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Dmitri Vassilevich

Publications and source records attributed to Dmitri Vassilevich.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Heat-Kernel approach to the Atiyah--Singer Index of Non-Hermitian Dirac Operators

If an operator $H$ anticommutes with a chirality operator $\Gamma_*$ such that $\Gamma_*^2=1$, the null space of $H$ can be decomposed in a direct sum of two spaces having positive and negative chiralities, respectively. When both spaces are finite dimensional, one can define an index, $\mathrm{Ind}(\Gamma_*,H)$, as the difference of dimensions of these two spaces. The key issue is whether $\mathrm{Ind}(\Gamma_*,H)$ is topologically protected, i.e., whether it remains constant under smooth variations of the parameters and background fields entering $H$. For Hermitian Dirac operators, topological protection of the index is guaranteed by the Atiyah--Singer theorem. In this paper, by using the heat kernel methods, we show that $\mathrm{Ind}(\Gamma_*,H)$ is topologically protected also for non-hermitian operators $H$ as long as they are diagonalizable and satisfy some ellipticity conditions. The index is given by a heat kernel coefficient which is an integral of a local expression depending on background fields.

hep-th

Vortex Fractional Fermion Number through Heat Kernel methods and Edge States

Computing the vacuum expectation of fermion number operator on a soliton background is often challenging. A recent proposal in arXiv:2305.13606 simplifies this task by considering the soliton in a bounded region and relating the $\eta$ invariant, and thus the fermion number, to a specific heat kernel coefficient and to contributions from the edge states. We test this method in a system of charged fermions living on an Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen (ANO) vortex background. We show that the resulting $\eta$ invariant does not depend on boundary conditions (within a certain class), thereby supporting the validity of the method. Our analysis reveals a nontrivial feature for the fermionic spectrum in the vortex-induced Higgs phase. As a by-product, we also find that for a vortex living on a disk, the edge states carry fractional charge.

hep-th

Carroll limit of one-loop effective action

In this paper, we consider a Carroll magnetic limit of a one-loop scalar effective action. We work on general static backgrounds and compute both divergent and finite parts of the effective action in this limit. We show, that the divergent part can be removed by adding local counterterms. The finite part is related to an effective action in a lower dimensional theory which however does not coincide in general with the one obtained by a Carroll limit in the classical counterpart.

hep-th

The chiral torsional anomaly and the Nieh-Yan invariant with and without boundaries

There exists a long-standing debate regarding the torsion contribution to the 4d chiral anomaly of a Dirac fermion. Central to this debate is the Nieh-Yan anomaly, which has been considered ill-defined and a regularization artifact. Using a heat-kernel approach, we examine the relationship between the Dirac operator index, the Nieh-Yan invariant and the torsional anomaly. We show the Nieh-Yan invariant vanishes on spacetimes without boundaries, if the Dirac index is well-defined. In the known examples of non-vanishing Nieh--Yan invariant on manifolds without boundaries, the heat kernel expansion breaks down, making the index ill-defined. Finally, for finite boundaries we identify several finite bulk and boundary anomaly terms, alongside bulk and boundary Nieh-Yan terms. We construct explicit counterterms that cancel the Nieh-Yan terms and argue that the boundary terms give rise to a torsional anomalous Hall effect. Our results emphasize the importance of renormalization conditions, as these can affect the non-thermal Nieh-Yan anomaly coefficients. In addition, we demonstrate that anomalous torsional transport may arise even without relying on the Nieh-Yan invariant.

hep-th

Carroll Hawking effect

Carroll black holes with an associated Carroll temperature were introduced recently. So far, it is unclear if they exhibit a Hawking-like effect. To solve this, we study scalar fields on Carroll black hole backgrounds. Inspired by anomaly methods, we derive a Hawking-like energy-momentum tensor compatible with the Carroll temperature and the Stefan-Boltzmann law. Key steps in our derivation are the finiteness of energy at the Carroll extremal surface and compatibility with the Carroll Ward identities, thereby eliminating, respectively, the Carroll-analogs of the Boulware and Unruh vacua.

hep-th

Non-commutative gauge symmetry from strong homotopy algebras

We explicitly construct an L$_\infty$ algebra that defines U$_{\star}(1)$ gauge transformations on a space with an arbitrary non-commutative and even non-associative star product. Matter fields are naturally incorporated in this scheme as L$_\infty$ modules. Some possibilities for including P$_\infty$ algebras are also discussed.

hep-th

Equivalences between 2D dilaton gravities, their asymptotic symmetries, and their holographic duals

Dilaton gravities in two dimensions can be formulated as particular Poisson sigma models. Target space diffeomorphisms map different models to each other and establish a one-to-one correspondence between their classical solutions. We obtain a general form of such diffeomorphisms in Lorentzian and Euclidean signatures and use them to extend known holographic results, including the Schwarzian action on the asymptotic boundary, from JT to a large class of dilaton gravity models.

hep-th

Edge states and the $η$ invariant

We propose a relation between the $η$ invariant on a manifold with boundary, the $η$ invariants of edge states, and the $η$ invariant in an infinite volume limit. With the example of planar fermions with bag and chiral bag boundary conditions we show that this relation holds whenever edge states are sufficiently well-localized near the boundary. As a by-product we show that the spectrum of edge modes for chiral bag boundary conditions is linear but bounded.

