arXiv subjects

Marco Serone

Publications and source records attributed to Marco Serone.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Conformality Loss, Walking, and 4D Complex Conformal Field Theories at Weak Coupling

Four-dimensional gauge theories with matter can have regions in parameter space, often dubbed conformal windows, where they flow in the infrared to non-trivial conformal field theories. It has been conjectured that conformality can be lost because of merging of two nearby fixed points that move into the complex plane, and that a walking dynamics governed by scaling dimensions of operators defined at such complex fixed points can occur. We find controlled, parametrically weakly coupled, and ultraviolet-complete 4D gauge theories that explicitly realize this scenario. We show how the walking dynamics is controlled by the coupling of a double-trace operator that crosses marginality. The walking regime ends when the renormalization group flow of this coupling leads to a (weak) first-order phase transition with Coleman-Weinberg symmetry breaking. A light dilaton-like scalar particle appears in the spectrum, but it is not parametrically lighter than the other excitations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Resurgence and $1/N$ Expansion in Integrable Field Theories

In theories with renormalons the perturbative series is factorially divergent even after restricting to a given order in $1/N$, making the $1/N$ expansion a natural testing ground for the theory of resurgence. We study in detail the interplay between resurgent properties and the $1/N$ expansion in various integrable field theories with renormalons. We focus on the free energy in the presence of a chemical potential coupled to a conserved charge, which can be computed exactly with the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz (TBA). In some examples, like the first $1/N$ correction to the free energy in the non-linear sigma model, the terms in the $1/N$ expansion can be fully decoded in terms of a resurgent trans-series in the coupling constant. In the principal chiral field we find a new, explicit solution for the large $N$ free energy which can be written as the median resummation of a trans-series with infinitely many, analytically computable IR renormalon corrections. However, in other examples, like the Gross-Neveu model, each term in the $1/N$ expansion includes non-perturbative corrections which can not be predicted by a resurgent analysis of the corresponding perturbative series. We also study the properties of the series in $1/N$. In the Gross-Neveu model, where this is convergent, we analytically continue the series beyond its radius of convergence and show how the continuation matches with known dualities with sine-Gordon theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Self-Dualities and Renormalization Dependence of the Phase Diagram in 3d $O(N)$ Vector Models

In the classically unbroken phase, 3d $O(N)$ symmetric $ϕ^4$ vector models admit two equivalent descriptions connected by a strong-weak duality closely related to the one found by Chang and Magruder long ago. We determine the exact analytic renormalization dependence of the critical couplings in the weak and strong branches as a function of the renormalization scheme (parametrized by $κ$) and for any $N$. It is shown that for $κ=κ_*$ the two fixed points merge and then, for $κ<κ_*$, they move into the complex plane in complex conjugate pairs, making the phase transition no longer visible from the classically unbroken phase. Similar considerations apply in 2d for the $N=1$ $ϕ^4$ theory, where the role of classically broken and unbroken phases is inverted. We verify all these considerations by computing the perturbative series of the 3d $O(N)$ models for the vacuum energy and for the mass gap up to order eight, and Borel resumming the series. In particular, we provide numerical evidence for the self-duality and verify that in renormalization schemes where the critical couplings are complex the theory is gapped. As a by-product of our analysis, we show how the non-perturbative mass gap at large $N$ in 2d can be seen as the analytic continuation of the perturbative one in the classically unbroken phase.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Renormalization Scheme Dependence, RG Flow and Borel Summability in $ϕ^4$ Theories in $d<4$

