arXiv subjects

Prahar Mitra

Publications and source records attributed to Prahar Mitra.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Dressed Fock Spaces in Gauge Theory and Gravity

Four-dimensional gauge and gravitational theories exhibit long-range interactions that require asymptotic particles to be dressed by clouds of soft photons and gravitons. Faddeev-Kulish dressings render scattering amplitudes infrared-finite, but the resulting multi-particle states do not factorise into tensor products of dressed one-particle states. We show that this loss of Fock-space factorisation is not fundamental, but reflects an inappropriate choice of infrared variables. The real soft divergence is reproduced by the Goldstone modes of asymptotic symmetries, while the Coulomb phase is reproduced by new zero modes of the radiative fields that we introduce here. In these variables, infrared-finite dressed multi-particle states admit the usual Fock-space factorisation into single-particle dressed states.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

A Holographic Model for Soft Photons and Gravitons in Four Dimensions

We construct a two-dimensional action on the celestial sphere that describes the infrared sector of Abelian gauge and gravitational theories in four dimensions. In particular, we use the holographic model to reproduce (1) antipodal matching conditions for the superphaserotation and supertranslation Goldstone modes in four dimensions, (2) leading soft photon and graviton theorems, and (3) infrared factorization of amplitudes with generic dressed $in$ and $out$ states. Using (3), we reproduce the infrared divergences that plague the standard undressed amplitudes, and show that amplitudes involving Faddeev-Kulish dressed states are infrared finite. As a corollary, we use our holographic model to construct an infinite class of dressed states that give rise to infrared finite scattering amplitudes.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Effective density matrix for vacua in asymptotically flat gravity

We explicitly construct the density matrix associated to the vacuum state of a large spherically symmetric causal diamond of area $A$ in four-dimensional asymptotically flat gravity. We achieve this using the soft effective action, which characterizes the low-energy gravitational degrees of freedom that arise in the long-distance limit of the Einstein-Hilbert action and consists of both the soft graviton mode and the Goldstone mode arising from the spontaneous breaking of supertranslation symmetry. Integrating out the soft graviton mode, we obtain an effective action for purely the Goldstone mode, from which we extract the density matrix and therefore the modular Hamiltonian $K_s$ associated to the vacuum state. As a corollary, we explicitly compute the mean and variance of $K_s$, finding $\langle \Delta {K}_s^2 \rangle = A/\epsilon_{\text{UV}}^2$, with $\epsilon_{\text{UV}}$ being a length-scale UV cutoff on the celestial sphere.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Charged Rotating Hairy Black Holes in AdS$_5 \times S^5$: Unveiling their Secrets

Using a mix of analytical and numerical methods, we construct new rotating, charged "hairy" black hole solutions of $D=5$, ${\cal N}=8$ gauged supergravity that are dual, via the AdS/CFT correspondence, to thermal states in $D=4$, ${\cal N}=4$ SYM at finite chemical and angular potential, thereby complementing and extending the results of [arXiv:1005.1287, arXiv:1806.01849, arXiv:1809.04084]. These solutions uplift to asymptotically AdS$_5 \times S^5$ solutions of Type IIB supergravity with equal angular momenta along AdS$_5$ ($J=J_1=J_2$) and $S^5$ ($Q=Q_1=Q_2=Q_3$). As we lower the mass $E$ at fixed $Q$ and $J$, the known Cveti\v{c}-L\"u-Pope (CLP) black holes are unstable to scalar condensation and the hairy black holes constructed here emerge as novel solutions associated to the instability. In the region of phase space where the CLP and hairy black holes coexist, the hairy black holes dominate the microcanonical ensemble and, therefore, describe a new thermodynamic phase of SYM. The hairy black holes extend beyond the CLP extremality surface all the way to the BPS surface, defined by $E = 3 Q + 2 J / L$. Through a combination of analytical and numerical techniques, we argue that the BPS limit of the hairy black holes is a singular, horizonless solution, and $not$ a new two-parameter family of BPS black holes that extend the known one-parameter Gutowski-Reall (GR) black hole solution, in contradiction with the conjectures of [arXiv:1005.1287, arXiv:1806.01849]. To further support our conclusions, we perform a near-horizon analysis of the BPS equations and argue that they do not admit any regular solutions with an horizon.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Quantum Mechanics of a Spherically Symmetric Causal Diamond in Minkowski Spacetime

