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M. Gomes

Publications and source records attributed to M. Gomes.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

LiteBIRD Mission Overview after Mission Reformation

LiteBIRD is a JAXA-led space mission designed to produce all-sky microwave polarization maps. Its primary science goal is to test representative inflationary models by measuring the cosmic microwave background $B$-mode polarization generated by primordial gravitational waves, while also providing new insights into cosmology, particle physics, and astrophysics. The mission concept has been updated following the reformation activities initiated after the Mission Definition Review in 2024. The current concept preserves the central scientific objectives, while simplifying the payload configuration: a single telescope covers 12 frequency bands with band centers spanning 40 to 402~GHz, corresponding to an optical coverage of 34--448~GHz. The telescope is a cross-Dragone reflector with a 500~mm aperture diameter, cooled to approximately 5~K and coupled to transition-edge-sensor bolometer arrays operated at 0.1~K. LiteBIRD will observe from a Lissajous orbit around the Sun--Earth L2 point during a nominal 3-year survey. More specifically, the primary scientific objective is to achieve total uncertainty in the tensor-to-scalar ratio of $\delta r < 0.002$ (68\% C.L.), including contributions from foreground residuals, statistical uncertainties, instrumental systematics, and margin contingency. The corresponding map-noise requirements are specified separately for the low-, mid-, and high-frequency ranges over the reionization and recombination multipole ranges. This sensitivity makes LiteBIRD unique not only for inflationary science but also for a broad range of scientific investigations probing the history of both the early and late Universe, as well as for astrophysical processes, including Galactic science. This paper summarizes the scientific objectives, updated payload and instrument concepts, observation strategy, and ground segment plans.

astro-ph.IM

Galactic Science with the LiteBIRD satellite: Spectral characterization of diffuse Galactic polarized emission at the angular power spectrum level

Detection of primordial $B$-mode polarization in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from tensor perturbations generated during inflation is a major scientific goal of future CMB missions. Its success will strongly depend on the characterization of polarized foregrounds, a challenge that the LiteBIRD satellite aims to tackle with its 15 frequency bands ranging from 40 to 402 GHz. In this work, we forecast the ability of LiteBIRD to characterize polarized dust and synchrotron emission in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM), at the angular power spectrum level. From simulated LiteBIRD intensity and polarization maps with different foreground complexities, we compute cross-frequency angular power spectra and fit them to dust and synchrotron spectral energy distributions, which are modeled by a modified black body and a power law, respectively. We find that LiteBIRD will be able to measure the dust temperature, dust and synchrotron spectral indices and spatial correlation with dispersions as low as $\sigma(T_{\rm d})\sim0.2$ K, $\sigma(\beta_{\rm d})\sim0.006$, $\sigma(\beta_{\rm s})\sim0.04$ and $\sigma(\rho)\sim10^{-2}$, as well as to detect and quantify deviations from the proposed parametric model due to variations of the emission properties in the three dimensions of our Galaxy. Additionally, LiteBIRD is likely to rule out the power-law model of polarized foreground angular power spectra suggested by Planck data. It will also be able to detect differences in the values of $\beta_{\rm d}$, $T_{\rm d}$, and $\beta_{\rm s}$ between $E$ modes, $B$ modes, and intensity in the diffuse ISM for the first time, highlighting the joint variations of the physical conditions and the magnetic field structure across the Galaxy. We conclude that in addition to detailed studies of CMB polarization, LiteBIRD will open a new window onto the physical conditions governing the ISM of the Milky Way.

astro-ph.GA

On the physical running of the electric charge in a dimensionless theory of gravity