Renormalization group (RG) and resummation techniques have been used in $N$-component $ϕ^4$ theories at fixed dimensions below four to determine the presence of non-trivial IR fixed points and to compute the associated critical properties. Since the coupling constant is relevant in $d<4$ dimensions, the RG is entirely governed by renormalization scheme-dependent terms. We show that the known proofs of the Borel summability of observables depend on the renormalization scheme and apply only in "minimal" ones, equivalent in $d=2$ to an operatorial normal ordering prescription, where the $β$-function is trivial to all orders in perturbation theory. The presence of a non-trivial fixed point can be unambiguously established by considering a physical observable, like the mass gap, with no need of RG techniques. Focusing on the $N=1$, $d=2$ $ϕ^4$ theory, we define a one-parameter family of renormalization schemes where Borel summability is guaranteed and study the accuracy on the determination of the critical exponent $ν$ as the scheme is varied. While the critical coupling shows a significant sensitivity on the scheme, the accuracy in $ν$ is essentially constant. As by-product of our analysis, we improve the determination of $ν$ obtained with RG methods by computing three more orders in perturbation theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

$λϕ^4$ Theory II: The Broken Phase Beyond NNNN(NNNN)LO

We extend the study of the two-dimensional euclidean $ϕ^4$ theory initiated in ref. [1] to the $\mathbb Z_2$ broken phase. In particular, we compute in perturbation theory up to N$^4$LO in the quartic coupling the vacuum energy, the vacuum expectation value of $ϕ$ and the mass gap of the theory. We determine the large order behavior of the perturbative series by finding the leading order finite action complex instanton configuration in the $\mathbb Z_2$ broken phase. Using an appropriate conformal mapping, we then Borel resum the perturbative series. Interestingly enough, the truncated perturbative series for the vacuum energy and the vacuum expectation value of the field is reliable up to the critical coupling where a second order phase transition occurs, and breaks down around the transition for the mass gap. We compute the vacuum energy using also an alternative perturbative series, dubbed exact perturbation theory, that allows us to effectively reach N$^8$LO in the quartic coupling. In this way we can access the strong coupling region of the $\mathbb Z_2$ broken phase and test Chang duality by comparing the vacuum energies computed in three different descriptions of the same physical system. This result can also be considered as a confirmation of the Borel summability of the theory. Our results are in very good agreement (and with comparable or better precision) with those obtained by Hamiltonian truncation methods. We also discuss some subtleties related to the physical interpretation of the mass gap and provide evidence that the kink mass can be obtained by analytic continuation from the unbroken to the broken phase.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Fermion Conformal Bootstrap in 4d

We apply numerical conformal bootstrap techniques to the four-point function of a Weyl spinor in 4d non-supersymmetric CFTs. We find universal bounds on operator dimensions and OPE coefficients, including bounds on operators in mixed symmetry representations of the Lorentz group, which were inaccessible in previous bootstrap studies. We find discontinuities in some of the bounds on operator dimensions, and we show that they arise due to a generic yet previously unobserved fake primary effect, which is related to the existence of poles in conformal blocks. We show that this effect is also responsible for similar discontinuities found in four-fermion bootstrap in 3d, as well as in the mixed-correlator analysis of the 3d Ising CFT. As an important byproduct of our work, we develop a practical technology for numerical approximation of general 4d conformal blocks.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

$λϕ^4$ Theory I: The Symmetric Phase Beyond NNNNNNNNLO

Perturbation theory of a large class of scalar field theories in $d<4$ can be shown to be Borel resummable using arguments based on Lefschetz thimbles. As an example we study in detail the $λϕ^4$ theory in two dimensions in the $Z_2$ symmetric phase. We extend the results for the perturbative expansion of several quantities up to N$^8$LO and show how the behavior of the theory at strong coupling can be recovered successfully using known resummation techniques. In particular, we compute the vacuum energy and the mass gap for values of the coupling up to the critical point, where the theory becomes gapless and lies in the same universality class of the 2d Ising model. Several properties of the critical point are determined and agree with known exact expressions. The results are in very good agreement (and with comparable precision) with those obtained by other non-perturbative approaches, such as lattice simulations and Hamiltonian truncation methods.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

