Dijkgraaf-Witten theories have a wide range of applications in topological phases of matter and the study of generalized global symmetries. We develop a method to construct BF-type Lagrangians for Dijkgraaf-Witten theories with non-abelian gauge group by gauging $H^{(0)}$ symmetries from a BF-Lagrangian of an abelian Dijkgraaf-Witten theory. When $H$ nontrivially permutes the operators of the original theory, the Lagrangian of the $H$-gauged theory is constructed with cohomologies with local coefficients. We analyze the structure of the Lagrangians and their gauge transformations with homotopy theory. We also construct the operator spectrum and verify the Lagrangians by matching elementary linking invariants.

This paper is concerned with eternal AdS black holes. The quantum cosmological future and past interior states of the black hole may be placed on an equal footing to the left and right AdS boundary data by considering the on-shell bulk action as a function of the left/right/future/past data: $S[\phi^{(0)L},\phi^{(0)R},\phi^{(0)F},\phi^{(0)P}]$. We call this object a holographic banner, and it obeys the Hamilton-Jacobi equation with respect to all four of its arguments. We compute the holographic banner for a scalar field in an AdS black hole background explicitly and use it to construct the semiclassical state in the future interior obtained from a thermofield double state in the past evolved by arbitrary time- and space-dependent boundary sources. When the spacetime itself is dynamical we explain how the holographic banner gives, in principle, a map from boundary data to near-singularity semiclassical quantum cosmology following chaotic BKL dynamics. We obtain the timescale for the BKL dynamics to ergodically mix the future interior quantum state, given a quantum variance in the past state or a classical ensemble of boundary theories.

Recent claims have suggested the absence of CP violation in theories with a $\theta$-vacuum structure, particularly in quantum chromodynamics. We highlight several key points, from a perspective that is not widely discussed in the literature, which clarify why such conclusions are incorrect. In particular, an open boundary in a finite-volume theory must be accompanied by boundary degrees of freedom, the edge modes, in order to preserve large gauge invariance and faithfully capture the topological features of the theory. In the infinite-volume limit, these edge states become non-dynamical, leaving the standard $\uptheta$-vacuum structure intact, irrespective of whether this limit is taken before or after summing over topological sectors. Consequently, the $\uptheta$-vacuum structure does give rise to observable CP violation once the theory is consistently quantised.

We study QED$_2$ in de Sitter space as a minimal interacting gauge theory in which cosmological expansion directly competes with quantum dynamics. In cosmic time, the hopping redshifts as $1/a(t)$ while the electric term grows as $g^2 a(t)$, sweeping the spectrum through a moving narrow-gap region in the $(\tau,m)$ plane. Exact diagonalization shows that this defines a pseudo-critical line governing the loss of adiabaticity, excitation growth, and redshifted response. Using matrix-product states at a fixed mass, we separate the fixed-cutoff thermodynamic limit from the continuum extrapolation. The late-time dip survives in the infinite physical box size limit, and shifts to later $\tau$ as the lattice spacing goes to zero, with current data favoring $\tau_* \approx 3.1$, while the dip depth remains less controlled. For Gibbs initial states, the same mechanism produces an irreversibility front in the relative entropy that tracks the pseudo-critical line and is detectable via LOCC-accessible observables. These results identify de Sitter QED$_2$ as a controlled setting for linking curved-space gauge dynamics, near-critical spectral structure, and operational irreversibility.

We argue that the topological structure of Abelian gauge theories, such as Maxwell electrodynamics, in the background of a Euclidean Schwarzschild black hole manifests itself through an asymmetry in Hawking radiation. In particular, the topology of the black hole manifold, characterised by a non-contractible 2-sphere and Euler characteristic $\chi = 2$, admits non-trivial gauge-field configurations. These take the form of 2-form field strengths that are closed but not exact. From a topological perspective, such configurations are classified by the second cohomology group, which is isomorphic to $\mathbb{Z} \oplus \mathbb{Z}$, and are labelled by integer electric ($n$) and magnetic ($m$) charges, $(n,m)$. Self-dual ($n = m$) and anti-self-dual ($n = -m$) dyonic configurations carry vanishing Euclidean energy and are fully compatible with the Euclidean Schwarzschild geometry. More general dyonic configurations, by contrast, are interpreted as off-shell Euclidean field configurations. Nevertheless, both classes contribute to the thermal equilibrium vacuum and to finite-temperature correlation functions in the corresponding Lorentzian framework. Furthermore, because of the non-trivial topology, the electromagnetic $\theta_{\rm EM}$-term contributes to the physical observables. In particular, it sources $CP$-asymmetric Hawking radiation, observable as an imbalance between left- and right-polarised photons in the emission spectrum. We briefly discuss some implications of this phenomenon.

