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Aninda Sinha

Publications and source records attributed to Aninda Sinha.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Bootstrapping black holes at low impact parameter

We use the stringy dispersion relation (SDR) to ask the following question about gravitational effective field theories: once the universal large-impact-parameter eikonal carrier is supplied, where does the remaining positive spectrum go? Working in six dimensions for concreteness, we include the complete high-spin continuum tail of the carrier and first work at weak coupling, where $M_{\rm Pl}>M_{\rm EFT}$. The extremal spectra contain a saturated low-impact band whose outer edge stays at roughly five to six times the inverse EFT scale even as the gravitational radius shrinks. The same edge is reproduced by a strict $G_N=0$ capped-SDR problem on the present grids. Thus the weak-coupling band approaches an intrinsic non-gravitational baseline of the capped extremal problem. On a common high-energy grid, a coupling ladder crossing $M_{\rm Pl}=M_{\rm EFT}$ resolves the cap-saturated support as a wedge: its outer envelope has the rotating black-hole homogeneity $G_N^{1/3}E^ {4/3}$, while its approximately linear lower envelope flattens as $G_N$ grows. We then use the deliberately reversed hierarchy $M_{\rm Pl}<M_ {\rm EFT}$ as a microscope for strong-gravity structure. In this regime a cap-saturated low-impact band follows an order-one Giddings-Porto rotating black-hole scale, a separate Regge-like ridge appears at high spin and low energies, the broad available region between these structures and the eikonal layer remains mostly empty, while at the far-tail of energy, series of Regge trajectories emerge.

hep-th

Cosmological Correlators Using Tensor Networks

We develop a nonperturbative tensor-network framework for computing cosmological correlators in de Sitter space and use it to test the proposal that suitably defined in-in correlators can be obtained from an in-out formalism by gluing the expanding and contracting Poincaré patches. Focusing on interacting $1+1$-dimensional $ϕ^4$ theory, we formulate finite-time lattice observables using Matrix Product State (MPS) techniques and analyze the regulator subtleties associated with the singular behavior near the patching surface. Within this regulated framework, we find controlled nonperturbative evidence for the proposed relation between in-in and in-out correlators in several examples. We also find suggestive evidence that the perturbative obstructions present for sufficiently light fields can be softened nonperturbatively, albeit in a regime of substantially larger entanglement. A central outcome of our analysis is an entanglement-based picture of the computation: for in-in evolution the entanglement remains modest and can decrease toward late times, whereas in the patched in-out set-up it grows significantly after the gluing slice. Thus, although the in-out formalism is perturbatively economical, the in-in formulation is numerically more favorable. We briefly discuss how the same strategy extends to low-angular-momentum sectors in $3+1$ dimensions, and why regimes of rapid entanglement growth may eventually motivate quantum-computing implementations.

hep-th

Five-point partial waves, splitting constraints and hidden zeros

We introduce a partial-wave basis for the double residues of five-point tree amplitudes involving identical external scalar particles, decomposing them into exchanges of definite spin at each internal channel. We verify this basis using massive spinor-helicity building blocks and by matching the resulting partial-wave coefficients against the tree-level five-point Veneziano amplitude at fixed mass levels. As an application, we express five-point splitting constraints -- the reduction of the five-point amplitude to products of four-point amplitudes on special kinematic loci -- as linear relations among the five-point partial-wave coefficients. At low mass levels these constraints, together with spin truncation, fix the full five-point partial-wave data in terms of the four-point coefficients and imply simple compatibility conditions; remarkably, imposing two independent splitting loci also forces the residue to vanish on their intersection, making the associated hidden zero manifest in partial-wave space. We also show that once both channels allow spin-2 exchange a genuine kernel can remain, indicating the need for additional higher-point input to achieve complete rigidity.

hep-th

A stringy dispersion relation for field theory

We derive a local, crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR) for 2-2 scattering amplitudes with a parametric ambiguity motivated by string theory. Various limits of the parameter lead to the fixed-t, fixed-s, and other known CSDRs. We also present formulae for higher-subtracted cases. Several examples are discussed for illustration. In particular, for the Veneziano and the Virasoro-Shapiro amplitudes, we derive parametric series representations which manifest poles in all channels and converge everywhere. We then discuss applications of our formalism for bootstrapping weakly-coupled gravitational EFTs. We demonstrate that even in the presence of the graviton pole, one can derive bounds on the Wilson coefficients while working in the forward limit, with the parameter acting as the IR regulator instead. Finally, we derive series representations for multi-variable, totally symmetric generalisations of the Veneziano and Virasoro-Shapiro amplitudes that manifest poles in all the variables. This is a first step towards dispersion relations for n-particle scattering amplitudes.

