arXiv subjects

David Berenstein

Publications and source records attributed to David Berenstein.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

An asymptotic bootstrap method and its applications to Hermitian matrix models

We propose an asymptotic bootstrap method to evaluate moment integrals that arise in problems related to hermitian matrix models. These are normalized integrals of the form $a_n=\int^{\infty}_{-\infty} x^n \exp(-V(x)) dx$ where $V(x)$ is a polynomial of $x$. The method is applicable even when the coupling constants in $V(x)= x^{2\ell}/(2\ell) + g_{2\ell-2} x^{2\ell-2}/(2\ell-2) + \dots$ are complex. We prove that the method converges asymptotically exponentially fast on a cone region determined by the first subleading coupling $g_{2\ell-2}$, which must have a positive real part and an absolute value of the argument less than $\pi/{\ell}$. We use our method to study the phase structure of Hermitian matrix models by constructing the orthogonal polynomials associated to these measures.

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arXiv2026

Successes and challenges of using Semidefinite Programming for the study of Spin Chain Hamiltonians

We study semidefinite programming (SDP) methods to analyze spin chain Hamiltonians. We examine the ground state energy, the first excited charged states and ground state correlators in two simple models: the Ising model in a transverse magnetic field and the closely related 3-state Potts model. Our goal is to understand precisely what the SDP program is doing and when it works well, why it does so. We focus on the following novel ingredients: using charge constraints to obtain excited states and to see if additional constraints from integrable models are effective at improving the method. At criticality we also explore to what extent we can use approximate Virasoro correlators to extract conformal data: the central charge and some critical exponents of charged states. We also use these to identify the location of the phase transition. In the special case where the system is made of free fermions we prove that the SDP finds the exact energy of the ground state and produces the correct two point functions of the fermions. Away from free fermion theories, the SDP gets progressively worse at estimating data beyond the value of the ground state energy (like correlation functions), although it qualitatively matches these. In order to be effective, the SDP seems to run into scaling issues where the amount of input needed scales poorly with the lattice volume.

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arXiv2026

Spin Chains from large-$N$ QCD at strong coupling

We study the strong coupling expansion of large $N$ QCD in various dimensions, reformulating the Kogut-Susskind Hamiltonian on a square lattice in terms of (constrained) one dimensional spin chain models. We study the integrability properties of the spin chain obtained this way: there is large class of integrable subsectors, but we show that the full spin chain is not integrable, at least when viewed from a description based on Bethe ansatz. We demonstrate that the spin chains no longer possess integrability due to the constraints arising from the zigzag symmetry of the confining strings. The spin chain description properly estimates the roughening transition point by extrapolating the first-order analytical results based on integrability of some subsectors. The generalization to higher dimensions are also considered, where we also find the small subsectors without the zigzag constraints to be integrable.

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arXiv2026

Asymptotic bootstrap for unitary matrix integrals at complex coupling

We apply an asymptotic bootstrap estimate method to the non-perturbative study of unitary matrix integrals. The method combines exact recursion relations with asymptotic control of large modes to achieve very high numerical precision without relying on positivity or semidefinite programming. We demonstrate its effectiveness in large-$N$ unitary matrix models by computing Wilson loop expectation values with sensitivity to exponentially small instanton effects and validating them against analytical instanton calculations. We further use the method to explore phase diagrams of unitary matrix models in complex 't Hooft coupling space, where positivity is absent, and observe that Stokes lines provide a useful proxy for additional phase boundaries. Our results show that asymptotic bootstrap estimates offer a practical and precise tool for probing the non-perturbative structure of unitary matrix integrals.

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arXiv2025

Spinning Fields in Lorentzian AdS

We construct the higher spin wave functions in the embedding space of anti-de Sitter Lorentzian spacetime. These wave functions are built from a primary wave functions that has a simple structure expressed in terms of the special conformal generator vector fields in AdS. We compute the eigenvalue of the quadratic Casimir for the symmetric traceless states, and show explicitly that these satisfy the higher spin wave equation. We also demonstrate that these wave functions have the right structure in the flat space limit for massive higher spin fields, and can be used to construct $in$ and $out$ states for scattering processes. Spinning states that become massless in the flat limit are extremely subtle. The problem can be isolated to longitudinal polarizations.

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arXiv2025

Aspects of the bulk flat space limit in AdS/CFT

The flat space limit of scalar bulk fields in AdS is discussed within a Lorentzian canonical quantization setup tailored to describe AdS state preparation and to extract the flat S-matrix dynamics. We discuss how the algebraic \`{I}n\"on\"u-Wigner contraction captures the local physics of the equivalence principle in quantum field theory in a fixed background description. We develop the embedding formalism to describe the bulk AdS scalar primary wave functions as holomorphic functions. Flat space massive particle states are built out of the AdS primary together with AdS boosted wave functions. We compute their inner products and show that these become orthogonal in the flat limit, resulting in the correct continuous spectrum for a standard unitary representation of the Lorentz group. In this same limit the original AdS descendants become null states. We also argue how the flat space S-matrix emerges from standard perturbation theory in the interaction picture. To obtain flat space massless particles requires to consider a double scaled limit in which the boost rapidity is scaled to infinity keeping the average particle energy in the flat space limit fixed. We comment on how this limit generates interesting massless state wave functions with non-trivial shape profiles that remember the dimension of the AdS operator. We discuss some of the puzzles attached to these.