We present the first complete calculation of the analytic structure of the zero-spatial-momentum finite-temperature Landau-gauge gluon propagator carried out at one loop by a massive deformation of QCD perturbation theory -- the screened massive expansion -- at temperatures ranging from $T=0$ to $T\approx 3T_{c}$. We find no signatures of deconfinement in the form of meaningful changes in said structure. We argue that, beyond Euclidean space, massive perturbative methods -- including the Curci-Ferrari model -- might be missing crucial dynamical information as a consequence of the perturbative violation of QCD's Ward identities.

Instantons play a crucial role in understanding non-perturbative dynamics in quantum field theories, including those with spontaneously broken gauge symmetries. In the broken phase, finite-size instanton-like configurations are no longer exact stationary points of the Euclidean action, in contrast to the symmetric phase. Non-perturbative effects in this setting are therefore typically studied within the constrained instanton framework. However, a previous study pointed out a possible difficulty in constructing consistent constrained instanton solutions based on conventional gauge-invariant constraints. In this work, we revisit the asymptotic structure of constrained instantons and re-examine the claimed difficulty. By carefully tracking the behavior of the solutions near the spatial origin and at infinity, we show that the required boundary conditions can be satisfied without encountering the inconsistency. We explicitly construct consistent constrained instantons in both massive $\phi^4$ theory and Yang--Mills theory with spontaneous symmetry breaking, and we support our analytic matching procedure with numerical solutions. Our results establish that conventional gauge-invariant constraints can be consistently employed in semiclassical computations when asymptotic expansions are treated properly.

Planar AdS black branes have a scaling symmetry that maps a brane solution at one temperature to a solution at another. It is natural to expect that boundary representations of bulk field modes should inherit this symmetry i.e. their correlators should transform covariantly under boundary dilatations. We derive a covariance condition that any boundary representation of interior modes in a planar AdS black brane should satisfy. We then show that Papadodimas-Raju mirror operators satisfy this condition. Thus the Papadodimas-Raju reconstruction of the bulk interior, although state-dependent, inherits the scaling symmetry of planar AdS black holes.

We derive a concrete closed string dual to any interacting Hermitian one-matrix model, away from the double-scaling limit. Matrix and string correlators manifestly agree, to all orders in the genus expansion and all orders in the 't Hooft coupling(s). The worldsheet theory consists of a supersymmetric B-twisted Landau-Ginzburg model coupled to 2d topological gravity. We provide a precise dictionary between traces of the matrix and vertex operators on the worldsheet. Matrix model correlators are explicitly mapped to computable integrals over the moduli space of Riemann surfaces. We perform several direct cross-checks on both sides of the duality. This work furnishes a detailed instantiation of gauge/string duality, in the standard 't Hooft regime, and hopefully a useful worldsheet toy model for the AdS/CFT correspondence, away from the free field limit.

We calculate the one-point functions of the marginal operator $\mathcal{L}'$ dual to the space-varying dilaton in 4D and 2D holographic Janus interfaces, extending results in arXiv:hep-th/0407073. We compare strongly-coupled supergravity and weakly-coupled CFT limits across $\mathcal{N}=0, 1, 2, 4$ holographic Janus interfaces in 4D SYM, and $\mathcal{N}=0, 4$ Janus interfaces for 2D D1-D5 CFT. Exact agreement between these regimes occurs only for the half-BPS interfaces in both 4D and 2D cases, while for other interfaces they agree to first order of the jump parameter. This result reinforces that exact weak/strong coupling matching for interface observables on supersymmetric (SUSY) conformal manifolds is exclusive to maximally SUSY interfaces.

