arXiv subjects

Mithat Ünsal

Publications and source records attributed to Mithat Ünsal.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Cluster expansion and resurgence in Polyakov model

In Polyakov model, a non-perturbative mass gap is formed at leading order semi-classics by instanton effects. By using the notions of critical points at infinity, cluster expansion and Lefschetz thimbles, we show that a third order effect in semi-classics gives an imaginary ambiguous contribution to mass gap, which is supposed to be real and unambiguous. This is troublesome for the original analysis, and it is difficult to resolve this issue directly in QFT. However, we find a new compactification of Polyakov model to quantum mechanics, by using a background 't Hooft flux (or coupling to TQFT). The compactification has the merit of remembering the monopole-instantons of the full QFT within Born-Oppenheimer (BO) approximation, while the periodic compactification does not. In QM, we prove the resurgent cancellation of the ambiguity in 3-instanton sector against ambiguity in the Borel resummation of the perturbation theory around 1-instanton. Assuming that this result holds in QFT, we provide a large-order asymptotics of perturbation theory around perturbative vacuum and instanton.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Strongly coupled QFT dynamics via TQFT coupling

We consider a class of quantum field theories and quantum mechanics, which we couple to $\mathbb Z_N$ topological QFTs, in order to classify non-perturbative effects in the original theory. The $\mathbb Z_N$ TQFT structure arises naturally from turning on a classical background field for a $\mathbb Z_N$ 0- or 1-form global symmetry. In $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory coupled to $\mathbb Z_N$ TQFT, the non-perturbative expansion parameter is $\exp[-S_I/N]= \exp[-{8 π^2}/{g^2N}]$ both in the semi-classical weak coupling domain and strong coupling domain, corresponding to a fractional topological charge configurations. To classify the non-perturbative effects in original $SU(N)$ theory, we must use $PSU(N)$ bundle and lift configurations (critical points at infinity) for which there is no obstruction back to $SU(N)$. These provide a refinement of instanton sums: integer topological charge, but crucially fractional action configurations contribute, providing a TQFT protected generalization of resurgent semi-classical expansion to strong coupling. Monopole-instantons (or fractional instantons) on $T^3 \times S^1_L$ can be interpreted as tunneling events in the 't Hooft flux background in the $PSU(N)$ bundle. The construction provides a new perspective to the strong coupling regime of QFTs and resolves a number of old standing issues, especially, fixes the conflicts between the large-$N$ and instanton analysis. We derive the mass gap at $θ=0$ and gaplessness at $θ=π$ in $\mathbb{CP}^{1}$ model, and mass gap for arbitrary $θ$ in $\mathbb{CP}^{N-1}, N \geq 3$ on $\mathbb R^2$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

TQFT at work for IR-renormalons, resurgence and Lefschetz decomposition

We investigate the implications of coupling a topological quantum field theory (TQFT) to Yang-Mills theory with $SU(N)$ gauge group in the context of the IR-renormalon problem. Coupling a TQFT to QFT does not change the local dynamics and perturbation theory, but it does change the bundle topology. Crucially, the configurations with integer topological charge but fractional action contribute to the path integral of the original theory. In the semi-classical regime, these are critical points at infinity, called neutral bions, and since ${\rm Arg}(g^2)=0$ is a Stokes line, their Lefschetz thimbles are two-fold ambiguous. Therein, the ambiguity in the gluon condensate is sourced by the neutral bions. The Fourier decomposition of multi-branched observables at strong coupling is compatible with the saddle decomposition at weak coupling. TQFT coupling and non-renormalization of $θ$ angle impose constraints and helps to identify IR-renormalon. In certain IR-CFTs, we prove irrelevance of bions, and absence of IR-renormalons.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Non-invertible 1-form symmetry and Casimir scaling in 2d Yang-Mills theory

