We characterize the quantum states dual to entanglement wedges in arbitrary spacetimes, in settings where the matter entropy can be neglected compared to the geometric entropy. In AdS/CFT, such states obey special entropy inequalities known as the holographic entropy cone. In particular, the mutual information of CFT subregions is monogamous (MMI). We extend this result to arbitrary spacetimes, using a recent proposal for the generalized entanglement wedge e(a) of a gravitating region a. Given independent input regions a, b, and c, we prove MMI: Area[e(a)]+Area[e(b)]+Area[e(c)]-Area[e(ab)]-Area[e(bc)]-Area[e(ca)]+Area[e(abc)] $\leq$ 0. We expect that the full holographic entropy cone can be extended to arbitrary spacetimes using similar methods.

In this paper we revisit the general phenomenon that scattering amplitudes of pions can be obtained from "dimensional reduction" of gluons in higher dimensions in a more general context. We show that such "dimensional reduction" operations universally turn gluons into pions regardless of details of interactions: under such operations any amplitude that is gauge invariant and contains only local simple poles becomes one that satisfies Adler zero in the soft limit. As two such examples, we show that starting from gluon amplitudes in both superstring and bosonic string theories, the operations produce "stringy" completion of pion scattering amplitudes to all orders in $\alpha'$, with leading order given by non-linear sigma model amplitudes. Via Kawai-Lewellen-Tye relations, they give closed-stringy completion for Born-Infeld theory and the special Galileon theory, which are directly related to gravity amplitudes in closed-string theories. We also discuss how they naturally produce stringy models for mixed amplitudes of pions and colored scalars.

Gauging isometries of four-dimensional N=2 supergravity theories yields an N=2 supersymmetric theory with a scalar potential. In this note, we study the well-known constraints for four-dimensional N=2 Minkowski vacua of such theories. We propose that classically a projective special K\"ahler submanifold of the projective K\"ahler target space of the ungauged theory describes the moduli space of the complex scalar fields of massless vector multiplets for N=2 Minkowski vacua configurations, which then receives quantum corrections from integrating out massive fields. Subloci of projective special K\"ahler manifolds appear as supersymmetric flux vacua in the context of type IIB Calabi-Yau threefold compactifications with background fluxes as well. While these flux vacua equations arise from the critical locus of an N=1 superpotential, we show that these equations can also be obtained from the N=2 supersymmetric Minkowski vacuum equations of gauged N=2 supergravity theories upon gauging suitable isometries in the semi-classical universal hypermultiplet sector of type IIB string Calabi-Yau threefold compactifications. Thus, we give an intrinsic N=2 supersymmetric interpretation to the flux vacua equations.

In this note, we will characterize constraints on the possible IR phases of a given QFT by anomalies in the space of coupling constants. We will give conditions under which a coupling constant anomaly cannot be matched by a continuous family of symmetry preserving gapped phases, in which case the theory is either gapless, or exhibits spontaneous symmetry breaking or a phase transition. We additionally demonstrate examples of theories with coupling constant anomalies which can be matched by a family of symmetry preserving gapped phases without a phase transition and comment on the interpretation of our results for the spontaneous breaking of "$(-1)$-form global symmetries."

We propose precise effective field theory criteria to obtain a four-dimensional de Sitter space within M-theory. To this effect, starting with the state space described by the action of metric perturbations, fluxes etc over the supersymmetric Minkowski vacuum in eleven-dimensions, we discuss the most general low energy effective action in terms of the eleven-dimensional fields including non-perturbative and non-local terms. Given this, our criteria to obtain a valid four-dimensional de Sitter solution at far IR involve satisfying the Schwinger-Dyson equations of the associated path integral, as well as obeying positivity constraints on the dual IIA string coupling and its time derivative. For excited states, the Schwinger-Dyson equations imply an effective emergent potential different from the original potential. We show that while vacuum solutions and arbitrary coherent states fail to satisfy these criteria, a specific class of excited states called the Glauber-Sudarshan states obey them. Using the resurgent structure of observables computed using the path integral over the Glauber-Sudarshan states, four-dimensional de Sitter in the flat slicing can be constructed using a Glauber-Sudarshan state in M-theory. Among other novel results, we discuss the smallness of the positive cosmological constant, including the curious case where the cosmological constant is very slowly varying with time. We also discuss the resolution of identity with the Glauber-Sudarshan states, generation and the convergence properties of the non-perturbative and the non-local effects, the problems with the static patch and other related topics. We analyze briefly the issues related to the compatibility of the Wilsonian effective action with Borel resummations and discuss how they influence the effective field theory description in a four-dimensional de Sitter space.