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arXiv2025

Supersymmetric lattice theories on curved space

We show how to construct Hamiltonian lattice theories with one exact supersymmetry on arbitrary triangulations of curved space in any number of dimensions. Both bosons and fermions satisfy discrete K\"{a}hler-Dirac equations. The quantization of the fermions proceeds by imposing conventional anti-commutation relations while the bosons require a modification of the usual canonical commutator. On regular lattices we construct parity, time reversal and translation-by-one (shift) symmetries. We argue that the latter are generically non-invertible symmetries. We also show how to couple these degrees of freedom to background gauge fields which leads to a theory with enhanced supersymmetry.

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arXiv2025

Trapping, chaos and averaging in bubbling AdS spaces

We discuss chaos and ensemble averaging in 1/2 BPS bubbling $AdS$ spaces of Lin, Lunin and Maldacena (LLM) by studying trapped and escaping null geodesics and estimating their decay rates. We find typical chaotic scattering behavior and confirm the Pesin relation between escape rates, Lyapunov exponents and Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy. On the other hand, for geodesics in coarse-grained (grayscale) LLM geometries (which exhibit a naked singularity) chaos is strongly suppressed, which is consistent with orbits and escape rates averaged over microscopic backgrounds. Also the singularities in these grayscale geometries produce an attractive potential and have some similarities to black hole throats trapping geodesics for a long time. Overall, averaging over the ensembles of LLM geometries brings us closer toward the typical behavior of geodesics in black hole backgrounds, but some important differences remain, in particular the existence of a threshold timescale when the averaging fails.

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arXiv2025

Goldilocks and the bootstrap

We study simplified bootstrap problems for probability distributions on the infinite line and the circle. We show that the rapid convergence of the bootstrap method for problems on the infinite line is related to the fact that the smallest eigenvalue of the positive matrices in the exact solution becomes exponentially small for large matrices, while the moments grow factorially. As a result, the positivity condition is very finely tuned. For problems on the circle we show instead that the entries of the positive matrix of Fourier modes of the distribution depend linearly on the initial data of the recursion, with factorially growing coefficients. By positivity, these matrix elements are bounded in absolute value by one, so the initial data must also be fine-tuned. Additionally, we find that we can largely bypass the semi-definite program (SDP) nature of the problem on a circle by recognizing that these Fourier modes must be asymptotically exponentially small. With a simple ansatz, which we call the shoestring bootstrap, we can efficiently identify an interior point of the set of allowed matrices with much higher precision than conventional SDP bounds permit. We apply this method to solving unitary matrix model integrals by numerically constructing the orthogonal polynomials associated with the circle distribution.

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arXiv2024

Numerical exploration of the bootstrap in spin chain models

We analyze the bootstrap approach (a dual optimization method to the variational approach) to one-dimensional spin chains, leveraging semidefinite programming to extract numerical results. We study how correlation functions in the ground state converge to their true values at and away from criticality and at relaxed optimality. We consider the transverse Ising model, the three state Potts model, and other non-integrable spin chains and investigate to what extent semidefinite methods can reliably extract numerical emergent physical data, including conformal central charges, correlation lengths and scaling dimensions. We demonstrate procedures to extract these data and show preliminary results in the various models considered. We compare to exact analytical results and to exact diagonalization when the system volume is small enough. When we attempt to go to the thermodynamic limit, the semidefinite numerical method with translation invariance imposed as a constraint finds the solution with periodic boundary conditions even if these have not been specified. This implies that the determination of all conformal data in correlators has to be handled at finite volume. Our investigation reveals that the approach has practical challenges. In particular, the correlation functions extracted from the optimal solution, which function as slack variables in the optimization, have convergence issues that suggest an underlying exponential complexity in the system size.

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arXiv2024

Staggered bosons and Kahler-Dirac bosons

We describe a novel way to think about bosonic lattice theories in Hamiltonian form where each lattice site has only a half boson degree of freedom. The construction requires a non-trivial Poisson bracket between neighboring sites and leads to gapless theories with non-invertible symmetries. We also describe a bosonic version of Kahler-Dirac fermions, dubbed Kahler-Dirac bosons that can be performed on any triangulation of a manifold. This also leads to a straightforward implementation of supersymmetry on the lattice and one immediately deduces the Dirac equation of the corresponding Kahler-Dirac fermions.

