Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BOICFT (Baryonic operators in conformal field theories)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-10-01 bis 2022-09-30
Quantum field theory (QFT) underpins our understanding of physics and influences a wide array of mathematics. The agreement experiment-prediction is reliant on the ability to calculate physical information. Our methods have control over weak forces, when correlators are power series in the coupling constant (the small parameter governing the force strength). This hinders the study of nuclear phenomena (strongly-bound particles, e.g. baryons) or intense electric forces (probed by Wilson loops).
We developed the analytic command in systems with enhanced symmetries, where the intermediate coupling is within reach. One model shares features with nuclear phenomena (supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, dubbed the “harmonic oscillator of the 21st century” for the centrality among QFTs). The other (“fishnet” theory) is relevant to condensed-matter physics. Two publications concerned baryonic operators: a follow-up of the Researcher's blueprint at the base of the Fellowship and the first charting of their properties in fishnets. A third work proposes an equation to measure certain Wilson loops at arbitrary coupling, with implications for a massive deformation of the model and matrix integrals in mathematics.
The scientific impact is on the understanding of QFTs beyond the weak-force approximation. The methodology is likely to become a base for further investigations from integrable QFTs to matrix models. Training, advising and endorsing students impact the society and economy: expertise in mathematics is the most sought-after in data science. One trainee was endorsed for a PhD in DESY Hamburg and another won an internship at Goldman Sachs in London. One public and three school lectures have contributed to attract talents into STEM and to engage the public with the results of taxpayers’ funding. Many ideas (symmetry, baryons) have been explained with thought-provoking questions ("Can you tell reality and its mirror apart?"), references to novels/movies and demos (as simple as playing cards and chess pieces to cathode-ray tubes).
We developed the analytic command in systems with enhanced symmetries, where the intermediate coupling is within reach. One model shares features with nuclear phenomena (supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, dubbed the “harmonic oscillator of the 21st century” for the centrality among QFTs). The other (“fishnet” theory) is relevant to condensed-matter physics. Two publications concerned baryonic operators: a follow-up of the Researcher's blueprint at the base of the Fellowship and the first charting of their properties in fishnets. A third work proposes an equation to measure certain Wilson loops at arbitrary coupling, with implications for a massive deformation of the model and matrix integrals in mathematics.
The scientific impact is on the understanding of QFTs beyond the weak-force approximation. The methodology is likely to become a base for further investigations from integrable QFTs to matrix models. Training, advising and endorsing students impact the society and economy: expertise in mathematics is the most sought-after in data science. One trainee was endorsed for a PhD in DESY Hamburg and another won an internship at Goldman Sachs in London. One public and three school lectures have contributed to attract talents into STEM and to engage the public with the results of taxpayers’ funding. Many ideas (symmetry, baryons) have been explained with thought-provoking questions ("Can you tell reality and its mirror apart?"), references to novels/movies and demos (as simple as playing cards and chess pieces to cathode-ray tubes).
The scientific production consists of 2 peer-reviewed publications. One was the springboard for a promising student, now with a publication portfolio in fishnets, adding to one string theory paper (without seniors) and defect field theory (with his current PhD advisor). A third paper is being drafted with the host at the moment. The dissemination has been publicised to hundreds of physicists and professionals on my LinkedIn profile with acknowledgement of the MSCA and European Commission.
International talk
The Researcher was invited plenary speaker at "Integrability in Gauge and String Theory 2022", a conference annually attracting 100+ high-energy physicists across Europe, to present the publication with the student.
Public outreach
1 lecture "Symmetry: simplicity and beauty of fundamental laws" at Uppsala University, as organiser of "Adventures through the laws of Nature" with 130 international registrants. The recording is available on Youtube. The Researcher advertised the event in Eventbrite, Facebook, Meetup and Reddit, reaching out to 8,000 Swedes, and targeted bulletin boards in the Stockholm's Culture Night with 50 posters and 100 leaflets.
High-school outreach
3 lectures "Symmetry: beauty of the microscopic world" for 100 students in the European Researchers' Night. The Researcher appealed to one Fellowship's theme to visualise nature at invisible scales: he captivated the attention with thought-provoking questions ("Can you tell reality and its mirror apart?"), references to novels/movies and demos (cathode-ray tube for splitting matter, playing cards for particles' spin). He also spoke on STEM careers and day-to-day activities, with very positive anonymous feedback.
Supervision of high-schoolers
3-week research projects for Xenia Bröddén, Lawan Fathullah and Alvin Palmgren at Nordita in the school "Rays for Excellence", which selects the top 20 Swedish students. The paper in preparation was suited to engage the trainees with differential equations and programming. The work was well praised in the ceremony at the Museum of Technology in Stockholm and it is accessible on the school database.
Supervision of graduates
Federico Ambrosino (now PhD at DESY Hamburg), Andrea Bruno (now MSc at Scuola Normale Superiore) and Aswin Narayanan (now private sector) chose my remote 6-month mentorship to get acquainted with physics research. Time was allocated to hand down key concepts of integrability, in particular the framework for baryons at the base of the Fellowship. This was crucial for Federico to win a CERN summer internship with the expert Dr. Shota Komatsu.
International talk
The Researcher was invited plenary speaker at "Integrability in Gauge and String Theory 2022", a conference annually attracting 100+ high-energy physicists across Europe, to present the publication with the student.