The problem of vectorial mesons embedded in an electromagnetic field via Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau (DKP) formalism is reinvestigated. Considering the electromagnetic interaction as a minimal coupling, an incorrect value $(g=1)$ is identified for the gyromagnetic factor ($g$-factor). Furthermore, it is shown that is cumbersome to find analytical solutions due to the presence of the so-called anomalous term for the spin-1 sector of the DKP theory. Suspecting that the anomalous term results from an incomplete version of the DKP equation to describe the electromagnetic interaction, we consider the addition of a non-minimal coupling. This leads to the correct $g$-factor $(g=2)$, and as a consequence, the anomalous term becomes proportional to an external four current. As an application, the DKP equation with a static uniform magnetic field is considered, yielding the corresponding Landau levels.

This work deals with Abelian Chern-Simons vortices interacting with magnetic impurities. We compute static solutions with winding numbers zero and one. Then, we develop a numerical algorithm to simulate their collisions. Collisions between a vortex with winding number two and a magnetic impurity are also performed. All scattering results are interpreted in terms of the moduli space approximation and compared with the Abelian Maxwell-Higgs model.

Gaussian Process Regression, Kernel Support Vector Regression, the random forest, extreme gradient boosting and the generalized linear model algorithms are applied to data of Complete Intersection Calabi-Yau 3-folds. It is shown that Gaussian process regression is the most suitable for learning the Hodge number h^(2,1)in terms of h^(1,1). The performance of this regression algorithm is such that the Pearson correlation coefficient for the validation set is R^2 = 0.9999999995 with a Root Mean Square Error RMSE = 0.0002895011. As for the calibration set, these two parameters are as follows: R^2 = 0.9999999994 and RMSE = 0.0002854348. The training error and the cross-validation error of this regression are 10^(-9) and 1.28 * 10^(-7), respectively. Learning the Hodge number h^(1,1)in terms of h^(2,1) yields R^2 = 1.000000 and RMSE = 7.395731 * 10^(-5) for the validation set of the Gaussian Process regression.

We propose an adaptation of Entanglement Renormalization for quantum field theories that, through the use of discrete wavelet transforms, strongly parallels the tensor network architecture of the \emph{Multiscale Entanglement Renormalization Ansatz} (a.k.a. MERA). Our approach, called wMERA, has several advantages of over previous attempts to adapt MERA to continuum systems. In particular, (i) wMERA is formulated directly in position space, hence preserving the quasi-locality and sparsity of entanglers; and (ii) it enables a built-in RG flow in the implementation of real-time evolution and in computations of correlation functions, which is key for efficient numerical implementations. As examples, we describe in detail two concrete implementations of our wMERA algorithm for free scalar and fermionic theories in (1+1) spacetime dimensions. Possible avenues for constructing wMERAs for interacting field theories are also discussed.

This paper investigates the Casimir effect of a wedge and its holographic dual. We prove that the displacement operator universally determines the wedge Casimir effect in the smooth limit. Besides, we argue that the wedge Casimir energy increases with the opening angle and test it with several examples. Furthermore, we construct the holographic dual of wedges in AdS/BCFT in general dimensions. We verify that our proposal can produce universal relations within smooth and singular limits. We find that the negative brane tension tends to yield smaller wedge Casimir energy. Next, we discuss the wedge contribution to holographic entanglement entropy and find it increases with the opening angle, similar to the wedge Casimir energy. Finally, we briefly discuss the holographic polygon in AdS$_3$/BCFT$_2$ and its generalization to higher dimensions.

In this work we extend the Kugo-Ojima-Nakanishi covariant operator formalism to quantize two higher derivative systems, taking into account their extended phase space structures. More specifically, the one describing spin-$0$ particles by a vector field and the generalized electrodynamics. We investigate the commutator structure of these theories and present the definition of their physical Hilbert subspaces. Remarkably, the establishment of a second-class nature for the primary constraints of such models demands a higher derivative structure for the auxiliary field Lagrangian following previous claims. Regarding the first model, it presents a reducible gauge symmetry implying the necessity of two sets of auxiliary fields. We also discuss its massless limit. For the case of the generalized QED$_4$, we derive a set of suitable definitions for the positive-definite Hilbert subspace in order to eliminate contributions from spurious modes and also the problematic negative norm transverse excitation. We show that the Hamiltonian operator taken within the domain of this subspace presents no instabilities. Finally, a set of discussions on the interacting regime are developed to ensure that the scattering processes restricted to the physical Hilbert subspace remain unitary even at this context.

