the school “Integrability, Dualities and Deformations”, that ran from 23 to 27 August 2021 in Santiago de Compostela and virtually.

Islands for entanglement negativity

We advance two alternative proposals for the island contributions to the entanglement negativity of various pure and mixed state configurations in quantum field theories coupled to semiclassical gravity. The first construction involves the extremization of an algebraic sum of the generalized Renyi entropies of order half. The second proposal involves the extremization of the sum of the effective entanglement negativity of quantum matter fields and the backreacted area of a cosmic brane spanning the entanglement wedge cross section which also extremizes the generalized Renyi reflected entropy of order half. These proposals are utilized to obtain the island contributions to the entanglement negativity of various pure and mixed state configurations involving the bath systems coupled to extremal and non-extremal black holes in JT gravity demonstrating an exact match with each other. Furthermore, the results from both the proposals match precisely with the island contribution to half the Renyi reflected entropy of order half providing a strong consistency check. We then allude to a possible doubly holographic picture of our island proposals and provide a derivation of the first proposal by determining the corresponding replica wormhole contributions.

Medium evolution of a static quark-antiquark pair in the large Nc limit

We study the transitions between the different color states of a static quark-antiquark pair, singlet and octet, in a thermal medium. This is done non-perturbatively exploiting the infinite mass limit of QCD. This study is interesting because it can be used for future developments within the framework of Effective Field Theories (EFTs) and because it can be combined with other techniques, like lattice QCD or AdS/CFT, to gain non-perturbative information about the evolution of quarkonium in a medium. We also study the obtained expressions in the large Nc limit. This allows us to learn lessons that are useful to simplify phenomenological models of quarkonium in a plasma.

Galois orbits of TQFTs: symmetries and unitarity

We study Galois actions on 2+1D topological quantum field theories (TQFTs), characterizing their interplay with theory factorization, gauging, the structure of gapped boundaries and dualities, 0-form symmetries, 1-form symmetries, and 2-groups. In order to gain a better physical understanding of Galois actions, we prove sufficient conditions for the preservation of unitarity. We then map out the Galois orbits of various classes of unitary TQFTs. The simplest such orbits are trivial (e.g., as in various theories of physical interest like the Toric Code, Double Semion, and 3-Fermion Model), and we refer to such theories as unitary “Galois fixed point TQFTs”. Starting from these fixed point theories, we study conditions for preservation of Galois invariance under gauging 0-form and 1-form symmetries (as well as under more general anyon condensation). Assuming a conjecture in the literature, we prove that all unitary Galois fixed point TQFTs can be engineered by gauging 0-form symmetries of theories built from Deligne products of certain abelian TQFTs.

NICER view on holographic QCD

The holographic models for dense QCD matter work surprisingly well. A general implication seems that the deconfinement phase transition dictates the maximum mass of neutron stars. The nuclear matter phase turns out to be rather stiff which, if continuously merged with nuclear matter models based on effective field theories, leads to the conclusion that neutron stars do not have quark matter cores in the light of all current astrophysical data. We comment that as the perturbative QCD results are in stark contrast with strong coupling results, any future simulations of neutron star mergers incorporating corrections beyond ideal fluid should proceed cautiously. For this purpose, we provide a model which treats nuclear and quark matter phases in a unified framework at strong coupling.