Pure Yang-Mills theory in 2 spacetime dimensions shows exact Casimir scaling. Thus there are infinitely many string tensions, and this has been understood as a result of non-propagating gluons in 2 dimensions. From ordinary symmetry considerations, however, this richness in the spectrum of string tensions seems mysterious. Conventional wisdom has it that it is the center symmetry that classifies string tensions, but being finite it cannot explain infinitely many confining strings. In this note, we resolve this discrepancy between dynamics and kinematics by pointing out the existence of a non-invertible 1-form symmetry, which is able to distinguish Wilson loops in different representations. We speculate on possible implications for Yang-Mills theories in 3 and 4 dimensions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Graded Hilbert spaces, quantum distillation and connecting SQCD to QCD

The dimension of the Hilbert space of QFT scales exponentially with the volume of the space in which the theory lives, yet in supersymmetric theories, one can define a graded dimension (such as the supersymmetric index) that counts just the number of bosonic minus fermionic ground states. Can we make this observation useful in non-supersymmetric QFTs in four dimensions? In this work, we construct symmetry graded state sums for a variety of non-supersymmetric theories. Among the theories we consider is one that is remarkably close to QCD: Yang--Mills theory with $N_f = N_c$ fundamental Dirac fermions and one adjoint Weyl fermion, QCD(F/adj). This theory can be obtained from SQCD by decoupling scalars and carry exactly the same anomalies. Despite the existence of fundamental fermions, the theory possess an exact 0-form color-flavor center (CFC) symmetry for a particular grading/twist under which Polyakov loop is a genuine order parameters. By a two-loop analysis, we prove that CFC-symmetry remains unbroken at small $β$ due to grading. Chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken within the domain of validity of semi-classics on $\mathbb R^3 \times S^1$ in a pattern identical to $N_f=N_c$ SQCD on $\mathbb R^4$ and the two regimes are adiabatically connected. The vacuum structures of the theory on $\mathbb R^4$ and $\mathbb R^3 \times S^1$ are controlled by the same mixed 't Hooft anomaly condition, implying a remarkable persistent order.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Semi-Abelian gauge theories, non-invertible symmetries, and string tensions beyond $N$-ality

We study a 3d lattice gauge theory with gauge group $\mathrm{U}(1)^{N-1}\rtimes \mathrm{S}_N$, which is obtained by gauging the $\mathrm{S}_N$ global symmetry of a pure $\mathrm{U}(1)^{N-1}$ gauge theory, and we call it the semi-Abelian gauge theory. We compute mass gaps and string tensions for both theories using the monopole-gas description. We find that the effective potential receives equal contributions at leading order from monopoles associated with the entire $\mathrm{SU}(N)$ root system. Even though the center symmetry of the semi-Abelian gauge theory is given by $\mathbb{Z}_N$, we observe that the string tensions do not obey the $N$-ality rule and carry more detailed information on the representations of the gauge group. We find that this refinement is due to the presence of non-invertible topological lines as a remnant of $\mathrm{U}(1)^{N-1}$ one-form symmetry in the original Abelian lattice theory. Upon adding charged particles corresponding to $W$-bosons, such non-invertible symmetries are explicitly broken so that the $N$-ality rule should emerge in the deep infrared regime.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Exact-WKB, complete resurgent structure, and mixed anomaly in quantum mechanics on $S^1$

We investigate the exact-WKB analysis for quantum mechanics in a periodic potential, with $N $ minima on $S^{1}$. We describe the Stokes graphs of a general potential problem as a network of Airy-type or degenerate Weber-type building blocks, and provide a dictionary between the two. The two formulations are equivalent, but with their own pros and cons. Exact-WKB produces the quantization condition consistent with the known conjectures and mixed anomaly. The quantization condition for the case of $N$-minima on the circle factorizes over the Hilbert sub-spaces labeled by discrete theta angle (or Bloch momenta), and is consistent with 't Hooft anomaly for even $N$ and global inconsistency for odd $N$. By using Delabaere-Dillinger-Pham formula, we prove that the resurgent structure is closed in these Hilbert subspaces, built on discrete theta vacua, and by a transformation, this implies that fixed topological sectors (columns of resurgence triangle) are also closed under resurgence.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