We revisit the renormalization of the gauge coupling in massless QED coupled to a scaleless quadratic theory of gravity. We compare two alternative prescriptions for the running of the electric charge: (i) the conventional $\mu$-running in minimal subtraction, and (ii) a ''physical'' running extracted from the logarithmic dependence of amplitudes on a hard scale $Q^{2}$ (e.g., $p^{2}$ or a Mandelstam invariant) after removing IR effects. At one loop, using dimensional regularization with an IR mass regulator $m$, we compute the photon vacuum polarization. We find a clean separation between UV and soft logarithms: the former is gauge and process independent and fixes the beta function, whereas the latter encodes nonlocal, IR-dominated contributions that may depend on gauge parameters and must not be interpreted as UV running. In the quadratic-gravity sector, the photon self-energy is UV finite--the $\ln\mu^{2}$ pieces cancel--leaving only $\ln(Q^{2}/m^{2})$ soft logs. Consequently, quadratic gravity does not modify the one-loop UV coefficient and thus does not alter $\beta(e)$. Therefore, the physical running coincides with the $\mu$-running in QED at one loop. Our analysis clarifies how to extract a gauge and process independent running in the presence of gravitational interactions and why soft logs from quadratic gravity should not contribute to $\beta(e)$.

hep-th

A Simulation Framework for the LiteBIRD Instruments

LiteBIRD, the Lite (Light) satellite for the study of $B$-mode polarization and Inflation from cosmic background Radiation Detection, is a space mission focused on primordial cosmology and fundamental physics. In this paper, we present the LiteBIRD Simulation Framework (LBS), a Python package designed for the implementation of pipelines that model the outputs of the data acquisition process from the three instruments on the LiteBIRD spacecraft: LFT (Low-Frequency Telescope), MFT (Mid-Frequency Telescope), and HFT (High-Frequency Telescope). LBS provides several modules to simulate the scanning strategy of the telescopes, the measurement of realistic polarized radiation coming from the sky (including the Cosmic Microwave Background itself, the Solar and Kinematic dipole, and the diffuse foregrounds emitted by the Galaxy), the generation of instrumental noise and the effect of systematic errors, like pointing wobbling, non-idealities in the Half-Wave Plate, et cetera. Additionally, we present the implementation of a simple but complete pipeline that showcases the main features of LBS. We also discuss how we ensured that LBS lets people develop pipelines whose results are accurate and reproducible. A full end-to-end pipeline has been developed using LBS to characterize the scientific performance of the LiteBIRD experiment. This pipeline and the results of the first simulation run are presented in Puglisi et al. (2025).

astro-ph.IM

Carroll-Field-Jackiw term in a massless Rarita-Schwinger model

We consider the massless Rarita-Schwinger (RS) LV QED. In this theory, we introduce the gauge fixing to obtain the propagator for the RS field, and calculate the Carroll-Field-Jackiw term, which turns out to be finite and ambiguous, and only in one calculation scheme, based on the nonlinear gauge framework, the gauge independence of the result is achieved.

hep-th

Gravitational corrections to the two-loop beta function in a non-Abelian gauge theory

This paper investigates the coupling of massive fermions to gravity within the context of a non-Abelian gauge theory, utilizing the effective field theory framework for quantum gravity. Specifically, we calculate the two-loop beta function of the gauge coupling constant in a non-Abelian gauge theory, employing the one-graviton exchange approximation. Our findings reveal that gravitational corrections may lead to a non-trivial UV fixed point in the beta function of the gauge coupling constant, contingent upon the specific gauge group and the quantity of fermions involved.

hep-th

Non-Abelian Carroll-Field-Jackiw term term in a Rarita-Schwinger model

In this paper, we demonstrate the possibility of generating a non-Abelian Carroll-Field-Jackiw (CFJ) term in the theory of a non-Abelian gauge field coupled to a spin-3/2 field in the presence of the constant axial vector field. Applying two regularization schemes, we prove that this term is finite and ambiguous, particularly vanishing within the 't Hooft-Veltman scheme.

hep-th

Lorentz-breaking Rarita-Schwinger model

In this paper, we formulate the Lorentz-breaking extension for the spin-3/2 field theory and couple it to the Abelian gauge field in a Lorentz violating (LV) manner. Next, we calculate the lower LV quantum corrections, that is, the Carroll-Field-Jackiw (CFJ) term, which, being superficially divergent, turns out to be finite but ambiguous, and also the higher-derivative CFJ term. Besides, we compute the aether term, being the lowest CPT-even LV term, involving the second order in the LV vector.