hep-th

Lectures on Quantum Field Theory on a Quantum Computer

The lecture notes cover the basics of quantum computing methods for quantum field theory applications. No detailed knowledge of either quantum computing or quantum field theory is assumed and we have attempted to keep the material at a pedagogical level. We review the anharmonic oscillator, using which we develop a hands-on treatment of certain interesting QFTs in $1+1D$: $ϕ^4$ theory, Ising field theory, and the Schwinger model. We review quantum computing essentials as well as tensor network techniques. The latter form an essential part for quantum computing benchmarking. Some error modelling on QISKIT is also done in the hope of anticipating runs on NISQ devices. These lecture notes are the expanded version of a one semester course taught by AS during August-November 2025 at the Indian Institute of Science and TA-ed by UB. The programs written for this course are available in a GitHub repository.

quant-ph

Ramanujan's $1/π$ series and conformal field theories

In 1914, Ramanujan unveiled 17 extraordinary infinite series for $1/π$. In this work, we uncover their physics origin by relating them to 2D logarithmic conformal field theories (LCFTs), which emerge in diverse settings such as the fractional quantum Hall effect, percolation, polymers, and even holography. Through this LCFT connection, we reinterpret such infinite series in terms of fundamental CFT data -- the operator spectrum and OPE coefficients. This perspective leads to novel physics-inspired approximations for $1/π$. Drawing lessons from Ramanujan's formulae, we construct a new family of bases for expanding LCFT correlators that converge far more rapidly than the standard conformal block decomposition. This is achieved using recently developed stringy/parametric crossing-symmetric dispersion relations. Remarkably, when working with these new expansions, the action of a certain differential operator (which arises naturally from the Ramanujan connection) dramatically enhances convergence, with the entire contribution collapsing to that of the logarithmic identity operator. This striking simplification hints at a universal property of LCFTs. Finally, we discuss a new holographic interpretation of this unexpected mathematics-physics connection.

hep-th

Fermionic S-matrix and cosmological correlators: T-violation at O(H)

We study the Bunch-Davies (BD) and Unruh-de Witt (UdW) de Sitter S-matrices in the presence of spin-$1/2$ fermions. Building on recent work, this enables us to correlate the de Sitter S-matrix with cosmological correlators. We consider a finite-time version of the UdW S-matrix to study $O(H)$ corrections to some typical particle physics processes such as beta decay. Owing to the lack of time-reversal symmetry in the expanding Poincaré patch, we find signatures of intrinsic T-violation in polarized beta decay. The observable we study begins at $O(H)$. The possibility of T-violation was examined theoretically in the 1950's by Jackson, Treiman, and Wyld in flat space and has been probed more recently in the emiT experiment, with the purpose of examining fundamental T-violation coming from additional interactions in the Lagrangian. Our analysis places a lower bound on the intrinsic T-violation in the expanding Poincaré patch. At $O(H)$, we find both energy conserving and energy non-conserving contributions. Surprisingly, the energy-violating piece, in principle, can give large T-violation at fine-tuned values of the kinematical variables.

hep-th

Certified Random Number Generation using Quantum Computers

In recent decades, quantum technologies have made significant strides toward achieving quantum utility. However, practical applications are hindered by challenges related to scaling the number of qubits and the depth of circuits. In this paper, we investigate how current quantum computers can be leveraged for practical applications, particularly in generating secure random numbers certified by Quantum Mechanics. While random numbers can be generated and certified in a device-independent manner through the violation of Bell's inequality, this method requires significant spatial separation to satisfy the no-signaling condition, making it impractical for implementation on a single quantum computer. Instead, we employ temporal correlations to generate randomness by violating the Leggett-Garg inequality, which relies on the No-Signaling in Time condition to certify randomness, thus overcoming spatial constraints. By applying this protocol to existing quantum computers, we demonstrate the feasibility of secure, semi-device-independent random number generation using low-depth circuits with single-qubit gates.