On exact-WKB analysis, resurgent structure, and quantization conditions

There are two well-known approaches to studying nonperturbative aspects of quantum mechanical systems: Saddle point analysis of the partition functions in Euclidean path integral formulation and the exact-WKB analysis based on the wave functions in the Schrödinger equation. In this work, based on the quantization conditions obtained from the exact-WKB method, we determine the relations between the two formalism and in particular show how the two Stokes phenomena are connected to each other: the Stokes phenomenon leading to the ambiguous contribution of different sectors of the path integral formulation corresponds to the change of the "topology" of the Stoke curves in the exact-WKB analysis. We also clarify the equivalence of different quantization conditions including Bohr-Sommerfeld, path integral and Gutzwiller's ones. In particular, by reorganizing the exact quantization condition, we improve Gutzwiller analysis in a crucial way by bion contributions (incorporating complex periodic paths) and turn it into an exact result. Furthermore, we argue the novel meaning of quasi-moduli integral and provide a relation between the Maslov index and the intersection number of Lefschetz thimbles.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Universality between vector-like and chiral quiver gauge theories: Anomalies and domain walls

We study low-energy dynamics of $[SU(N)]^K$ chiral quiver gauge theories in connection with $\mathcal{N}=1$ super Yang-Mills (SYM) theory, and quantum chromodynamics with bi-fundamental fermions (QCD(BF)). These theories can be obtained by $\mathbb{Z}_K$ orbifold projections of $\mathcal{N}=1$ $SU(NK)$ SYM theory, but the perturbative planar equivalence does not extend nonperturbatively for $K\ge 3$. In order to study low-energy behaviors, we analyze these systems using 't~Hooft anomaly matching and reliable semiclassics on $\mathbb{R}^3\times S^1$. Thanks to 't~Hooft anomaly that involves $1$-form center symmetry and discrete chiral symmetry, we predict that chiral symmetry must be spontaneously broken in the confinement phase, and there exist $N$ vacua. Theories with even $K$ possess a physical $θ$ angle despite the presence of massless fermions, and we further predict the $N$-branch structure associated with it; the number of vacua is enhanced to $2N$ at $θ=π$ due to spontaneous $CP$ breaking. Both of these predictions are explicitly confirmed by reliable semiclassics on $\mathbb{R}^3\times S^1$ with the double-trace deformation. Symmetry and anomaly of odd-$K$ theories are the same as those of the ${\cal N}=1$ SYM, and the ones of even-$K$ theories are same as those of QCD(BF). We unveil why there exists universality between vector-like and chiral quiver theories, and conjecture that their ground states can be continuously deformed without quantum phase transitions. We briefly discuss anomaly inflow on the domain walls connecting the vacua of the theory and possible anomaly matching scenarios.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Anomalies, a mod 2 index, and dynamics of 2d adjoint QCD

We show that $2$d adjoint QCD, an $SU(N)$ gauge theory with one massless adjoint Majorana fermion, has a variety of mixed 't Hooft anomalies. The anomalies are derived using a recent mod $2$ index theorem and its generalization that incorporates 't Hooft flux. Anomaly matching and dynamical considerations are used to determine the ground-state structure of the theory. The anomalies, which are present for most values of $N$, are matched by spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. We find that massless $2$d adjoint QCD confines for $N >2$, except for test charges of $N$-ality $N/2$, which are deconfined. In other words, $\mathbb Z_N$ center symmetry is unbroken for odd $N$ and spontaneously broken to $\mathbb Z_{N/2}$ for even $N$. All of these results are confirmed by explicit calculations on small $\mathbb{R}\times S^1$. We also show that this non-supersymmetric theory exhibits exact Bose-Fermi degeneracies for all states, including the vacua, when $N$ is even. Furthermore, for most values of $N$, $2$d massive adjoint QCD describes a non-trivial symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase of matter, including certain cases where the number of interacting Majorana fermions is a multiple of $8$. As a result, it fits into the classification of $(1+1)$d SPT phases of interacting Majorana fermions in an interesting way.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Modified instanton sum in QCD and higher-groups