hep-th

On the supersymmetric pseudo-QED

Within the superfield approach, we discuss the three-dimensional supersymmetric (SUSY) pseudo-QED. We prove that it is all-loop renormalizable. We demonstrate that the SUSY pseudo-QED action can be generated as a quantum correction from the coupling of a spinor gauge superfield to a set of $N$ massless complex scalar superfields. Afterwards, we calculate the two-point function of the scalar superfields in the pseudo-QED which displays a divergence vanishing in a certain gauge.

hep-th

Topological Superconductor from the Quantum Hall Phase: Effective Field Theory Description

We derive low-energy effective field theories for the quantum anomalous Hall and topological superconducting phases. The quantum Hall phase is realized in terms of free fermions with nonrelativistic dispersion relation, possessing a global $U(1)$ symmetry. We couple this symmetry with a background gauge field and compute the effective action by integrating out the gapped fermions. In spite of the fact that the corresponding Dirac operator governing the dynamics of the original fermions is nonrelativistic, the leading contribution in the effective action is a usual Abelian $U(1)$ Chern-Simons term. The proximity to a conventional superconductor induces a pairing potential in the quantum Hall state, favoring the formation of Cooper pairs. When the pairing is strong enough, it drives the system to a topological superconducting phase, hosting Majorana fermions. Even though the continuum $U(1)$ symmetry is broken down to a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ one, we can forge fictitious $U(1)$ symmetries that enable us to derive the effective action for the topological superconducting phase, also given by a Chern-Simons theory. To eliminate spurious states coming from the artificial symmetry enlargement, we demand that the fields in the effective action are $O(2)$ instead of $U(1)$ gauge fields. In the $O(2)$ case we have to sum over the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ bundles in the partition function, which projects out the states that are not $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariants. The corresponding edge theory is the $U(1)/\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifold, which contains Majorana fermions in its operator content.

cond-mat.str-el

Influence of the four-fermion interactions in (2+1)D massive electrons system

The description of the electromagnetic interaction in two-dimensional Dirac materials, such as graphene and transition-metal dichalcogenides, in which electrons move in the plane and interact via virtual photons in 3d, leads naturally to the emergence of a projected non-local theory, called pseudo-quantum electrodynamics (PQED), as an effective model suitable for describing electromagnetic interaction in these systems. In this work, we investigate the role of a complete set of four-fermion interactions in the renormalization group functions when we coupled it with the anisotropic version of massive PQED, where we take into account the fact that the Fermi velocity is not equal to the light velocity. We calculate the electron self-energy in the dominant order in the $1/N$ expansion in the regime where $m ^ 2 \ll p ^ 2$. We show that the Fermi velocity renormalization is insensitive to the presence of quartic fermionic interactions, whereas the renormalized mass may have two different asymptotic behaviors at the high-density limit, which means a high-energy scale.

hep-th

Renormalization of the band gap in 2D materials through the competition between electromagnetic and four-fermion interactions

Recently the renormalization of the band gap $m$, in both WSe$_2$ and MoS$_2$, has been experimentally measured as a function of the carrier concentration $n$. The main result establishes a decreasing of hundreds of meV, in comparison with the bare band gap, as the carrier concentration increases. These materials are known as transition metal dichalcogenides and their low-energy excitations are, approximately, described by the massive Dirac equation. Using Pseudo Quantum Electrodynamics (PQED) to describe the electromagnetic interaction between these quasiparticles and from renormalization group analysis, we obtain that the renormalized mass describes the band gap renormalization with a function given by $m(n)/m_0=(n/n_0)^{C_\lambda/2}$, where $m_0=m(n_0)$ and $C_\lambda$ is a function of the coupling constant $\lambda$. We compare our theoretical results with the experimental findings for WSe$_2$ and MoS$_2$, and we conclude that our approach is in agreement with these experimental results for reasonable values of $\lambda$. In addition we introduced a Gross-Neveu (GN) interaction which could simulate an disorder/impurity-like microscopic interaction. In this case, we show that there exists a critical coupling constant, namely, $\lambda_c \approx 0,66$ in which the beta function of the mass vanishes, providing a stable fixed point in the ultraviolet limit. For $\lambda>\lambda_c$, the renormalized mass decreases while for $\lambda<\lambda_c$ it increases with the carrier concentration.