The Power of Perturbation Theory

We study quantum mechanical systems with a discrete spectrum. We show that the asymptotic series associated to certain paths of steepest-descent (Lefschetz thimbles) are Borel resummable to the full result. Using a geometrical approach based on the Picard-Lefschetz theory we characterize the conditions under which perturbative expansions lead to exact results. Even when such conditions are not met, we explain how to define a different perturbative expansion that reproduces the full answer without the need of transseries, i.e. non-perturbative effects, such as real (or complex) instantons. Applications to several quantum mechanical systems are presented.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Instantons from Perturbation Theory

In quantum mechanics and quantum field theory perturbation theory generically requires the inclusion of extra contributions non-perturbative in the coupling, such as instantons, to reproduce exact results. We show how full non-perturbative results can be encoded in a suitable modified perturbative series in a class of quantum mechanical problems. We illustrate this explicitly in examples which are known to contain non-perturbative effects, such as the (supersymmetric) double-well potential, the pure anharmonic oscillator, and the perturbative expansion around a false vacuum.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

The Effective Bootstrap

We study the numerical bounds obtained using a conformal-bootstrap method - advocated in ref. [1] but never implemented so far - where different points in the plane of conformal cross ratios $z$ and $\bar z$ are sampled. In contrast to the most used method based on derivatives evaluated at the symmetric point $z=\bar z =1/2$, we can consistently "integrate out" higher-dimensional operators and get a reduced simpler, and faster to solve, set of bootstrap equations. We test this "effective" bootstrap by studying the 3D Ising and $O(n)$ vector models and bounds on generic 4D CFTs, for which extensive results are already available in the literature. We also determine the scaling dimensions of certain scalar operators in the $O(n)$ vector models, with $n=2,3,4$, which have not yet been computed using bootstrap techniques.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Seed Conformal Blocks in 4D CFT

We compute in closed analytical form the minimal set of "seed" conformal blocks associated to the exchange of generic mixed symmetry spinor/tensor operators in an arbitrary representation (l,\bar l) of the Lorentz group in four dimensional conformal field theories. These blocks arise from 4-point functions involving two scalars, one (0,|l-\bar l|) and one (|l-\bar l|,0) spinors or tensors. We directly solve the set of Casimir equations, that can elegantly be written in a compact form for any (l,\bar l), by using an educated ansatz and reducing the problem to an algebraic linear system. Various details on the form of the ansatz have been deduced by using the so called shadow formalism. The complexity of the conformal blocks depends on the value of p=|l-\bar l | and grows with p, in analogy to what happens to scalar conformal blocks in d even space-time dimensions as d increases. These results open the way to bootstrap 4-point functions involving arbitrary spinor/tensor operators in four dimensional conformal field theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Inequivalence of Coset Constructions for Spacetime Symmetries: Coupling with Gravity

We study how the coupling with gravity of theories with non-linearly realized space-time symmetries is modified when one changes the parametrization of the coset. As an example, we focus on the so-called Galileon duality: a reparametrization which maps a Galilean invariant action into another one which enjoys the same symmetry. Starting with a standard coupling with gravity, with a parametric separation between the Planck scale and the typical scale of the coset, one ends up with a theory without such a separation. In particular an infinite set of higher-dimension operators are relevant when the superluminality of the Galileon is measurable in the effective theory. This addresses an apparent paradox since superluminality arises in the dual theory even when absent in the original one.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Deconstructing Conformal Blocks in 4D CFT

We show how conformal partial waves (or conformal blocks) of spinor/tensor correlators can be related to each other by means of differential operators in four dimensional conformal field theories. We explicitly construct such differential operators for all possible conformal partial waves associated to four-point functions of arbitrary traceless symmetric operators. Our method allows any conformal partial wave to be extracted from a few "seed" correlators, simplifying dramatically the computation needed to bootstrap tensor correlators.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