We consider the $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory, whose topological sectors are restricted to the instanton number with integer multiples of $p$. We can formulate such a quantum field theory maintaining locality and unitarity, and the model contains both $2π$-periodic scalar and $3$-form gauge fields. This can be interpreted as coupling a topological theory to Yang-Mills theory, so the local dynamics becomes identical with that of pure Yang-Mills theory. The theory has not only $\mathbb{Z}_N$ $1$-form symmetry but also $\mathbb{Z}_p$ $3$-form symmetry, and we study the global nature of this theory from the recent 't Hooft anomaly matching. The computation of 't Hooft anomaly incorporates an intriguing higher-group structure. We also carefully examine that how such kinematical constraint is realized in the dynamics by using the large-$N$ and also the reliable semiclassics on $\mathbb{R}^3\times S^1$, and we find that the topological susceptibility plays a role of the order parameter for the $\mathbb{Z}_p$ $3$-form symmetry. Introducing a fermion in the fundamental or adjoint representation, we find that the chiral symmetry becomes larger than the usual case by $\mathbb{Z}_p$, and it leads to the extra $p$ vacua by discrete chiral symmetry breaking. No dynamical domain wall can interpolate those extra vacua since such objects must be charged under the $3$-form symmetry in order to match the 't Hooft anomaly.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Flow of Hagedorn singularities and phase transitions in large $N$ gauge theories

We investigate the singularity structure of the $(-1)^F$ graded partition function in QCD with $n_f \geq 1$ massive adjoint fermions in the large-$N$ limit. Here, $F$ is fermion number and $N$ is the number of colors. The large $N$ partition function is made reliably calculable by taking space to be a small three-sphere $S^3$. Singularites in the graded partition function are related to phase transitions and to Hagedorn behavior in the $(-1)^F$-graded density of states. We study the flow of the singularities in the complex "inverse temperature" $β$ plane as a function of the quark mass. This analysis is a generalization of the Lee-Yang-Fisher-type analysis for a theory which is always in the thermodynamic limit thanks to the large $N$ limit. We identify two distinct mechanisms for the appearance of physical Hagedorn singularities and center-symmetry changing phase transitions at real positive $β$, inflow of singularities from the $β=0$ point, and collisions of complex conjugate pairs of singularities.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Quantum distillation in QCD

We propose a grading protocol which assigns global symmetry associated phases to states in the Hilbert space. Without modifying the Hilbert space, this changes the state sum, a process that we call quantum distillation. We describe the image of quantum distillation in path integral in terms of (non-dynamical) flavor holonomy dependence of (dynamical) gauge holonomy potentials, in QCD with $N_f=N_c$ fundamental and one massive adjoint fermion on $\mathbb R^3 \times S^1$. The compactified theory possesses an exact zero-form color-flavor center symmetry for a special choice of flavor holonomy (under which Polyakov loop is charged), despite the absence of one-form center-symmetry. We prove that the CFC symmetry is stable at small-$β$. This is the opposite of the high-temperature limit of thermal theory and a dramatic manifestation of quantum distillation. We show chiral symmetry breaking at small $S^1$ and that the vacuum structure of the theory on $\mathbb R^4$ and $\mathbb R^3 \times S^1$ are controlled by the same mixed 't Hooft anomaly condition.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Fractional $θ$ angle, 't Hooft anomaly, and quantum instantons in charge-$q$ multi-flavor Schwinger model

This work examines non-perturbative dynamics of a $2$-dimensional QFT by using discrete 't Hooft anomaly, semi-classics with circle compactification and bosonization. We focus on charge-$q$ $N$-flavor Schwinger model, and also Wess-Zumino-Witten model. We first apply the recent developments of discrete 't Hooft anomaly matching to theories on $\mathbb{R}^2$ and its compactification to $\mathbb{R} \times S^1_L$. We then compare the 't Hooft anomaly with dynamics of the models by explicitly constructing eigenstates and calculating physical quantities on the cylinder spacetime with periodic and flavor-twisted boundary conditions. We find different boundary conditions realize different anomalies. Especially under the twisted boundary conditions, there are $Nq$ vacua associated with discrete chiral symmetry breaking. Chiral condensates for this case have fractional $θ$ dependence $\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i} θ/Nq}$, which provides the $Nq$-branch structure with soft fermion mass. We show that these behaviors at a small circumference cannot be explained by usual instantons but should be understood by "quantum" instantons, which saturate the BPS bound between classical action and quantum-induced effective potential. The effects of the quantum-instantons match the exact results obtained via bosonization within the region of applicability of semi-classics. We also argue that large-$N$ limit of the Schwinger model with twisted boundary conditions satisfy volume independence.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Bose-Fermi cancellations without supersymmetry