hep-th

1/N Expansion for Horava-Lifshitz like four-fermion models

We study a class of four-fermion Gross-Neveu like models in four dimensions with critical exponents $z=2$ and $z=3$. The models with $z=2$ are known to be perturbatively nonrenormalizable but are shown to be renormalizable in the context of the $1/N$ expansion. We calculate explicitly the effective potential for these models.

hep-th

One-loop corrections in the z=3 Lifshitz extension of QED

In this work we study a z=3 Horava-Lifshitz-like extension of QED in (3+1) dimensions. We calculate the one-loop radiative corrections to the two and three-point functions of the gauge and fermion fields. Such corrections were achieved using the perturbative approach and a dimensional regularization was performed only in the spatial sector. Renormalization was required to eliminate the divergent contributions emergent from the photon and electron self-energies and from the three-point function. We verify that the one-loop vertex functions satisfy the usual Ward identities and using renormalization group methods we show that the model is asymptotically free.

hep-th

An UV Completion of Five Dimensional Scalar QED and Lorentz Symmetry

We study a five dimensional Horava-Lifshitz like scalar QED with dynamical exponent z=2. Consistency of the renormalization procedure requires the presence of four quartic and one six-fold scalar couplings besides the terms bilinear in the scalar fields. We compute one-loop radiative corrections to the parameters in the original Lagrangian employing dimensional regularization in the spacial part of the Feynman integrals and prove the relevant Ward identities. By using renormalization group methods, we determine the behavior of the coupling constants with changes in the energy and discuss the emergence of Lorentz symmetry at low energies.

hep-th

Gaia Data Release 1: The archive visualisation service

Context: The first Gaia data release (DR1) delivered a catalogue of astrometry and photometry for over a billion astronomical sources. Within the panoply of methods used for data exploration, visualisation is often the starting point and even the guiding reference for scientific thought. However, this is a volume of data that cannot be efficiently explored using traditional tools, techniques, and habits. Aims: We aim to provide a global visual exploration service for the Gaia archive, something that is not possible out of the box for most people. The service has two main goals. The first is to provide a software platform for interactive visual exploration of the archive contents, using common personal computers and mobile devices available to most users. The second aim is to produce intelligible and appealing visual representations of the enormous information content of the archive. Methods: The interactive exploration service follows a client-server design. The server runs close to the data, at the archive, and is responsible for hiding as far as possible the complexity and volume of the Gaia data from the client. This is achieved by serving visual detail on demand. Levels of detail are pre-computed using data aggregation and subsampling techniques. For DR1, the client is a web application that provides an interactive multi-panel visualisation workspace as well as a graphical user interface. Results: The Gaia archive Visualisation Service offers a web-based multi-panel interactive visualisation desktop in a browser tab. It currently provides highly configurable 1D histograms and 2D scatter plots of Gaia DR1 and the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) with linked views. An innovative feature is the creation of ADQL queries from visually defined regions in plots. [abridged]

astro-ph.IM

Low-Energy Lorentz Invariance in Lifshitz Nonlinear Sigma Models

This work is dedicated to the study of both large-$N$ and perturbative quantum behaviors of Lifshitz nonlinear sigma models with dynamical critical exponent $z=2$ in 2+1 dimensions. We discuss renormalization and renormalization group aspects with emphasis on the possibility of emergence of Lorentz invariance at low energies. Contrarily to the perturbative expansion, where in general the Lorentz symmetry restoration is delicate and may depend on stringent fine-tuning, our results provide a more favorable scenario in the large-$N$ framework. We also consider supersymmetric extension in this nonrelativistic situation.

hep-th