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Parity anomaly with impurities and the Pauli--Villars subtraction

We calculate the anomalous part of the polarization tensor of Dirac fermions in $2+1$ dimensions in the presence of impurities described by the scattering rate $Γ$ for arbitrary external frequency and momenta. We consider two different versions of the Pauli--Villars subtractions and discuss their physical consequences.

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Target space diffeomorphisms in Poisson sigma models and asymptotic symmetries in 2D dilaton gravities

The dilaton gravity models in two dimensions, including the Jackiw--Teitelboim model and its deformations, are particular cases of Poisson sigma models. Target space diffeomorphisms map one Poisson sigma model to another. We propose to use these diffsomorphisms to identify asymptotic conditions, boundary actions, and asymptotic symmetries in distinct dilaton gravity models. As an example, we use the asymptotic conditions in Jackiw--Teitelboim gravity to construct an asymptotic problem with Virasoro symmetry in a class of asymptotically Rindler models. We show, that the method can be applied to a wide class of pairs of dilaton gravities and discuss possible generalizations.

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2D holography beyond the Jackiw-Teitelboim model

Having in mind extensions of 2D holography beyond the Jackiw-Teitelboim model we propose holographic counterterms and asymptotic conditions for a family of asymptotically AdS$_2$ dilaton gravity models leading to a consistent variational problem and a finite on-shell action. We show the presence of asymptotic Virasoro symmetries in all these models. The Schwarzian action generates (a part) of the equations of motion governing the asymptotic degrees of freedom. We also analyse the applicability of various entropy formulae. By a dilaton-dependent conformal transformation our results are extended to an even larger class of models having exotic asymptotic behavior. We also analyse asymptotic symmetries for some other classes of dilaton gravities without, however, constructing holographic counterterms.

hep-th

Non-topological fractional fermion number in the Jackiw-Rossi model

We compute the vacuum fermion current in $(2+1)$ dimensional Jackiw-Rossi model by using the $1/m$ expansion. The current is expressed through a weighted $η$-function with a matrix weight. In the presence of such a weight, the usual proof of topological nature of $η(0)$ is not longer applicable. Direct computations confirm the following surprising result: the fermion number induced by vortices in the Jackiw-Rossi model is \textit{not} topological.

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How many surface modes does one see on the boundary of a Dirac material?

We present full expressions for the surface part of polarization tensor of a Dirac fermion confined in a half-space in $3+1$ dimensions. We compare this tensor to the polarization tensor of eventual surface mode (which is a $2+1$ dimensional Dirac fermion) and find essential differences in the conductivities in both Hall and normal sectors. Thus, the interaction with electromagnetic field near the boundary differs significantly in the full model and in the effective theory for the surface mode.

hep-th

Flat space holography and complex SYK

We provide the first steps towards a flat space holographic correspondence in two bulk spacetime dimensions. The gravity side is described by a conformally transformed version of the matterless Callan-Giddings-Harvey-Strominger model. The field theory side follows from the complex Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model in the limit of large specific heat and vanishing compressibility. We derive the boundary action analogous to the Schwarzian as the key link between gravity and field theory sides and show that it coincides with a geometric action discovered recently by one of us, see 1908.08089.

hep-th

Fractional Fermion Number and Hall Conductivity of Domain Walls

In this letter the fractional fermion number of thick domain walls is computed. The analysis is achieved by developing the heat kernel expansion of the spectral eta functon of the Dirac Hamiltonian governing the fermionic fluctuations around the domain wall. A formula is derived showing that a non null fermion number is always accompanied by a Hall conductivity induced on the wall. In the limit of thin and impenetrable walls the chiral bag boundary conditions arise, and the Hall conductivity is computed for this case as well.

hep-th

Boundary theories for dilaton supergravity in 2D

The $\mathfrak{osp}(2,N)$-BF formulation of dilaton supergravity in two dimensions is considered. We introduce a consistent class of asymptotic conditions preserved by the extended superreparametrization group of the thermal circle at infinity. In the $N=1$ and $N=2$ cases the phase space foliation in terms of orbits of the super-Virasoro group allows to formulate suitable integrability conditions for the boundary terms that render the variational principle well-defined. Once regularity conditions are imposed, requiring trivial holonomy around the contractible cycle the asymptotic symmetries are broken to some subsets of exact isometries. Different coadjoint orbits of the asymptotic symmetry group yield different types of boundary dynamics; we find that the action principle can be reduced to either the extended super-Schwarzian theory, consistent with the dynamics of a non-vanishing Casimir function, or to superparticle models, compatible with bulk configurations whose Casimir is zero. These results are generalized to $\mathcal{N} \geq 3$ by making use of boundary conditions consistent with the loop group of OSp$(2,N)$. Appropriate integrability conditions permit to reduce the dynamics of dilaton supergravity to a particle moving on the OSp$(2,N)$ group manifold. Generalizations of the boundary dynamics for $\mathcal{N}>2$ are obtained once bulk geometries are supplemented with super-AdS$_2$ asymptotics.

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