We construct the phase space of a spherically symmetric causal diamond in $(d+2)$-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. Utilizing the covariant phase space formalism, we identify the relevant degrees of freedom that localize to the $d$-dimensional bifurcate horizon and, upon canonical quantization, determine their commutators. On this phase space, we find two Iyer-Wald charges. The first of these charges, proportional to the area of the causal diamond, is responsible for shifting the null time along the horizon and has been well-documented in the literature. The second charge is much less understood, being integrable for $d \geq 2$ only if we allow for field-dependent diffeomorphisms and is responsible for changing the size of the causal diamond.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Diamond of Infrared Equivalences in Abelian Gauge Theories

We demonstrate a tree-level equivalence between four distinct infrared objects in $(d+2)$-dimensional abelian gauge theories. These are ($i$) the large gauge charge $Q_\varepsilon$ where the function $\varepsilon$ on the sphere parameterizing large gauge transformations is identified with the Goldstone mode $\theta$ of spontaneously broken large gauge symmetry; ($ii$) the soft effective action that captures the dynamics of the soft and Goldstone modes; ($iii$) the edge mode action with Neumann boundary conditions; and ($iv$) the Wilson line dressing of a scattering amplitude, including a novel dressing for soft photons, which have local charge distributions despite having vanishing global charge. The promotion of the large gauge parameter to the dynamical Goldstone and the novel dressing of soft gauge particles give rise to intriguing possibilities for the future study of infrared dynamics of gauge theories and gravity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

An On-Shell Derivation of the Soft Effective Action in Abelian Gauge Theories

We derive the soft effective action in $(d+2)$-dimensional abelian gauge theories from the on-shell action obeying Neumann boundary conditions at timelike and null infinity and Dirichlet boundary conditions at spatial infinity. This allows us to identify the on-shell degrees of freedom on the boundary with the soft modes living on the celestial sphere. Following the work of Donnelly and Wall, this suggests that we can interpret soft modes as entanglement edge modes on the celestial sphere and study entanglement properties of soft modes in abelian gauge theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Celestial Conformal Primaries in Effective Field Theories

Scattering amplitudes in $d+2$ dimensions can be recast as correlators of conformal primary operators in a putative holographic CFT$_d$ by working in a basis of boost eigenstates instead of momentum eigenstates. It has been shown previously that conformal primary operators with $\Delta \in \frac{d}{2} + i {\mathbb R}$ form a basis for massless one-particle representations. In this paper, we consider more general conformal primary operators with $\Delta \in {\mathbb C}$ and show that completeness, normalizability, and consistency with CPT implies that we must restrict the scaling dimensions to either $\Delta \in \frac{d}{2} + i {\mathbb R}$ or $\Delta \in {\mathbb R}$. Unlike those with $\Delta \in \frac{d}{2} + i {\mathbb R}$, the conformal primaries with $\Delta \in {\mathbb R}$ can be constructed without knowledge of the UV and can therefore be defined in effective field theories. With additional analyticity assumptions, we can restrict $\Delta \in 2 - {\mathbb Z}_{\geq0}$ or $\Delta \in \frac{1}{2}-{\mathbb Z}_{\geq0}$ for bosonic or fermionic operators, respectively.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Asymptotic Structure of Higher Dimensional Yang-Mills Theory

Using the covariant phase space formalism, we construct the phase space for non-Abelian gauge theories in $(d+2)$-dimensional Minkowski spacetime for any $d \geq 2$, including the edge modes that symplectically pair to the low energy degrees of freedom of the gauge field. Despite the fact that the symplectic form in odd and even-dimensional spacetimes appear ostensibly different, we demonstrate that both cases can be treated in a unified manner by utilizing the shadow transform. Upon quantization, we recover the algebra of the vacuum sector of the Hilbert space and derive a Ward identity that implies the leading soft gluon theorem in $(d+2)$-dimensional spacetime.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Phase Space Renormalization and Finite BMS Charges in Six Dimensions