In this paper, we define a model of non-interacting quantum fields satisfying $(\Delta_g-\lambda^2)\phi=0$ on a Riemannian scattering space $(M,g)$ with two boundary components, i.e. a manifold with two asymptotically conic ends (meaning asymptotic to the "large end" of a cone). Our main result describes a canonical construction of two-point functions satisfying a version of the Hadamard condition.

This paper is the last of the series investigating renormalization group aspects of stochastic random matrices, including a Wigner-like disorder. We consider the equilibrium dynamics formalism that can be merged with the Ward identities arising from the large N effective kinetics. We construct a regulator that does not break time-reversal symmetry and show that the resulting flow equations reduce to the equilibrium flow built in our previous works. Finally, we investigate the flow equations beyond the equilibrium dynamics assumption and study the stability of the perturbation around the fluctuation-dissipation theorem.

We explore compactifications of the form of three tori and one circle in the framework of 11D supergravity. By imposing suitable gauge conditions and boundary conditions, we find that the four-dimensional FRW universe emerges as a solution representing cosmological D3-branes in the eleven-dimensional bulk. These specific compactification methods can produce cosmological inflation that aligns with the observational constraints set by the 2021 BICEP/Keck and Planck 2018 results. In the cosmological inflation models we construct, the inflaton can be interpreted as the conformal vibrations of extra dimensions with a size around 10^5 times the reduced Planck length. Additionally, we offer the theoretical predictions for the mass of the inflaton, and the tree-level Newton's gravity law between two massive point particles surrounded by a spherically symmetric distribution of the inflaton, which can reproduce the Tully-Fisher relation and explain the flat rotation curves of galaxies.

In this paper, our focus is on exploring the gauge invariant basis for bosonic couplings within the framework of heterotic string theories, specifically examining 3-, 5-, and 7-derivative terms. We thoroughly analyze the invariance of these couplings under T-duality transformations and make a notable observation: the T-duality constraint enforces the vanishing of these couplings. We speculate that this result likely holds true for all higher odd-derivative couplings as well. This is unlike the result in type I superstring theory, where, for example, the couplings of 5 Yang-Mills field strength are non-zero.

Recently, there has been a growing interest in celestial holography, which is holography in asymptotic flat spacetimes. This holographic duality exhibits numerous mysterious and fruitful features, particularly on the dual CFT side. In this paper, we present the candidate of dual CFT of Minkowski spacetime extracted from $SL(2,\mathbb{C})/SU(2)\cong H^+_3$ Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) model, the simplest non-compact CFT. We demonstrate that it reproduces the well-known principal series and correlation functions dual to the bulk scattering amplitudes.

A solitonic ground state called a chiral soliton lattice (CSL) is realized in a supersymmetric theory with background magnetic field and finite chemical potential. To this end, we construct, in the superfield formalism, a supersymmetric chiral sine-Gordon model as a neutral pion sector of a supersymmetric two-flavor chiral Lagrangian with a Wess-Zumino-Witten term. The CSL ground state appears in the presence of either a strong magnetic field and/or large chemical potential, or a background fermionic condensate in the form of a fermion bilinear consisting of the gaugino and a superpartner of a baryon gauge field.

The discovery of Higgs mechanism within the context of spontaneous symmetry breaking has offered a new perspective on the early time cosmic inflation and also on the relationship between elementary particles and dark energy, believed to drive the universe's accelerating expansion. We suggest an inflation scenario driven by the Higgs boson within the framework of unimodular gravity, where the Higgs field acts as the inflaton and has a significant non-minimal coupling to the gravity. We present a detailed analysis of the problem in the Jordan and then Einstein frame for a unimodular Higgs inflation, followed by a comparison of our findings with the Cosmic Microwave Background observations made by the Planck Collaboration and other joint data sets. Therefore, new constraints are imposed on the non-minimal coupling parameter, $\xi$, by determining the magnitudes required for effective cosmic inflation. We demonstrate that a substantial non-minimal coupling of order $\xi\sim 10^{2}-10^{4}$ is required for this model to match with the observed primordial spectrum.