Public outreach
1 lecture "Symmetry: simplicity and beauty of fundamental laws" at Uppsala University, as organiser of "Adventures through the laws of Nature" with 130 international registrants. The recording is available on Youtube. The Researcher advertised the event in Eventbrite, Facebook, Meetup and Reddit, reaching out to 8,000 Swedes, and targeted bulletin boards in the Stockholm's Culture Night with 50 posters and 100 leaflets.
High-school outreach
3 lectures "Symmetry: beauty of the microscopic world" for 100 students in the European Researchers' Night. The Researcher appealed to one Fellowship's theme to visualise nature at invisible scales: he captivated the attention with thought-provoking questions ("Can you tell reality and its mirror apart?"), references to novels/movies and demos (cathode-ray tube for splitting matter, playing cards for particles' spin). He also spoke on STEM careers and day-to-day activities, with very positive anonymous feedback.
Supervision of high-schoolers
3-week research projects for Xenia Bröddén, Lawan Fathullah and Alvin Palmgren at Nordita in the school "Rays for Excellence", which selects the top 20 Swedish students. The paper in preparation was suited to engage the trainees with differential equations and programming. The work was well praised in the ceremony at the Museum of Technology in Stockholm and it is accessible on the school database.
Supervision of graduates
Federico Ambrosino (now PhD at DESY Hamburg), Andrea Bruno (now MSc at Scuola Normale Superiore) and Aswin Narayanan (now private sector) chose my remote 6-month mentorship to get acquainted with physics research. Time was allocated to hand down key concepts of integrability, in particular the framework for baryons at the base of the Fellowship. This was crucial for Federico to win a CERN summer internship with the expert Dr. Shota Komatsu.
The publications develop the Researcher's Physical Review Letters paper at the base of the Fellowship. Systems that possess an infinite number of conserved charges are called integrable. The correlators of operators, which encode physical information, can be solved exactly (a rare fact in the quantum world) and subtend many finite-coupling results. A milestone for correlators of 2 operators is a well-studied system of equations, called quantum spectral curve, while for 3 another (hexagon) framework is in place. The Researcher's paper made a framework for baryonic-like operators.
The Publication 1 concerned the correlators of 4 baryons. They harbour interesting physics (from string-theory tachyons to boundary states). The Researcher made the preliminary steps by collecting small-coupling data. Comments were made on the phase transition that such correlator is expected to exhibit in an integrability-based framework.
The Publication 2 initiated the study of baryons in fishnet models. Our motivation stemmed from the growing evidence that the Separation of Variables method (based on the quantum spectral curve) may apply to this type of correlators too. Such re-formulation would ultimately contribute to develop universal computational methods based on integrability. The Researcher revisited baryons (quantum properties, Feynman diagrams, resummation) and qualitatively examined a great variety of correlators, identifying those solvable by operatorial/integrability methods. What is also important is the set of future directions: other "heavy" operators, the search for integrable boundary states, other fishnets with integrable sectors and the study of branes in the gauge/string correspondence.
The work in preparation is about loop equations, which are tools to study quantum field theories in 0 dimensions, or matrix models. In supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, one matrix integral measures a certain (half-BPS, circular) Wilson loop. This opens a unique avenue in quantum models, where physical informations is a very complicated integral (in infinite dimensions, not zero). For some (Hermitian, beta-ensembles) matrix models, recursive (topological) solutions have been developed, but are virtually confined to the simplest models. The Researcher considered a general class, formulated the loop equation and an algorithm to construct the solution to arbitrary order in genus expansion. We put forward new high-precision small/large-coupling coefficients and perform a numerical study at intermediate coupling. Important applications are a massive version of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and the Hoppe model. The loop equation is the tool to move the goalpost to the finite-coupling range, probes similar supersymmetric theories and supports string theory and integrability studies.
The Publication 1 concerned the correlators of 4 baryons. They harbour interesting physics (from string-theory tachyons to boundary states). The Researcher made the preliminary steps by collecting small-coupling data. Comments were made on the phase transition that such correlator is expected to exhibit in an integrability-based framework.
The Publication 2 initiated the study of baryons in fishnet models. Our motivation stemmed from the growing evidence that the Separation of Variables method (based on the quantum spectral curve) may apply to this type of correlators too. Such re-formulation would ultimately contribute to develop universal computational methods based on integrability. The Researcher revisited baryons (quantum properties, Feynman diagrams, resummation) and qualitatively examined a great variety of correlators, identifying those solvable by operatorial/integrability methods. What is also important is the set of future directions: other "heavy" operators, the search for integrable boundary states, other fishnets with integrable sectors and the study of branes in the gauge/string correspondence.
The work in preparation is about loop equations, which are tools to study quantum field theories in 0 dimensions, or matrix models. In supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, one matrix integral measures a certain (half-BPS, circular) Wilson loop. This opens a unique avenue in quantum models, where physical informations is a very complicated integral (in infinite dimensions, not zero). For some (Hermitian, beta-ensembles) matrix models, recursive (topological) solutions have been developed, but are virtually confined to the simplest models. The Researcher considered a general class, formulated the loop equation and an algorithm to construct the solution to arbitrary order in genus expansion. We put forward new high-precision small/large-coupling coefficients and perform a numerical study at intermediate coupling. Important applications are a massive version of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and the Hoppe model. The loop equation is the tool to move the goalpost to the finite-coupling range, probes similar supersymmetric theories and supports string theory and integrability studies.