We present a holographic construction of the QCD axion based on a warped 5D model. A key ingredient of our setup is the introduction of a bulk scalar field $\theta$, which is holographically dual to the topological operator of QCD. This makes the relation among the axion, the $\eta'$, and the anomalies transparent. We identify the bulk modes corresponding to the $\eta'$ and axion states, and show that an adjustment analogous to that of the usual 4D axion takes place. We identify the origin of the axion quality problem in this framework and show that a large degree of axion compositeness is needed to solve it. We also find that, in the limit of a high quality axion, the physical axion state is predominantly contained in the bulk gauge field.

We develop a rigorous system-agnostic method to predict quantum thermalization in an overwhelming fraction of accessible pure states in a many-body system, entirely in terms of certain out-of-time-ordered correlators of few-body observables. In contrast to previous rigorous results on thermalization with semiclassical counterparts, our method is not limited to statistical averages of observables, such as time averages in ergodicity or state averages in mixing. Moreover, consistent with such approaches, we retain the advantage of not requiring a detailed knowledge of energy eigenstate structure or thermodynamically large times, which can become intractable for systems with more than a handful of particles. Our approach is centered on a geometric result that connects thermalization to the alignment of high dimensional subspaces in a Hilbert space, which is determined by the saturation of "controllably nonlocal" out-of-time-ordered correlators. This formalism reduces the problem of establishing pure state quantum thermalization at finite times in almost all complex many-body states to a theoretically or experimentally accessible study of few-body correlators, even in thermodynamically large systems.

Vacuum fluctuations of quantum fields provide an unavoidable environment for any quantum system coupled to it. We study the interplay between boundary conditions and acceleration in determining decoherence of a two-level Unruh-DeWitt detector coupled to a scalar field in a cylindrical cavity. We show that the decoherence rate closely follows the emission profile, and exhibits {\it Purcell-like} enhancement for both inertial and uniformly accelerated detectors. The acceleration induces an effective smearing of the resonant density of states, diluting the resonance enhancement for large accelerations while replacing the inertial off-resonant decay with an oscillatory behavior for small accelerations. For moderate accelerations, this interplay between cavity-induced and acceleration-assisted effects results in an extended region of cavity parameters where decoherence is strongly suppressed, particularly in regimes where the inertial detector otherwise experience strong decoherence. Thus, contrary to naive expectations, the Unruh thermality in a suitably engineered cavity can enhance rather than degrade quantum coherence, providing a very uncharacteristic feature of quantum fields in non-inertial frames.

Signatures of symmetric mass generation (SMG) have recently been reported in lattice QCD calculations employing staggered fermions. We discuss the general criteria for SMG, and demonstrate that these conditions are indeed met by the staggered fermion action, in particular by the continuum action derived by Lee and Sharpe. We propose possible RG flow around the SMG transition, guided by the numerical results. We also point out that the Goldstone tetraquark meson states provide a phenomenological signature of the "type-II" SMG phase.

In this work, we derive the general solutions for a cylindrically symmetric space-time filled with a cosmological perfect fluid obeying $p=\gamma \rho$ ($0\leq \gamma \leq 1$), where $\gamma=1$ represents a stiff or Zeldovich fluid. Using Marder's metric with coefficients depending on $t$ and $r$, we obtain explicit solutions of the gravitational field equations for the three cases $\delta = 1, 0, -1$, corresponding to exponential, power-law, and trigonometric behaviors of the metric functions. The resulting space-times exhibit anisotropic evolution, nontrivial expansion and shear, and curvature singularities, with energy density and pressure profiles determined by the integration constants. These solutions provide a comprehensive framework for modeling cylindrically symmetric cosmologies, offering insights into early-universe dynamics and anisotropic gravitational phenomena. The versatility of the solutions also opens avenues for extensions to higher-dimensional or modified gravity scenarios, making them a valuable tool for both theoretical and phenomenological studies in general relativity.