We study the Schr\"odinger equation in quantum field theory (QFT) in its functional formulation. In this approach quantum correlation functions can be expressed as classical expectation values over (complex) stochastic processes. We obtain a stochastic representation of the Schr\"odinger time evolution on Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) states by means of the Wiener integral. We discuss QFT in a flat expanding metric and in de Sitter space-time. We calculate the evolution kernel in an expanding flat metric in the real time formulation. We discuss a field interaction in pseudoRiemannian and Riemannian metrics showing that an inversion of the signature leads to some substantial simplifications of the singularity problems in QFT.

We present a detailed investigation of the anomalous gravitational amplitude in a simple two-dimensional model with Weyl fermions. We employ a mathematical strategy that completely avoids any regularization prescription for handling divergent perturbative amplitudes. This strategy relies solely on the validity of the linearity of the integration operation and avoids modifying the amplitudes during intermediate calculations, unlike studies using regularization methods. Additionally, we adopt arbitrary routings for internal loop momenta, representing the most general analysis scenario. As expected, we show that surface terms play a crucial role in both preserving the symmetry properties of the amplitude and ensuring the mathematical consistency of the results. Notably, our final perturbative amplitude can be converted into the form obtained using any specific regularization prescription. We consider three common scenarios, one of which recovers the traditional results for gravitational anomalies. However, we demonstrate that this scenario inevitably breaks the linearity of integration, leading to an undesirable mathematical situation. This clean and transparent conclusion, enabled by the general nature of our strategy, would not be apparent in similar studies using regularization techniques.

In this paper we discuss how to use arborescent knots to construct entangled multi-qubit states. We show that Bell-states, GHZ-states and cluster states can be constructed from such knots. The latter are particularly interesting since they form a base for the measurement-based quantum computers.

We explore new aspects of internal fermionic shifting symmetries, present in physical systems such as free Dirac spinors and p-form tensor-spinor fields. We propose a novel procedure to gauge these global symmetries, which also introduces a new St\"uckelberg mechanism to give a mass to free fermionic fields. Furthermore, we find new magnetic fermionic symmetries in these physical systems whose charged objects are disorder operators. For the case of a Dirac spinor, we discuss an dual description, where the magnetic symmetry acts on the holonomies of a dual 2-form tensor-spinor. Further generalizations such as higher-group-like structures are also discussed.

We consider a quantum scalar field in a classical (Euclidean) De Sitter background, whose radius is fixed dynamically by Einstein's equations. In the case of a free scalar, it has been shown by Becker and Reuter that if one regulates the quantum effective action by putting a cutoff $N$ on the modes of the quantum field, the radius is driven dynamically to infinity when $N$ tends to infinity. We show that this result holds also in the case of a self-interacting scalar, both in the symmetric and broken-symmetry phase. Furthermore, when the gravitational background is put on shell, the quantum corrections to the mass and quartic self-coupling are found to be finite.

In a recent paper (Heras in $\href{https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-03914-5}{{\rm Eur. Phys. J. Plus\, 138: 329, 2023}}$), we have demonstrated that when a dyon encircles an infinitely long solenoid enclosing electric and magnetic fluxes, its wave function accumulates a quantum phase invariant under electromagnetic duality transformations. In this paper, we show that this phase, in conjunction with the Witten effect, gives rise to a topological phase proportional to the vacuum angle $\theta$ and thereby connected with CP violation. We show that this phase becomes quantised in a vacuum state $\delta_{\theta}=n\theta$ and that the most general vacuum state associated with this quantisation identifies with an Abelian form of the $\theta$-vacua. We discuss two hypothetical interference effects in the vacuum where the angle $\theta$ could manifest.

We show that the Raychaudhuri equation remains invariant for certain solutions of scalar fields $\phi$ whose Lagrangian is non-canonical and of the form $\mathcal{L}(X,\phi)=-V(\phi)F(X)$, with $X=\frac{1}{2} g_{\mu\nu} \nabla^{\mu}\phi \nabla^{\nu} \phi$, $V(\phi)$ the potential. Solutions exist for both homogeneous and inhomogeneous fields and are reminiscent of inflaton scenarios.