We perform a complete and systematic analysis of the solution space of six-dimensional Einstein gravity. We show that a particular subclass of solutions -- those that are analytic near $\mathcal{I}^+$ -- admit a non-trivial action of the generalised Bondi-Metzner-van der Burg-Sachs (GBMS) group which contains \emph{infinite-dimensional} supertranslations and superrotations. The latter consists of all smooth volume-preserving Diff$\times$Weyl transformations of the celestial $S^4$. Using the covariant phase space formalism and a new technique which we develop in this paper (phase space renormalization), we are able to renormalize the symplectic potential using counterterms which are \emph{local} and \emph{covariant}. The Hamiltonian charges corresponding to GBMS diffeomorphisms are non-integrable. We show that the integrable part of these charges faithfully represent the GBMS algebra and in doing so, settle a long-standing open question regarding the existence of infinite-dimensional asymptotic symmetries in higher even dimensional non-linear gravity. Finally, we show that the semi-classical Ward identities for supertranslations and superrotations are precisely the leading and subleading soft-graviton theorems respectively.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

New phases of $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM at finite chemical potential

We do a systematic search of supergravity solutions that, via the AdS$_5$/CFT$_4$ correspondence, are dual to thermal states in $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM at finite chemical potential. These solutions dominate the microcanonical ensemble and are required to ultimately reproduce the microscopic entropy of AdS black holes. Using a mix of analytical and numerical methods, we construct and study static charged hairy solitonic and black hole solutions with global AdS$_5$ asymptotics. They are constructed in two distinct consistent truncations of five dimensional gauged supergravity (and can thus be uplifted to asymptotically AdS$_5\times$S$^5$ solutions of type IIB supergravity). In the "single charge" truncation which consists of one charged scalar field, hairy black holes exist above a critical charge and merge with the known Behrndt-Cveti\v{c}-Sabra (BCS) black holes along a curve determined by the onset of superradiance in the latter family. The lowest mass hairy black hole is a singular zero entropy soliton. In the "two charge" truncation which consists of a two equal charged scalar fields, hairy black holes exist for all charges and merge with the known BCS black holes along their superradiant onset curve. The lowest mass hairy black hole is a smooth supersymmetric zero entropy soliton. Together with the known phases of the truncation with three equal charges, our findings permit a good understanding of the full phase space of SYM thermal states with three arbitrary chemical potentials.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Shadows and Soft Exchange in Celestial CFT

We study exponentiated soft exchange in $d+2$ dimensional gauge and gravitational theories using the celestial CFT formalism. These models exhibit spontaneously broken asymptotic symmetries generated by gauge transformations with non-compact support, and the effective dynamics of the associated Goldstone "edge" mode is expected to be $d$-dimensional. The introduction of an infrared regulator also explicitly breaks these symmetries so the edge mode in the regulated theory is really a $d$-dimensional pseudo-Goldstone boson. Symmetry considerations determine the leading terms in the effective action, whose coefficients are controlled by the infrared cutoff. Computations in this model reproduce the abelian infrared divergences in $d=2$, and capture the re-summed (infrared finite) soft exchange in higher dimensions. The model also reproduces the leading soft theorems in gauge and gravitational theories in all dimensions. Interestingly, we find that it is the shadow transform of the Goldstone mode that has local $d$-dimensional dynamics: the effective action expressed in terms of the Goldstone mode is non-local for $d>2$. We also introduce and discuss new magnetic soft theorems. Our analysis demonstrates that symmetry principles suffice to calculate soft exchange in gauge theory and gravity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Covariant Phase Space and Soft Factorization in Non-Abelian Gauge Theories

We perform a careful study of the infrared sector of massless non-abelian gauge theories in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime using the covariant phase space formalism, taking into account the boundary contributions arising from the gauge sector of the theory. Upon quantization, we show that the boundary contributions lead to an infinite degeneracy of the vacua. The Hilbert space of the vacuum sector is not only shown to be remarkably simple, but also universal. We derive a Ward identity that relates the n-point amplitude between two generic in- and out-vacuum states to the one computed in standard QFT. In addition, we demonstrate that the familiar single soft gluon theorem and multiple consecutive soft gluon theorem are consequences of the Ward identity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