't Hooft anomalies impose fundamental constraints on quantum matter and often lead to emergent symmetry structures upon gauging. We analyze a lattice model with four global symmetries realizing a mixed anomaly described by $\sim a_1\wedge a_2\wedge a_3\wedge a_4$, where the $a_i$ denote background gauge fields for the global symmetries. Through explicit lattice gauging, we demonstrate the emergence of higher symmetry structures, including 2-group, non-invertible, and higher fusion categorical symmetries. We also provide a field-theoretical understanding of these results. Applying this framework to systems with Lieb-Schultz-Mattis anomalies, obtained by promoting part of the internal symmetries to translational symmetries, we demonstrate that modulated (dipole) symmetries arise as direct counterparts of those in systems with purely internal typeIV anomalies. Importantly, we uncover a qualitatively new feature absent in previously studied modulated symmetries: their realization can become intrinsically defect-dependent. In particular, the emergent symmetry structure changes depending on whether symmetry defects are present. This work establishes a concrete lattice realization of mixed anomalies and reveals a rich structure of emergent symmetries, thereby clarifying their role in constraining quantum phases of matter.

We show that the notion of a black hole mass could be superceded by that of a topological charge in a spacetime without matter and curvature singularity. This feature emerges through a set new spacetime solutions of first order gravity in vacuum, named as bubble spacetimes, constructed here by weaving together the degenerate and nondegenerate metric phases. For a static bubble, the boundary surface connecting the two phases is characterized by a universal topological number. Notably, this surface coincides with the photon sphere of the conventional black hole irrespective of the presence of the cosmological constant. In contrast, a phase boundary located at the event horizon is shown to be topologically trivial. Thus, along with the black hole mass, the photon sphere also acquires a topological interpretation.

Describing the proton structure function $F_2$ in the non-perturbative and transition regimes of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) remains a significant theoretical challenge. In this work, we introduce a Physics-Guided Neural Network (PGNN) that integrates Holographic QCD with deep learning. By embedding the five-dimensional $\text{AdS}_5$ Dirac equation and the string diffusion kernel directly into the computational graph, the network is strictly constrained to the physical proton mass ($M_p \equiv 0.938 \text{ GeV}$). Applying this framework to high-precision SLAC deep inelastic scattering data yields a global fit of $\chi^2/\text{d.o.f.} \simeq 0.91$. Rather than relying on predetermined empirical forms, the network dynamically extracts the transition between the $s$-channel bulk fermion mechanism (hadronic resonance excitations) and the $t$-channel holographic Pomeron exchange (diffractive background), identifying a kinematic crossover near $x \approx 0.19$. Furthermore, the optimization naturally recovers a Pomeron intercept of $\alpha_0 \approx 1.0786$ and generates higher-twist scale-breaking effects through the evolution of resonance mass spectra. This demonstrates that embedding analytical differential equations into neural networks provides an interpretable, data-driven approach for phenomenological studies of strongly coupled systems.

We classify extended Abelian Chern-Simons theories with gauge group $U(1)^n$ as extended $(2+1)$-dimensional topological quantum field theories. For an even integral nondegenerate lattice $(\Lambda,K)$, let $(G_K,q_K)$ denote its discriminant quadratic module. We prove that the associated theory is determined, up to symmetric monoidal natural isomorphism, by this finite quadratic module, and that every finite quadratic module is realized as the discriminant quadratic module of an even integral nondegenerate lattice. It follows that finite quadratic modules classify extended Abelian Chern-Simons theories, pointed Abelian Reshetikhin-Turaev TQFTs, and pointed modular tensor categories.

An infinite family of integrable vortex equations is studied and related to the Cartan geometry of the underlying Riemann surfaces. This Cartan picture gives an interpretation of the vortex equations as the flatness of a non-Abelian connection. Solutions of the vortex equations also give rise to magnetic zero-modes for a certain Dirac operator on the lifted geometry. The family of integrable vortex equations is parametrised by a positive number $n$, that is equal to unity in the standard case and an integer in the case of polynomial vortex equations; finally, it may be extended to any positive real number.

We derive quantum gravity contributions to the beta functions of the gauge and Yukawa couplings of a matter theory using the Schwinger proper-time flow equation. Working in the Einstein-Hilbert truncation, we investigate the gauge-fixing and regulator dependence of the corresponding renormalization group equations. We quantify the sensitivity of our results on unphysical parameters by evaluating the gravitational correction to the running matter couplings at the interactive fixed point of gravity and we compare our findings with existing determinations in alternative schemes. We finally confront the derived contributions with the typical size they should assume to generate observable low-scale predictions in the Standard Model and in several scenarios of new physics.