Axion and axion-like particles (ALPs) are a prominent candidate for physics beyond the Standard Model, and can play an important role in cosmology, serving as dark matter or dark energy, or both, drawing motivation in part from the string theory axiverse. Axion-like particles (ALPs) can also arise as composite degrees of freedom following chiral symmetry breaking in a dark confining gauge theory, analogous to the Standard Model (SM) pion. A dark sector with arbitrary $N_f$ flavors of dark quarks leads to $N_f^2-1$ axion-like states, effectively a field theory axiverse (or '$\pi$-axiverse'). A portal to the visible sector can be achieved through the standard kinetic mixing between the dark photon and SM photon, generating millicharges for the dark quarks and consequently couplings, both parity-even and parity-odd, between the SM and the dark pions. This scenario has been studied for the $N_f=2$ case and more recently for a dark Standard Model with $N_f=6$. In this work, we study the spectrum of this field theory axiverse for an arbitrary number of flavors, and apply this to the example $N_f=10$. We calculate the couplings to the SM photon analogous to the conventional axion-photon coupling, including the $N_f$ and $N_c$ dependence, and compute the present and future constraints on the $N_f=10$, $N_c=3$, $\pi$-axiverse. We elucidate the accompanying 'bary-verse' of superheavy dark baryons, namely an ensemble of charged and neutral dark baryons with a mass set by the dark pion decay constant.

Confinement is a prominent phenomenon in condensed matter and high-energy physics that has recently become the focus of quantum-simulation experiments of lattice gauge theories (LGTs). As such, a theoretical understanding of the effect of confinement on LGT dynamics is not only of fundamental importance, but can lend itself to upcoming experiments. Here, we show how confinement in a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ LGT can be \textit{locally} avoided by proximity to a resonance between the fermion mass and the electric field strength. Furthermore, we show that this local deconfinement can become global for certain initial conditions, where information transport occurs over the entire chain. In addition, we show how this can lead to strong quantum many-body scarring starting in different initial states. Our findings provide deeper insights into the nature of confinement in $\mathbb{Z}_2$ LGTs and can be tested on current and near-term quantum devices.

Quantum spin liquids are exotic phases of quantum matter especially pertinent to many modern condensed matter systems. Dirac spin liquids (DSLs) are a class of gapless quantum spin liquids that do not have a quasi-particle description and are potentially realized in a wide variety of spin $1/2$ magnetic systems on $2d$ lattices. In particular, the DSL in square lattice spin-$1/2$ magnets is described at low energies by $(2+1)d$ quantum electrodynamics with $N_f=4$ flavors of massless Dirac fermions minimally coupled to an emergent $U(1)$ gauge field. The existence of a relevant, symmetry-allowed monopole perturbation renders the DSL on the square lattice intrinsically unstable. We argue that the DSL describes a stable continuous phase transition within the familiar Neel phase (or within the Valence Bond Solid (VBS) phase). In other words, the DSL is an "unnecessary" quantum critical point within a single phase of matter. Our result offers a novel view of the square lattice DSL in that the critical spin liquid can exist within either the Neel or VBS state itself, and does not require leaving these conventional states.

Over the past three decades, it has been shown that discrete and continuous media can support topologically nontrivial modes. Recently, it was shown that the same is true of the vacuum, namely, right (R) and left (L) circularly polarized photons are topologically nontrivial. Here, we study the topology of another class of massless particles, namely the gravitons. Working in the transverse-traceless gauge and the limit of weak gravity, we show that the collection of all gravitons forms a rank-two vector bundle over the lightcone. We prove the graviton bundle is topologically trivial, allowing us to discover a globally smooth basis for gravitons. It has often been assumed that there exists such a global basis consisting of linear polarized gravitons. We prove that this stronger assumption is false--the graviton bundle has no linearly polarized subbundles. While the total graviton bundle can be decomposed into trivial line bundles, it also breaks apart into two nontrivial $\mathrm{SO}(3)$ invariant subbundles, consisting of the R and L gravitons. Unlike the bundles in the trivial decomposition, the R and L gravitons are in fact irreducible bundle representations of the Poincar\'{e} group, and are thus elementary particles. The nontrivial topologies of the R and L gravitons are fully characterized by the Chern numbers $\mp 4$. These topologies differ from those of the R and L photons, which are characterized by the Chern numbers $\mp 2$. This nontrivial topology obstructs the splitting of graviton angular momentum into spin and orbital angular momentum.

The Polynomial Affine Gravity is an alternative gravitational model, where the interactions are mediated solely by the affine connection, instead of the metric tensor. In this paper, we explore the space of solutions to the field equations when the torsion fields are turned on, in a homogeneous and isotropic (cosmological) scenario. We explore various metric structures that emerge in the space of solutions.