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arXiv2023

One dimensional Staggered Bosons, Clock models and their non-invertible symmetries

We study systems of staggered boson Hamiltonians in a one dimensional lattice and in particular how the translation symmetry by one unit in these systems is in reality a non-invertible symmetry closely related to T-duality. We also study the simplest systems of clock models derived from these staggered boson Hamiltonians. We show that the non-invertible symmetries of these lattice models together with the discrete ${\mathbb Z}_N$ symmetry predict that these are critical points with a $U(1)$ current algebra at $c=1$ and radius $\sqrt{2N}$ whenever $N>4$.

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arXiv2023

Integrable Spin Chains from large-$N$ QCD at strong coupling

We study a spin chain for a confining string that arises at first order in degenerate perturbation from the strong-coupling expansion of the Kogut-Susskind Hamiltonian on a square lattice in the leading large $N$ expansion. We show some subsectors are integrable and that with a relaxed constraint related to zigzag symmetry, the full spin chain is integrable in arbitrary dimensions.

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arXiv2023

The endpoint of partial deconfinement

We study the matrix quantum mechanics of two free hermitian $N\times N$ matrices subject to a singlet constraint in the microcanonical ensemble. This is the simplest example of a theory that at large $N$ has a confinement/deconfinement transition. In the microcanonical ensemble, it also exhibits partial confinement with a Hagedorn density of states. We argue that the entropy of these configurations, calculated by a counting of states based on the fact that Young diagrams are dominated by Young diagrams that have the VKLS shape. When the shape gets to the maximal depth allowed for a Young diagram of $SU(N)$, namely $N$, we argue that the system stops exhibiting the Hagedorn behavior. The number of boxes (energy) at the transition is $N^2/4$, independent of the charge of the state.

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arXiv2023

One-dimensional reflection in the quantum mechanical bootstrap

We describe the application of the quantum mechanical bootstrap to the solution of one-dimensional scattering problems. By fixing a boundary and modulating the Robin parameter of the boundary conditions we are able to extract the reflection coefficient for various potentials and compare to physical expectations. This includes an application of semidefinite programming to solving a half-line Schrodinger problem with arbitrary Robin boundary conditions. Finally, the WKB approximation is used to numerically determine the scattering behavior of the exponential potential of Liouville theory.

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arXiv2023

Chaotic LLM billiards

We study null geodesics of the ten-dimensional LLM geometries. In particular, we show that there are a subset of these null geodesics that are confined to the LLM plane. The effective dynamics of these in-plane geodesics is that of a Hamiltonian system with two degrees of freedom (a phase space of dimension 4). We show that these are chaotic. In the two-coloring of the LLM plane, if they start in the empty region, they cannot penetrate the filled region and viceversa. The dynamical problem is therefore very similar to that of a billiards problem with fixed obstacles. We study to what extent LLM geometries with many droplets may be treated as an incipient black hole and draw analogies with the fuzzball proposal. We argue that for in-plane null geodesics deep in the interior of a region with a lot of droplets, in order to exit towards the $AdS$ boundary they will need to undergo a process that resembles diffusion. This mechanism can account for signals getting lost in the putative black hole for a very long time.

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arXiv2023

Staggered bosons

A model with a half boson degree of freedom per lattice site in one dimension is developed. The boson is protected from developing a gap by translation symmetry: while the left movers are at zero quasi-momentum, the associated right movers are at the midpoint of the quasi-momentum period. The model has different properties depending on if a periodic lattice has an even or an odd number of sites and similar features are found for open boundary conditions. A special case of the non-linear half boson model where even and odd lattice sites contribute differently to the Hamiltonian gives rise to the Toda chain and a more symmetric generalization of the Toda chain is found. Upon periodic identifications of the half bosons degrees of freedom under a shift, the total Hilbert space has a finite dimension and can be encoded in finitely many qubits per unit length. This way one finds interesting critical spin chains, examples of which include the critical Ising model in a transverse magnetic field and the 3-state Potts model at criticality. Extensions to higher dimensions are considered. Models obtained this way automatically produce dynamical systems of gapless fractons.

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arXiv2023

Aspects of thermal one-point functions and response functions in AdS Black holes

We revisit the problem of analytically computing the one point functions for scalar fields in planar AdS black holes of arbitrary dimension, which are sourced by the Weyl squared tensor. We analyze the problem in terms of power series expansions around the boundary using the method of Frobenius. We clarify the pole structure of the final answer in terms of operator mixing, as argued previously by Grinberg and Maldacena. We generalize the techniques to also obtain analytic results for slowly modulated spatially varying sources to first non-trivial order in the wave vector for arbitrary dimension. We also study the first order corrections to the one point function of the global AdS black hole at large mass, where we perturb in terms that correspond to the curvature of the horizon.

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