We revisit axion monodromy inflation in the context of UV-inspired models and point out that its cosmological observables are sensitive to heavy fields with masses far above the Hubble scale, such as the moduli of flux compactifications. By studying a string-inspired two-field extension of axion monodromy with a small turning rate, we reveal that the oscillatory modulation of the axion potential leads to continuous excitation of heavy fields during inflation when the modulation frequency exceeds the field masses. This finding challenges the conventional single-field description, heavy moduli cannot be simply integrated out. Using a full bootstrap analysis, we demonstrate that this mechanism produces cosmological collider signals that bypass the usual Boltzmann suppression for heavy masses. Specifically, we identify detectably large signatures of heavy moduli in the primordial bispectrum, offering a promising avenue for probing high-energy physics through cosmological observations.

We investigate the properties of the vacuum state for the Proca field in the geometry of two parallel plates on background of (D+1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. The two-point functions for the vector potential and the field tensor are evaluated for higher-dimensional generalizations of the perfect magnetic conductor (PMC) and perfect electric conductor (PEC) boundary conditions. Explicit expressions are provided for the vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of the electric and magnetic field squares, field condensate, and for the VEV of the energy-momentum tensor. In the zero-mass limit the VEVs of the electric and magnetic field squares and the condensate reduce to the corresponding expressions for a massless vector field. The same is the case for the VEV of the energy-momentum tensor in the problem with PEC conditions. However, for PMC conditions the zero-mass limit for the vacuum energy-momentum tensor differs from the corresponding VEV for a massless field. This difference in the zero-mass limits is related to the different influences of the boundary conditions on the longitudinal polarization mode of a massive vector field. The PMC conditions constrain all the polarization modes including the longitudinal mode, whereas PEC conditions do not influence the longitudinal mode. The vacuum energy-momentum tensor is diagonal. The normal stress is uniformly distributed in the region between the plates and vanishes in the remaining regions. The corresponding Casimir forces are attractive for both boundary conditions.

We provide a framework and explicit construction for the regularized measurement of a large class of spacetime-localized observables in bosonic quantum field theory. The measurements fully satisfy relativistic causality and causal transparency, i.e., avoid unphysical superluminal signaling. We show explicitly how the measurement of time-extended observables back-reacts on itself and induces correlations between other measurements in its causal future. Our framework is fully compositional in spacetime and extends previous results on the measurement of instantaneous observables.

In this work, we study the spectral form factor of random matrix models which exhibit a large number of degenerate ground states accompanied by a macroscopic gap in the spectrum. The central aim of this work is to understand how the standard narrative about the behavior of the spectral form factor is modified in the presence of these parametrically large number of ground states. We show that, at sufficiently low temperatures, the spectral form factor is dominated by the disconnected contribution, even at arbitrarily late times. Moreover, we demonstrate that the connected form factor only depends on the eigenvalues of the non-degenerate sector, implying that BPS states do not contribute to wormhole calculations in the gravity context. Using the Christoffel-Darboux kernel, we analyze a number of examples including the Bessel model and $\mathcal{N}=2$ Jackiw-Teitelboim supergravity. In these examples, we find damped oscillations in the disconnected form factor, with a period set by the inverse size of the gap. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the slope of the ramp in the connected form factor arises from a universal sine-kernel, which emerges from a truncation of the full non-perturbative kernel in the $\hbar \to 0$ limit, and find agreement with the leading double trumpet result. Finally, we present predictions for how the ramp will transition to a plateau in the connected form factor and demonstrate how the transition depends on the details of the leading spectral density of states.

We study the Coulomb branches of three-dimensional $\mathcal N=4$ quiver gauge theories of type $T_\rho(SU(N))$ associated with non-maximal nilpotent orbits of $SL(N)$. Using the Hall--Littlewood closed form for Coulomb-branch Hilbert series, together with independent checks from the monopole formula, we compute exact unrefined Hilbert series for all non-maximal partitions $\rho\vdash N$ with $N=4$, and extend the analysis to $N=5,6$. By analyzing the plethystic logarithms of the resulting Hilbert series, we find that in all cases examined the Coulomb branch is a complete intersection. The number of generators and relations follows a uniform pattern governed by the transpose partition $\rho^T$, with exactly $N-1$ relations appearing independently of $\rho$ in these examples. We summarize the results in explicit classification tables and formulate conjectures extending these patterns to arbitrary $N$. Our findings provide strong evidence for a remarkable uniformity in the algebraic structure of Coulomb branches within the $T_\rho(SU(N))$ family at low rank.