New Magnetic Symmetries in $(d+2)$-Dimensional QED

Previous analyses of asymptotic symmetries in QED have shown that the subleading soft photon theorem implies a Ward identity corresponding to a charge generating divergent large gauge transformations on the asymptotic states at null infinity. In this work, we demonstrate that the subleading soft photon theorem is equivalent to a more general Ward identity. The charge corresponding to this Ward identity can be decomposed into an electric piece and a magnetic piece. The electric piece generates the Ward identity that was previously studied, but the magnetic piece is novel, and implies the existence of an additional asymptotic "magnetic" symmetry in QED.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Asymptotic Symmetries in $(d+2)$-Dimensional Gauge Theories

We show that the subleading soft photon theorem in a $(d+2)$-dimensional massless abelian gauge theory gives rise to a Ward identity corresponding to divergent large gauge transformations acting on the celestial sphere at null infinity. We further generalize our analysis to $(d+2)$-dimensional non-abelian gauge theories and show that the leading and subleading soft gluon theorem give rise to Ward identities corresponding to asymptotic symmetries of the theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Asymptotic Symmetries and Weinberg's Soft Photon Theorem in Mink$_{d+2}$

We show that Weinberg's leading soft photon theorem in massless abelian gauge theories implies the existence of an infinite-dimensional large gauge symmetry which acts non-trivially on the null boundaries ${\mathscr I}^\pm$ of $(d+2)$-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. These symmetries are parameterized by an arbitrary function $\varepsilon(x)$ of the $d$-dimensional celestial sphere living at ${\mathscr I}^\pm$. This extends the previously established equivalence between Weinberg's leading soft theorem and asymptotic symmetries from four and higher even dimensions to \emph{all} higher dimensions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Cooling arbitrary near-critical systems using hyperbolic quenches

We describe a quench protocol that allows the rapid preparation of ground states of arbitrary interacting conformal field theories in $1+1$ dimensions. We start from the ground state of a related gapped relativistic quantum field theory and consider sudden quenches along the space-like trajectories $t^2 - x^2 = T^2_0$ (parameterized by $T_0$) to a conformal field theory. Using only arguments of symmetry and conformal invariance, we show that the post-quench stress-energy tensor of the conformal field theory is uniquely constrained up to an overall scaling factor. Crucially, the $\textit{geometry}$ of the quench necessitates that the system approach the vacuum energy density over all space except the singular lines $x = \pm t$. The above arguments are verified using an exact treatment of the quench for the Gaussian scalar field theory (equivalently, the Luttinger liquid), and numerically for the quantum $O(N)$ model in the large-$N$ limit. Additionally, for the Gaussian theory, we find in fact that even when starting from certain excited states, the quench conserves entropy, and is thus also suitable for rapidly preparing excited states. Our methods serve as a fast, alternative route to reservoir-based cooling to prepare quantum states of interest.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2017

A $d$-Dimensional Stress Tensor for Mink$_{d+2}$ Gravity

We consider the tree-level scattering of massless particles in $(d+2)$-dimensional asymptotically flat spacetimes. The $\mathcal{S}$-matrix elements are recast as correlation functions of local operators living on a space-like cut $\mathcal{M}_d$ of the null momentum cone. The Lorentz group $SO(d+1,1)$ is nonlinearly realized as the Euclidean conformal group on $\mathcal{M}_d$. Operators of non-trivial spin arise from massless particles transforming in non-trivial representations of the little group $SO(d)$, and distinguished operators arise from the soft-insertions of gauge bosons and gravitons. The leading soft-photon operator is the shadow transform of a conserved spin-one primary operator $J_a$, and the subleading soft-graviton operator is the shadow transform of a conserved spin-two symmetric traceless primary operator $T_{ab}$. The universal form of the soft-limits ensures that $J_a$ and $T_{ab}$ obey the Ward identities expected of a conserved current and energy momentum tensor in a Euclidean CFT$_d$, respectively.

hep-th↗