arXiv subjects

Christoph A. Keller

Publications and source records attributed to Christoph A. Keller.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Threshold Corrections in Heterotic String Theory from Conformal Perturbation Theory

We use conformal perturbation theory to compute one-loop threshold corrections to the Kähler potential of the heterotic string. For this we consider the theory compactified at the Gepner point of the quintic, that is at a highly stringy point of its moduli space. To obtain the corrections, we compute how the weights of the lightest states of the worldsheet theory shift at second order in conformal perturbation theory. This approach can be used to obtain the one-loop correction to all orders in $α'$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

CFTs with Large Gap from Barnes-Wall Lattice Orbifolds

We investigate orbifolds of lattice conformal field theories with the goal of constructing theories with large gap. We consider Barnes-Wall lattices, which are a family of lattices with no short vectors, and orbifold by an extraspecial 2-group of lattice automorphisms. To construct the orbifold CFT, we investigate the orbifold vertex operator algebra and its twisted modules. To obtain a holomorphic CFT, a certain anomaly 3-cocycle $ω$ needs to vanish; based on evidence we provide, we conjecture that it indeed does. Granting this conjecture, we construct a holomorphic CFT of central charge 128 with gap 4.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

Conformal Perturbation Theory on K3: The Quartic Gepner Point

The Gepner model (2)^4 describes the sigma model of the Fermat quartic K3 surface. Moving through the nearby moduli space using conformal perturbation theory, we investigate how the conformal weights of its fields change at first and second order and find approximate minima. This serves as a toy model for a mechanism that could produce new chiral fields and possibly new nearby rational CFTs.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Sparse Modular Forms, Lattices, and Codes

Motivated by sparseness conditions for holographic CFTs, we investigate sparseness of modular forms, lattices, and codes. For this we investigate the free energy of such objects as their weight, dimension or size goes to infinity. We construct families of modular forms that are sparse, such as the Eisenstein series $E_{2k}(τ)$. We then investigate lattices that come from codes and introduce a sparseness condition for such lattices. We investigate the limit of lattices constructed from self-dual Reed-Muller codes and provide evidence that they are sparse in this sense.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Modularity of Vertex Operator Algebra Correlators with Zero Modes

It is known from Zhu's results that under modular transformations, correlators of rational $C_2$-cofinite vertex operator algebras transform like Jacobi forms. We investigate the modular transformation properties of VOA correlators that have zero modes inserted. We derive recursion relations for such correlators and use them to establish modular transformation properties. We find that correlators with only zero modes transform like quasi-modular forms, and mixed correlators with both zero modes and vertex operators transform like quasi-Jacobi forms. As an application of our results, we introduce algebras of higher weight fields whose zero mode correlators mimic the properties of those of weight 1 fields. We also give a simplified proof of the weight 1 transformation properties originally proven by Miyamoto.

math.QA↗

arXiv2023

Conformal field theories dual to quantum gravity with strongly coupled matter

A holographic conformal field theory is dual to semi-classical general relativity in Anti-de Sitter space coupled to matter fields. If the CFT factorizes in the large-$N$ limit, then all couplings in its dual are suppressed by the Planck scale, making the matter fields weakly interacting. We propose a mechanism to produce CFTs whose dual matter fields couple weakly to gravity, but interact strongly with each other. We achieve this by turning on exactly marginal multi-trace deformations, and quantify the effect using conformal perturbation theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

The ABCDEFG of Instantons and W-algebras

For arbitrary gauge groups, we check at the one-instanton level that the Nekrasov partition function of pure N=2 super Yang-Mills is equal to the norm of a certain coherent state of the corresponding W-algebra. For non-simply-laced gauge groups, we confirm in particular that the coherent state is in the twisted sector of a simply-laced W-algebra.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Limits of Vertex Algebras and Large N Factorization

We investigate the limit of sequences of vertex algebras. We discuss under what condition the vector space direct limit of such a sequence is again a vertex algebra. We then apply this framework to permutation orbifolds of vertex operator algebras and their large N limit. We establish that for any nested oligomorphic permutation orbifold such a large N limit exists, and we give a necessary and sufficient condition for that limit to factorize. This helps clarify the question of what VOAs are candidates for holographic conformal field theories in physics.

math.QA↗

arXiv2022

Koopman-theoretic Approach for Identification of Exogenous Anomalies in Nonstationary Time-series Data

In many scenarios, it is necessary to monitor a complex system via a time-series of observations and determine when anomalous exogenous events have occurred so that relevant actions can be taken. Determining whether current observations are abnormal is challenging. It requires learning an extrapolative probabilistic model of the dynamics from historical data, and using a limited number of current observations to make a classification. We leverage recent advances in long-term probabilistic forecasting, namely {\em Deep Probabilistic Koopman}, to build a general method for classifying anomalies in multi-dimensional time-series data. We also show how to utilize models with domain knowledge of the dynamics to reduce type I and type II error. We demonstrate our proposed method on the important real-world task of global atmospheric pollution monitoring, integrating it with NASA's Global Earth System Model. The system successfully detects localized anomalies in air quality due to events such as COVID-19 lockdowns and wildfires.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2022