We study ultra-Planckian $2\to2$ scattering in an Abelian gauge theory coupled to agravity, the scale-free and renormalizable realization of quadratic quantum gravity. Focusing on charged fermions and scalars interacting with the photon and the higher-derivative graviton, we present compact analytic expressions for the unpolarized squared matrix elements for a broad set of tree-level processes, including photon--photon, fermion--fermion, fermion--photon, scalar--fermion, scalar--photon, scalar--scalar, and annihilation channels. In contrast to purely graviton-mediated analyses, we retain systematically the photon--graviton interference contributions and verify explicitly the independence of the results on the gravitational gauge-fixing parameter. The amplitudes display characteristic forward/backward enhancements associated with small momentum transfer, amplified by the $1/p^{4}$ graviton propagator, while their high-energy scaling reflects the underlying dimensionless gravitational couplings. Moreover, for all channels analyzed the corresponding differential cross sections exhibit the universal ultra-Planckian scaling $d\sigma/d\Omega \propto 1/s$, where $s$ is the Mandelstam invariant (the squared center-of-momentum energy). Our results furnish a unified amplitude-level description of how higher-derivative gravity reshapes familiar QED scattering at ultra-Planckian energies and provide analytic building blocks for further studies of IR definitions and UV consistency in agravity with matter.

We revisit and extend the construction of bulk local states in flat holography, focusing on the induced representation obtained from the flat limit of the AdS highest-weight conditions. In three dimensions we clarify the scaling mismatch between bra and ket states in the flat basis and resolve it by introducing a dual basis, which yields a smooth flat limit and reproduces the correct Green's function. For higher dimensions we construct bulk local states explicitly, both in the momentum basis and in an alternative tilde basis. The flat limit of the AdS$_{d+1}$ construction is shown to be non-uniform in the descendant level and the Riemann-sum treatment over the scaling window $n\sim l$ converts the discrete descendant expansion into the continuum momentum representation, recovering the massive propagator. The tilde basis generalizes seamlessly to any dimension and is related to the three-dimensional flat basis by a sign factor. These results establish the induced representation as the correct algebraic foundation for bulk reconstruction in flat holography and provide a unified framework valid for arbitrary dimension.

We explore a cosmological framework in which a Gauss-Bonnet (GB) coupled scalar field, acting as dark energy, interacts with a fermionic dark matter field through a coupling obtained from the point of view of particle physics. This setup is inspired by string/M-theory, and two representative scalar field potentials are investigated: exponential and power-law. A distinctive feature of the GB-coupled models is their potential to alter the propagation speed of gravitational waves (GWs), a property with significant implications in light of recent multi-messenger astrophysical observations. To account for this, we analyze models under two scenarios: one where the GW speed differs from that of light and the other where they are equal, but all consistent with current observational constraints. The dynamical evolution of the system is investigated by reformulating the field equations into an autonomous dynamical system, enabling a detailed analysis of the Universe's long-term behavior, including the radiation-, matter- and dark energy-dominated epochs. We constrain the model parameters using a broad set of recent observational data, including mock high-redshift measurements from the Roman Space Telescope. Our findings indicate that both potentials yield cosmologies that are in excellent agreement with current data, closely tracking the expansion history predicted by the standard \(\Lambda\)CDM model, while still allowing room for subtle deviations that could be tested by future observations.

