arXiv subjects

Sophie Mutzel

Publications and source records attributed to Sophie Mutzel.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Certified spectral functions from lattice Monte Carlo data

The Monte Carlo method, applied to lattice quantum field theory, gives access to Euclidean correlation functions with well-understood error bars. Recovering the observables one cares about, such as the spectral density, requires solving an ill-posed inverse problem, usually tackled with heuristics that lose rigorous control of the error. Instead of trying to find the ``best'' spectral density $\rho(\omega)$, we ask how small or large linear functionals $\int_{\mathbb{R}^+} G(\omega) \rho(\omega) \mathrm{d} \omega$ of it can be, given the Monte Carlo data and the reflection positivity of the lattice action. This is a convex but infinite-dimensional problem. We show how its dual can be rigorously relaxed into a hierarchy of finite semidefinite programs, solvable with standard solvers and enjoying strong convergence guarantees. The resulting bounds are rigorous even when the relaxation is not tight, and converge quickly to the regime where the error is entirely dominated by Monte Carlo statistics. The method also flags implausible Monte Carlo data, for instance underestimated error bars, through an infeasibility certificate. We demonstrate it on lattice $\phi^4$ theory in two dimensions.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2026

BMW/DMZ calculation of the hadronic vacuum polarisation for the muon magnetic moment

For twenty years, a persistent discrepancy between experimental measurements and theoretical calculations of the muon anomalous magnetic moment have provided tantalising hints of new physics. In recent years, improvements to the experimental precision have appeared to make the tension stronger and stronger. However, at the same time, our lattice calculation overturned the theoretical consensus, completely eliminating the tension. I will present the latest results from the Budapest-Marseille-Wuppertal (BMW) and DMZ collaborations, with a hybrid determination of the hadronic vacuum polarisation contribution to a precision of 0.45%

hep-lat↗

arXiv2025

Extracting quantum field theory dynamics from an approximate ground state

We develop a linear-programming method to extract dynamical information from static ground-state correlators in quantum field theory. We recast the K\"all\'en-Lehmann inversion as a convex optimization problem, in a spirit similar to the recent approach of Lawrence [arXiv:2408.11766]. This produces robust estimates of the smeared spectral density, the real-time propagator, and the mass gap directly from an approximate equal-time two-point function, and simultaneously yields an \emph{a posteriori} lower bound on the correlation-function error. We test the method on the $1+1$-dimensional $\phi^4$ model, using a variational approximation to the vacuum -- relativistic continuous matrix product states -- that provides accurate correlators in the continuum and thermodynamic limits. The resulting mass gaps agree with renormalized Hamiltonian truncation and Borel-resummed perturbation theory across a wide range of couplings, demonstrating that accurate dynamical data can be recovered from a single equal-time slice.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Probing the Phenomenology of Dark Matter from Decoupled Freeze-Out

We consider a model of dark matter where the mediator corresponds to a superposition of a scalar and pseudoscalar, and the scenario where, after reheating, the number densities of the dark sector particles, i.e. the dark matter and the mediators, are negligible. If the coupling of the mediators to the Standard Model is feeble, but the coupling to the dark matter is large enough, the dark sector may reach equilibrium at a temperature distinct from that of the thermal bath. The relic density is then said to be obtained via decoupled freeze out (DFO). We focus on the $s$-wave annihilation scenario, which particularly benefits from the DFO mechanism by evading standard CMB limits while still yielding indirect detection signals. We calculate the relic density by solving a set of four coupled Boltzmann equations for the number densities of the dark sector particles and the energy transfer from the light to dark sector. We finally perform a thorough analysis of experimental bounds on this scenario, namely from indirect detection and the CMB, as well as from BBN, and find that, while there are considerable constraints on the parameter space where the correct relic density is obtained, a viable region remains to be explored.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Hadronic contribution to the running of the electromagnetic coupling constant from lattice QCD: challenges at short distances

The electromagnetic coupling constant, $α$, is one of the fundamental parameters of the Standard Model (SM). Its value at the Z boson mass, $α(M_Z)$, is of particular interest as it enters electroweak precision tests. When running $α$ from low energies up to the Z mass, five orders of magnitude in precision are lost. This makes it one of the least well determined parameters of the SM at that scale. The largest source of error comes from non-perturbative hadronic effects in the low energy region. These non-perturbative effects can be determined from ab-initio calculations in lattice QCD. At higher energies, needed to match onto QCD perturbation theory, discretization errors become large. In addition, the hadronic vacuum polarization receives logarithmically-enhanced cutoff effects which render the continuum extrapolation more difficult. To better control this extrapolation at higher energies, we test a number of improvement procedures based on lattice perturbation theory. To illustrate their effect, we present a preliminary analysis of the light quark, connected contribution to the Adler function at Euclidean $Q^2=5$ GeV$^2$. The lattice results are obtained using simulations with $2+1+1$ flavors of staggered fermions at physical values of the quark masses.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2023

Axion-like Dark Matter Mediators

During the last decades, experimental advances have significantly constrained the standard electroweak-scale WIMP produced via thermal freeze-out, leading to a shift away from this standard paradigm. Here we explore the possibility of an axion-like particle (ALP), the pseudo-Goldstone boson of an approximate U(1) global symmetry spontaneously broken at a high scale $f_a$, acting as a mediator between the Standard Model (SM) particles and the dark matter (DM) particles. We focus on the case where the couplings are too small to allow for DM generation via freeze-out and the DM is thermally decoupled from the SM particles. However, alternative mechanisms like freeze-in and freeze-out from a decoupled dark sector can still reproduce the observed DM relic density. Having determined the region of parameter space for these scenarios, we then revisit experimental constraints on ALPs from electron beam dump experiments, astrophysics and rare B and K decays.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

An open and parallel multiresolution framework using block-based adaptive grids

A numerical approach for solving evolutionary partial differential equations in two and three space dimensions on block-based adaptive grids is presented. The numerical discretization is based on high-order, central finite-differences and explicit time integration. Grid refinement and coarsening are triggered by multiresolution analysis, i.e. thresholding of wavelet coefficients, which allow controlling the precision of the adaptive approximation of the solution with respect to uniform grid computations. The implementation of the scheme is fully parallel using MPI with a hybrid data structure. Load balancing relies on space filling curves techniques. Validation tests for 2D advection equations allow to assess the precision and performance of the developed code. Computations of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations for a temporally developing 2D mixing layer illustrate the properties of the code for nonlinear multi-scale problems. The code is open source.

physics.comp-ph↗