quant-ph

Bootstrapping string models with entanglement minimization and Machine-Learning

We present a new approach to bootstrapping string-like theories by exploiting a local crossing symmetric dispersion relation and field redefinition ambiguities. This approach enables us to use mass-level truncation and to go beyond the dual resonance hypothesis. We consider both open and closed strings, focusing mainly on open tree-level amplitudes with integer-spaced spectrum, and two leading Wilson coefficients as inputs. Using entanglement minimization in the form of the minimum of the first finite moment of linear entropy or entangling power, we get an excellent approximation to the superstring amplitudes, including the leading and sub-leading Regge trajectories. We find other interesting S-matrices which do not obey the duality hypothesis, but exhibit a transition from Regge behaviour to power law behaviour in the high energy limit. Finally, we also examine Machine-Learning techniques to do bootstrap and discuss potential advantages over the present approach.

hep-th

Field theory expansions of string theory amplitudes

Motivated by quantum field theory (QFT) considerations, we present new representations of the Euler-Beta function and tree-level string theory amplitudes using a new two-channel, local, crossing symmetric dispersion relation. Unlike standard series representations, the new ones are analytic everywhere except at the poles, sum over poles in all channels and include contact interactions, in the spirit of QFT. This enables us to consider mass-level truncation, which preserves all the features of the original amplitudes. By starting with such expansions for generalized Euler-Beta functions and demanding QFT like features, we single out the open superstring amplitude. We demonstrate the difficulty in deforming away from the string amplitude and show that a class of such deformations can be potentially interesting when there is level truncation. Our considerations also lead to new QFT-inspired, parametric representations of the Zeta function and $π$, which show fast convergence.

hep-th

Bootstrapping High-Energy Observables

In this paper, we set up the numerical S-matrix bootstrap by using the crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR) to write down Roy equations for the partial waves. As a motivation behind examining the local version of the CSDR, we derive a new, crossing symmetric, 3-channels-plus-contact-terms representation of the Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude in string theory that converges everywhere except at the poles. We then focus on gapped theories and give novel analytic and semi-analytic derivations of several bounds on low-energy data. We examine the high-energy behaviour of the experimentally measurable rho-parameter, introduced by Khuri and Kinoshita and defined as the ratio of the real to the imaginary part of the amplitude in the forward limit. Contrary to expectations, we find numerical evidence that there could be multiple changes in the sign of this ratio before it asymptotes at high energies. We compare our approach with other existing numerical methods and find agreement, with improvement in convergence.

hep-th

Bell inequalities in 2-2 scattering

We consider Bell inequalities in 2-2 scattering of photons, gravitons, fermions and pions. We choose measurement settings that give maximum Bell violation for maximally entangled states and calculate the relevant Bell inequalities for these processes. For photon scattering at low energies, QED exhibits Bell violation for all scattering angles except for a small transverse region. This leads to a fine-tuning problem. Incorporating a light axion/axion-like particle (ALP) removes the fine-tuning problem and constrains the axion-coupling--axion-mass parameters. Allowing for graviton exchange and demanding Bell violation in photon scattering, we find that the Weak Gravity Conjecture is satisfied. Quantum gravity effect on axion coupling is discussed. For 2-2 graviton scattering, we find that CEMZ bounds allow for at most small Bell violations. Restriction on the Weinberg angle is found by demanding Bell violation in Bhabha scattering. We use recent S-matrix bootstrap data for pions and photons to study the Bell parameter in the space of allowed S-matrices. In the photon case, we study the Bell parameters as a function of energy and find support for the EFT observations. We discuss Bell parameter for pion S-matrices, which are qutrits. For pions, we find that there is a minimization of a suitable Bell parameter for S-matrices which exhibit Regge behaviour.

hep-th

Dispersion relations, knot polynomials and the $q$-deformed harmonic oscillator

We show that the crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR) for 2-2 scattering leads to a fascinating connection with knot polynomials and q-deformed algebras. In particular, the dispersive kernel can be identified naturally in terms of the generating function for the Alexander polynomials corresponding to the torus knot $(2,2n+1)$ arising in knot theory. Certain linear combinations of the low energy expansion coefficients of the amplitude can be bounded in terms of knot invariants. Pion S-matrix bootstrap data respects the analytic bounds so obtained. We correlate the $q$-deformed harmonic oscillator with the CSDR-knot picture. In particular, the scattering amplitude can be thought of as a $q$-averaged thermal two point function involving the $q$-deformed harmonic oscillator. The low temperature expansion coefficients are precisely the $q$-averaged Alexander knot polynomials.