We show that adjoint QCD features very strong Bose-Fermi cancellations in the large $N$ limit, despite the fact that it is manifestly non-supersymmetric. The difference between the bosonic and fermionic densities of states in large $N$ adjoint QCD turns out to have a `two-dimensional' scaling $\sim \exp{(\sqrt{\ell E})}$ for large energies $E$ in finite spatial volume, where $\ell$ is a length scale associated with the curvature of the spatial manifold. In particular, all Hagedorn growth cancels, and so does the growth $\exp{(V^{1/4} E^{3/4})}$ expected in a standard local 4d theory in spatial volume $V$. In these ways, large $N$ adjoint QCD, a manifestly non-supersymmetric theory, acts similarly to supersymmetric theories. We also show that at large $N$, the vacuum energy of multi-flavor adjoint QCD is non-negative and exponentially small compared to the UV cutoff with several natural regulators.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Vacuum structure of Yang-Mills theory as a function of $θ$

It is believed that in $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory observables are $N$-branched functions of the topological $θ$ angle. This is supposed to be due to the existence of a set of locally-stable candidate vacua, which compete for global stability as a function of $θ$. We study the number of $θ$ vacua, their interpretation, and their stability properties using systematic semiclassical analysis in the context of adiabatic circle compactification on $\mathbb{R}^3 \times S^1$. We find that while observables are indeed N-branched functions of $θ$, there are only $\approx N/2$ locally-stable candidate vacua for any given $θ$. We point out that the different $θ$ vacua are distinguished by the expectation values of certain magnetic line operators that carry non-zero GNO charge but zero 't Hooft charge. Finally, we show that in the regime of validity of our analysis YM theory has spinodal points as a function of $θ$, and gather evidence for the conjecture that these spinodal points are present even in the $\mathbb{R}^4$ limit.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Adiabatic continuity and confinement in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on the lattice

This work is a step towards merging the ideas that arise from semi-classical methods in continuum QFT with analytic/numerical lattice field theory. In this context, we consider Yang-Mills theories coupled to fermions in the adjoint representation. These theories have the remarkable property that confinement and discrete chiral symmetry breaking can persist at weak coupling on small (non-thermal) $\mathbb R^3 \times S^1$. This work presents a lattice investigation of Yang-Mills with one adjoint Majorana fermion, $\mathcal N=1$ super Yang-Mills, and opens the prospect to understand a number of non-perturbative phenomena, such as the mechanism of confinement, mass gap, chiral and center symmetry realizations both in lattice and continuum analytically. We study the compactification of this theory on the lattice with periodic and thermal boundary conditions. We provide numerical evidence for the conjectured absence of the phase transitions with periodic boundary conditions for sufficiently light lattice fermions (stability of center-symmetry), suppression of the chiral transition, and also provide a diagnostic for abelian vs. non-abelian confinement, based on per-site Polyakov loop eigenvalue distribution functions. In numerical and perturbative investigations we identify the role of the lattice artefacts that become relevant in the very small radius regime, and resolve some puzzles in the naive comparison between continuum and lattice.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2018

Dihedral symmetry in $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory

We point out that charge conjugation and coordinate reflection symmetries do not commute with the center symmetry of $SU(N)$ YM theory when $N>2$. As a result, for generic values of the $θ$ angle, the group of discrete zero-form symmetries of YM theory on e.g. the spacetime manifold $\mathbb{R}^3\times S^1$ includes the dihedral group $D_{2N}$ which is non-Abelian for $N>2$. At $θ= π$, the non-Abelian factor in the symmetry group is enhanced to $D_{4N}$ due to discrete 't Hooft anomaly considerations. We illustrate these results in YM theory as well as in a simple quantum mechanical model, where we study representation theory as a function of $θ$ angle.

hep-th↗