General Three-Point Functions in 4D CFT

We classify and compute, by means of the six-dimensional embedding formalism in twistor space, all possible three-point functions in four dimensional conformal field theories involving bosonic or fermionic operators in irreducible representations of the Lorentz group. We show how to impose in this formalism constraints due to conservation of bosonic or fermionic currents. The number of independent tensor structures appearing in any three-point function is obtained by a simple counting. Using the Operator Product Expansion (OPE), we can then determine the number of structures appearing in 4-point functions with arbitrary operators. This procedure is independent of the way we take the OPE between pairs of operators, namely it is consistent with crossing symmetry, as it should be. An analytic formula for the number of tensor structures for three-point correlators with two symmetric and an arbitrary bosonic (non-conserved) operators is found, which in turn allows to analytically determine the number of structures in 4-point functions of symmetric traceless tensors.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Inequivalence of Coset Constructions for Spacetime Symmetries

Non-linear realizations of spacetime symmetries can be obtained by a generalization of the coset construction valid for internal ones. The physical equivalence of different representations for spacetime symmetries is not obvious, since their relation involves not only a redefinition of the fields but also a field-dependent change of coordinates. A simple and relevant spacetime symmetry is obtained by the contraction of the 4D conformal group that leads to the Galileon group. We analyze two non-linear realizations of this group, focusing in particular on the propagation of signals around non-trivial backgrounds. The aperture of the lightcone is in general different in the two representations and in particular a free (luminal) massless scalar is mapped in a Galileon theory which admits superluminal propagation. We show that in this theory, if we consider backgrounds that vanish at infinity, there is no asymptotic effect: the displacement of the trajectory integrates to zero, as can be expected since the S-matrix is trivial. Regarding local measurements, we show that the puzzle is solved taking into account that a local coupling with fixed sources in one theory is mapped into a non-local coupling and we show that this effect compensates the different lightcone. Therefore the two theories have a different notion of locality. The same applies to the different non-linear realizations of the conformal group and we study the particular case of a cosmologically interesting background: the Galilean Genesis scenarios.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Bounds on OPE Coefficients in 4D Conformal Field Theories

We numerically study the crossing symmetry constraints in 4D CFTs, using previously introduced algorithms based on semidefinite programming. We study bounds on OPE coefficients of tensor operators as a function of their scaling dimension and extend previous studies of bounds on OPE coefficients of conserved vector currents to the product groups SO(N)xSO(M). We also analyze the bounds on the OPE coefficients of the conserved vector currents associated with the groups SO(N), SU(N) and SO(N)xSO(M) under the assumption that in the singlet channel no scalar operator has dimension less than four, namely that the CFT has no relevant deformations. This is motivated by applications in the context of composite Higgs models, where the strongly coupled sector is assumed to be a spontaneously broken CFT with a global symmetry.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

On the Cut-off Estimate in Lifshitz Five Dimensional Field Theories

We analyze if and to what extent the high energy behaviour of five-dimensional (5D) gauge theories can be improved by adding certain higher dimensional operators of "Lifshitz" type, without breaking the ordinary four-dimensional Lorentz symmetries. We show that the UV behaviour of the transverse gauge field polarizations can be improved by the Lifshitz operators, while the longitudinal polarizations get strongly coupled at energies lower than the ones in ordinary 5D theories, spoiling the usefulness of the construction in non-abelian gauge theories. We conclude that the improved behaviour as effective theories of the ordinary 5D models is not only related to locality and 5D gauge symmetries, but is a special property of the standard theories defined by the lowest dimensional operators.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Supersymmetry with a pNGB Higgs and Partial Compositeness

We study the consequences of combining SUSY with a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson Higgs coming from an SO(5)/SO(4) coset and partial compositeness. In particular, we focus on how electroweak symmetry breaking and the Higgs mass are reproduced in models where the symmetry SO(5) is linearly realized. The global symmetry forbids tree-level contributions to the Higgs potential coming from D-terms, differently from what happens in most of the SUSY little-Higgs constructions. While the stops are generally heavy, light fermion top partners below 1 TeV are predicted. In contrast to what happens in non-SUSY composite Higgs models, they are necessary to reproduce the correct top, rather than Higgs, mass. En passant, we point out that, independently of SUSY, models where tR is fully composite and embedded in the 5 of SO(5) generally predict a too light Higgs.

hep-ph↗