We study the geometry of Calabi-Yau conifold transitions. This deformation process is known to possibly connect a K\"ahler threefold to a non-K\"ahler threefold. We use balanced and Hermitian-Yang-Mills metrics to geometrize the conifold transition and show that the whole operation is continuous in the Gromov-Hausdorff topology.

This paper combines the post-Minkowskian expansion of general relativity with the language of intersection theory. Due to the nature of the soft limit inherent to the post-Minkowskian expansion, the intersection-based approach is of enhanced utility in that theory compared to a generic QFT. In the language of intersection theory, Feynman integrals are rephrased in terms of twisted cocycles. The intersection number is a pairing between two such cocycles and its existence allows for the direct projection onto a basis of master integrals. In this paper we use this approach to compute the 2PM contribution to the scattering of two compact astronomical objects, getting results in agreement with previous findings.

We employ Hubble data and Gaussian Processes in order to reconstruct the dynamical connection function in $f(Q)$ cosmology beyond the coincident gauge. In particular, there exist three branches of connections that satisfy the torsionless and curvatureless conditions, parameterized by a new dynamical function $\gamma$. We express the redshift dependence of $\gamma$ in terms of the $H(z)$ function and the $f(Q)$ form and parameters, and then we reconstruct it using 55 $H(z)$ observation data. Firstly, we investigate the case where ordinary conservation law holds, and we reconstruct the $f(Q)$ function, which is very well described by a quadratic correction on top of Symmetric Teleparallel Equivalent of General Relativity. Proceeding to the general case, we consider two of the most studied $f(Q)$ models of the literature, namely the square-root and the exponential one. In both cases we reconstruct $\gamma(z)$, and we show that according to AIC and BIC information criteria its inclusion is favoured compared to both $\Lambda$CDM paradigm, as well as to the same $f(Q)$ models under the coincident gauge. This feature acts as an indication that $f(Q)$ cosmology should be studied beyond the coincident gauge.

This paper investigates Buchdahl transformations within the framework of Einstein and Einstein-Scalar theories. Specifically, we establish that the recently proposed Schwarzschild-Levi-Civita spacetime can be obtained by means of a Buchdahl transformation of the Schwarschild metric along the spacelike Killing vector. The study extends Buchdahl's original theorem by combining it with the Kerr-Schild representation. In doing so, we construct new vacuum-rotating black holes in higher dimensions which can be viewed as the Levi-Civita extensions of the Myers-Perry geometries. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the double copy scheme within these new generated geometries still holds, providing an example of an algebraically general double copy framework. In the context of the Einstein-Scalar system, the paper extends the corresponding Buchdahl theorem to scenarios where a static vacuum seed configuration, transformed with respect to a spacelike Killing vector, generates a hairy black hole spacetime. We analyze the geometrical features of these spacetimes and investigate how a change of frame, via conformal transformations, leads to a new family of black hole spacetimes within the Einstein-Conformal-Scalar system.

We construct a (quantum mechanically) modified model for the Oppenheimer-Snyder collapse scenario where the exterior of the collapsing dust ball is a Hayward black hole spacetime and the interior is a dust Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology. This interior cosmology is entirely determined by the junction conditions with the exterior black hole. It turns out to be non-singular, displaying a power-law contraction which precedes a de Sitter phase or, reversely, a power-law expansion followed by a de Sitter era. We also analyse the global causal structure and the viability of the model.

We compute the renormalized Dirac spectral density in $N_f = 2+1$ QCD at physical quark masses, temperature $T = 230$ MeV and system size $L_s = 3.4$ fm. To that end, we perform a point-wise continuum limit of the staggered density in lattice QCD with staggered quarks. We find, for the first time, that a clear infrared structure (IR peak) emerges in the density of Dirac operator describing dynamical quarks. Features of this structure are consistent with those previously attributed to the recently-proposed IR phase of thermal QCD. Our results (i) provide solid evidence that these IR features are stable and physical; (ii) improve the upper bound for IR-phase transition temperature $T_{\mathrm{IR}}$ so that the new window is $200 < T_{\mathrm{IR}} < 230\,$MeV; (iii) support non-restoration of anomalous U$_{\mathrm A}$(1) symmetry (chiral limit) below $T \!=\! 230\,$MeV.