Deforming Symmetric Product Orbifolds: A tale of moduli and higher spin currents

We analyze how deforming symmetric product orbifolds of two-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ conformal field theories by an exactly marginal operator lifts higher spin currents present at the orbifold point. We find on the one hand that these currents are universally lifted regardless of the underlying CFT. On the other hand the details of the lifting are surprisingly non-universal, with dependence on the central charge of the underlying CFT and the specific marginal operator in use. In the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, our results illustrate the mechanism by which the stringy spectrum turns into a supergravity spectrum when moving through the moduli space. They also provide further evidence that symmetric product orbifolds of $\mathcal{N}=2$ minimal models are holographic.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Narain to Narnia

We generalize the holographic correspondence between topological gravity coupled to an abelian Chern-Simons theory in three dimensions and an ensemble average of Narain's family of massless free bosons in two dimensions, discovered by Afkhami-Jeddi et al. and by Maloney and Witten. We find that the correspondence also works for toroidal orbifolds but not for K3 or Calabi-Yau sigma-models and not always for the minimal models. We conjecture that the correspondence requires that the central charge is equal to the critical central charge defined by the asymptotic density of states of the chiral algebra. For toroidal orbifolds, we extend the holographic correspondence to correlation functions of twist operators by using topological properties of rational tangles in the three-dimensional ball, which represent configurations of vortices associated to a discrete gauge symmetry.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

The Large $N$ Limit of Orbifold Vertex Operator Algebras

We investigate the large $N$ limit of permutation orbifolds of vertex operator algebras. To this end, we introduce the notion of nested oligomorphic permutation orbifolds and discuss under which conditions their fixed point VOAs converge. We show that if this limit exists, then it has the structure of a vertex algebra. Finally, we give an example based on $\mathrm{GL}(N,q)$ for which the fixed point VOA limit is also the limit of the full permutation orbifold VOA.

math.QA↗

arXiv2021

Lifting 1/4-BPS States in $AdS_3\times S^3 \times T^4$

We establish a framework for doing second order conformal perturbation theory for the symmetric orbifold Sym$^N(T^4)$ to all orders in $N$. This allows us to compute how 1/4-BPS states of the D1-D5 system on $AdS_3\times S^3\times T^4$ are lifted as we move away from the orbifold point. As an application we confirm a previous observation that in the large $N$ limit not all 1/4-BPS states that can be lifted do get lifted. This provides evidence that the supersymmetric index actually undercounts the number of 1/4-BPS states at a generic point in the moduli space.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

On Rational Points in CFT Moduli Spaces

Motivated by the search for rational points in moduli spaces of two-dimensional conformal field theories, we investigate how points with enhanced symmetry algebras are distributed there. We first study the bosonic sigma-model with $S^1$ target space in detail and uncover hitherto unknown features. We find for instance that the vanishing of the twist gap, though true for the $S^1$ example, does not automatically follow from enhanced symmetry points being dense in the moduli space. We then explore the supersymmetric sigma-model on K3 by perturbing away from the torus orbifold locus. Though we do not reach a definite conclusion on the distribution of enhanced symmetry points in the K3 moduli space, we make several observations on how chiral currents can emerge and disappear under conformal perturbation theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

On the Space of Slow Growing Weak Jacobi Forms

Weak Jacobi forms of weight $0$ and index $m$ can be exponentially lifted to meromorphic Siegel paramodular forms. It was recently observed that the Fourier coefficients of such lifts are then either fast growing or slow growing. In this note we investigate the space of weak Jacobi forms that lead to slow growth. We provide analytic and numerical evidence for the conjecture that there are such slow growing forms for any index $m$.

math.NT↗

arXiv2020

Conformal Perturbation Theory for Twisted Fields

We investigate second order conformal perturbation theory for $\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifolds of conformal field theories in two dimensions. To evaluate the necessary twisted sector correlation functions and their integrals, we map them from the sphere to its torus double cover. We discuss how this relates crossing symmetry to the modular group, and introduce a regularization scheme on the cover that allows to evaluate the integrals numerically. These methods do not require supersymmetry. As an application, we show that in the torus orbifold of 8 and 16 free bosons, $\mathbb{Z}_2$ twist fields are marginal at first order, but stop being marginal at second order.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

$\mathcal{N}=2$ Minimal Models: A Holographic Needle in a Symmetric Orbifold Haystack

We explore large-$N$ symmetric orbifolds of the $\mathcal N=2$ minimal models, and find evidence that their moduli spaces each contain a supergravity point. We identify single-trace exactly marginal operators that deform them away from the symmetric orbifold locus. We also show that their elliptic genera exhibit slow growth consistent with supergravity spectra in AdS$_3$. We thus propose an infinite family of new holographic CFTs.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Lifting 1/4-BPS States on K3 and Mathieu Moonshine

The elliptic genus of K3 is an index for the 1/4-BPS states of its sigma model. At the torus orbifold point there is an accidental degeneracy of such states. We blow up the orbifold fixed points using conformal perturbation theory, and find that this fully lifts the accidental degeneracy of the 1/4-BPS states with h=1. At a generic point near the Kummer surface the elliptic genus thus measures not just their index, but counts the actual number of these BPS states. We comment on the implication of this for symmetry surfing and Mathieu moonshine.

hep-th↗