hep-th

Positivity, low twist dominance and CSDR for CFTs

We consider a crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR) for CFT four point correlation with identical scalar operators, which is manifestly symmetric under the cross-ratios $u,v$ interchange. This representation has several features in common with the CSDR for quantum field theories. It enables a study of the expansion of the correlation function around $u=v=1/4$, which is used in the numerical conformal bootstrap program. We elucidate several remarkable features of the dispersive representation using the four point correlation function of $Φ_{1,2}$ operators in 2d minimal models as a test-bed. When the dimension of the external scalar operator ($Δ_σ$) is less than $\frac{1}{2}$, the CSDR gets contribution from only a single tower of global primary operators with the second tower being projected out. We find that there is a notion of low twist dominance (LTD) which, as a function of $Δ_σ$, is maximized near the 2d Ising model as well as the non-unitary Yang-Lee model. The CSDR and LTD further explain positivity of the Taylor expansion coefficients of the correlation function around the crossing symmetric point and lead to universal predictions for specific ratios of these coefficients. These results carry over to the epsilon expansion in $4-ε$ dimensions. We also conduct a preliminary investigation of geometric function theory ideas, namely the Bieberbach-Rogosinski bounds.

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QFT, EFT and GFT

We explore the correspondence between geometric function theory (GFT) and quantum field theory (QFT). The crossing symmetric dispersion relation provides the necessary tool to examine the connection between GFT, QFT, and effective field theories (EFTs), enabling us to connect with the crossing-symmetric EFT-hedron. Several existing mathematical bounds on the Taylor coefficients of Typically Real functions are summarized and shown to be of enormous use in bounding Wilson coefficients in the context of 2-2 scattering. We prove that two-sided bounds on Wilson coefficients are guaranteed to exist quite generally for the fully crossing symmetric situation. Numerical implementation of the GFT constraints (Bieberbach-Rogosinski inequalities) is straightforward and allows a systematic exploration. A comparison of our findings obtained using GFT techniques and other results in the literature is made. We study both the three-channel as well as the two-channel crossing-symmetric cases, the latter having some crucial differences. We also consider bound state poles as well as massless poles in EFTs. Finally, we consider nonlinear constraints arising from the positivity of certain Toeplitz determinants, which occur in the trigonometric moment problem.

hep-th

Selected Topics in Analytic Conformal Bootstrap: A Guided Journey

This review aims to offer a pedagogical introduction to the analytic conformal bootstrap program via a journey through selected topics. We review analytic methods which include the large spin perturbation theory, Mellin space methods and the Lorentzian inversion formula. These techniques are applied to a variety of topics ranging from large-N theories, to the epsilon expansion and holographic superconformal correlators, and are demonstrated in a large number of explicit examples.

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Crossing Symmetric Spinning S-matrix Bootstrap: EFT bounds

We develop crossing symmetric dispersion relations for describing 2-2 scattering of identical external particles carrying spin. This enables us to import techniques from Geometric Function Theory and study two sided bounds on low energy Wilson coefficients. We consider scattering of photons, gravitons in weakly coupled effective field theories. We provide general expressions for the locality/null constraints. Consideration of the positivity of the absorptive part leads to an interesting connection with the recently conjectured weak low spin dominance. We also construct the crossing symmetric amplitudes and locality constraints for the massive neutral Majorana fermions and parity violating photon and graviton theories. The techniques developed in this paper will be useful for considering numerical S-matrix bootstrap in the future.

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Celestial insights into the S-matrix bootstrap

We consider 2-2 scattering in four spacetime dimensions in Celestial variables. Using the crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR), we recast the Celestial amplitudes in terms of crossing symmetric partial waves. These partial waves have spurious singularities in the complex Celestial variable, which need to be removed in local theories. The locality constraints (null constraints) admit closed form expressions, which lead to novel bounds on partial wave moments. These bounds allow us to quantify the degree of low spin dominance(LSD) for scalar theories. We study a new kind of positivity that seems to be present in a wide class of theories. We prove that this positivity arises only in theories with a spin-0 dominance. The crossing symmetric partial waves with spurious singularities removed, dubbed as Feynman blocks, have remarkable properties in the Celestial variable, namely typically realness, in the sense of Geometric Function Theory (GFT). Using GFT techniques we derive non-projective bounds on Wilson coefficients in terms of partial wave moments.

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