The description of the entanglement dynamics of monitored noninteracting fermions, including the existence of measurement-induced phase transitions (MIPTs), is a challenging problem with conflicting results in the literature. The mapping of the problem onto a non-linear sigma model (NLSM) indicates that relatively large lattice sizes are required to determine the nature of the entanglement entropy (EE) in the thermodynamics limit. Here we address this problem numerically for monitored noninteracting fermions with $U(1)$ symmetry. The use of graphics processing unit (GPU) techniques, even with outdated hardware, makes it possible to reach much larger lattice sizes ($L = 16384$ and $160\times160$ in one (1d) and two (2d) dimensions respectively) than in previous studies which enables us to characterize quantitatively the entanglement dynamics. In 1d, we show that in order to confirm the absence of a MIPT, for both projective and homodyne measurements, predicted by the NLSM it is necessary to reach $L \sim 10000$. In 2d, also as predicted by the NLSM, we observe for both protocols a MIPT at finite monitoring rate characterized by a scale invariant mutual information. The critical monitoring strength depends on the protocol while the critical exponent $\nu \approx 1.3$ governing the approach to the MIPT is similar in both cases. These features are not correctly predicted by the NLSM. Our results paves the way for a fully quantitative description of the entanglement dynamics of monitoring quantum systems.

It is common knowledge that black holes necessarily contain a region where general relativity breaks down, due to the inevitable formation of either a curvature singularity or a Cauchy horizon. In this work we challenge this view by analyzing a charged spherically symmetric black hole formed through gravitational collapse and evaporating via Hawking radiation. We show that the electromagnetic repulsion and the violation of energy conditions due to the presence of Hawking radiation are be sufficient to avoid the formation of both a singularity and a Cauchy horizon. We argue that a similar mechanism may apply to astrophysical black holes in which the role of the electric charge is replaced by the angular momentum.

In this article, the behavior of a straight cosmic string is studied for the linearized version of Horndeski theory in cases where the scalar field is massless or massive. Several physical properties of such solutions are discussed in detail regarding the effects of the scalar field of this theory. The mass of the scalar field induces a screening effect such that, in the massive theory, the string solution approaches to the general relativistic one. We also consider wiggly cosmic strings, obtain the solutions for both massless and massive cases, discuss their properties and observe similar screening effects.

Tests of general relativity (GR) with gravitational waves (GWs) introduce additional deviation parameters in the waveform model. The enlarged parameter space makes inference computationally costly, which has so far limited systematic, large-scale studies that are essential to quantify parameter degeneracies, check the effect of waveform systematics, and assess robustness across non-stationary and non-Gaussian noise effects. The need is even sharper for next-generation observatories where signals are longer, signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) are higher, and likelihood evaluations increase substantially. We address this by applying relative binning to the TIGER framework for parameterized tests of GR. Relative binning replaces dense frequency waveform evaluations with evaluations on adaptively chosen frequency bins, reducing the cost per likelihood call while preserving posterior accuracy. Using simulated binary black hole signals, we demonstrate unbiased recovery for GR-consistent cases and targeted non-GR deviations, and we map how bin resolution controls accuracy, with finer binning primarily required for the $-1$ post-Newtonian term. A high-SNR simulated signal at next-generation sensitivity further shows accurate recovery with tight posteriors. Applied to GW150914 and GW250114, both single and multi-parameter TIGER analyses finish within a day, yielding bounds consistent with GR at 90\% credibility and in agreement with previous results. Across analyses, the method reduces wall time by factors of $\mathcal{O}(10)$ to $\mathcal{O}(100)$, depending on frequency range and binning scheme, without degrading parameter estimation accuracy.

The Kerr-Schild gauge is generalized to the case that the vector generating the deformation is not null. Contrary to naive expectations, this vector generates a finite expansion for the curvature tensor. We prove a theorem on the conditions for the deformed metric being Ricci flat, namely that the deformation vector must be irrotational (then geodesic) in the background spacetime.

In in a nutshell, the classical geometric $q$-Langlands duality can be viewed as a correspondence between the space of $(G,q)$-opers and the space of solutions of $^L\mathfrak{g}$ XXZ Bethe Ansatz equations. The latter describe spectra of closed spin chains with twisted periodic boundary conditions and, upon the duality, the twist elements are identified with the $q$-oper connections on a projective line in a certain gauge. In this work, we initiate the geometric study of Bethe Ansatz equations for spin chains with open boundary conditions. We introduce the space of $q$-opers whose defining sections are invariant under reflection through the unit circle in a selected gauge. The space of such reflection-invariant $q$-opers in the presence of certain nondegeneracy conditions is thereby described by the corresponding Bethe Ansatz problem. We compare our findings with the existing results in integrable systems and representation theory. This paper discusses the type-A construction leaving the general case for the upcoming work.