The area law-like scaling of local quantum entropies is the central characteristic of the entanglement inherent in quantum fields, many-body systems, and spacetime. Whilst the area law is primarily associated with the entanglement structure of the underlying quantum state, we here show that it equally manifests in classical entropies over measurement distributions when vacuum contributions dictated by the uncertainty principle are subtracted. Using the examples of the Gaussian ground and thermal states, but also the non-Gaussian particle state of a relativistic scalar field, we present analytical and numerical area laws for the entropies of various distributions and unveil how quantities of widespread interest such as the central charge and the (local) temperature are encoded in classical observables. With our approach, quantum entropies are no longer necessary to probe quantum phenomena, thereby rendering area laws and other quantum features directly accessible to theoretical models of high complexity as well as state-of-the-art experiments.

We consider the massless Sine-Gordon model in de Sitter spacetime, in the regime $\beta^2 < 4 \pi$ and using the framework of perturbative algebraic quantum field theory. We show that a Fock space representation exists for the free massless field, but that the natural one-parameter family of vacuum-like states breaks the de Sitter boost symmetries. We prove convergence of the perturbative series for the S matrix in this representation, and construct the interacting Haag-Kastler net of local algebras from the relative S matrices. We show that the net fulfills isotony, locality and de Sitter covariance (in the algebraic adiabatic limit), even though the states that we consider are not invariant. We furthermore prove convergence of the perturbative series for the interacting field and the vertex operators, and verify that the interacting equation of motion holds.

We compute the differential equations for the two remaining integral topologies contributing to the leading colour two-loop amplitudes for $pp \rightarrow t\bar{t}j$. We derive differential equations for the master integrals by solving the integration-by-parts identities over finite fields. Of the two systems of differential equations, one is presented in canonical '${\rm d} \log$' form, while the other is found to have an elliptic sector. For the elliptic topology we identify the relevant elliptic curve, and present the differential equations in a more general form which depends quadratically on $\epsilon$ and contains non-logarithmic one-forms in addition to the canonical ${\rm d} \log$'s. We solve the systems of differential equations numerically using generalised series expansions with the boundary terms obtained using the auxiliary mass flow method. A summary of all one-loop and two-loop planar topologies is presented including the list of alphabet letters for the '${\rm d} \log$' form systems and high-precision boundary values.

We rigorously prove, for the first time, that the non-hydrodynamic sector is gapless in any relativistic kinetic theory whose scattering cross-section decays to zero at large energies. In fact, if particles with very high energy (compared to the temperature) are free streaming, we can use them to build hot non-hydrodynamic waves, which live longer than any hydrodynamic wave. Since many standard cross-sections in quantum field theory vanish at high energies, the existence of these non-thermal long-lived waves is a rather general feature of relativistic systems.

False vacuum decay and nucleation offer the opportunity to study non-equilibrium dynamical phenomena in quantum many-body systems with confinement. Recent work has examined false vacuum decay in 1D ferromagnetic Ising spins and superfluids. In this paper, we study false vacuum nucleation dynamics in 1D antiferromagnetic neutral atom chains with Rydberg interactions, using both numerical simulations and analytic modeling. We apply a staggered local detuning field to generate the false and true vacuum states. Our efforts focus on two dynamical regimes: decay and annealing. In the first, we corroborate the phenomenological decay rate scaling and determine the associated parameter range for the decay process; in the second, we uncover and elucidate a procedure to anneal the false vacuum from the initial to the final system, with intermediate nucleation events. We further propose experimental protocols to prepare the required states and perform quenches on near-term neutral atom quantum simulators, examining the experimental feasibility of our proposed setup and parameter regime.

Metastable false vacuum states arise in a range of quantum systems and can be observed in various dynamical scenarios, including decay, bubble nucleation, and long-lived oscillations. False vacuum phenomenology has been examined in quantum many-body systems, notably in 1D ferromagnetic Ising spin systems and superfluids. In this paper, we study long-lived oscillations of false and true vacuum states in 1D antiferromagnetic neutral atom chains with long-range Rydberg interactions. We use a staggered local detuning field to achieve confinement. Using theoretical and numerical models, we identify novel spectral signatures of quasiparticle oscillations distinct to antiferromagnetic neutral atom systems and interpret them using a classical energy model of deconfinement from Rydberg tails. Finally, we evaluate the experimental accessibility of our proposed setup on current neutral-atom platforms and discuss experimental feasibility and constraints.