arXiv subjects

Sungwoo Hong

Publications and source records attributed to Sungwoo Hong.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Hierarchical Reranking for Scalable Financial RAG System

Analyzing financial documents such as 10-K filings, tabular disclosures, and macroeconomic reports demands expert reasoning and extensive time. However, existing Retrieval-Augmented Generation systems often struggle to process hybrid text-table structures or the massive scale of financial documents. To address these challenges, we propose Hierarchical Reranker, a RAG framework designed to improve retrieval performance and generative reliability across large-scale financial datasets. The system integrates three key innovations: Pre-Retrieval Optimization, enhancing query clarity and search efficiency through normalization, keyword expansion, and table transformation; Hierarchical Reranker Architecture, improving retrieval precision through a two-stage ranking mechanism; and Long-Context Management, preserving reasoning accuracy through adaptive input partitioning and fusion under extensive contexts. Across multiple benchmarks, including FinQA, FinanceBench, and ConvFinQA, the proposed system achieved an NDCG@20 score of 0.7918 and demonstrated superior factual consistency. Its robustness was further validated by achieving second place in the ACM-ICAIF '24 FinanceRAG Challenge. This work presents a deployable, domain-optimized RAG pipeline that enhances both the accuracy and scalability of financial reasoning, paving the way for automated audit reporting and quantitative investment analysis. The source code will be made publicly available on GitHub upon acceptance.

cs.IR↗

arXiv2026

Global Structure, Non-Invertible PQ Symmetry, and the DFSZ Domain Wall Problem

In recent years it has become increasingly clear that the previously overlooked ``global structure'' of symmetry groups can encode significant theoretical structure and, more importantly, have substantial phenomenological implications. With this in mind we re-examine the DFSZ axion, which suffers from a domain wall problem due to the Standard Model generation structure. We show that global structure $(G_{\text{EW}} \times U(1)_{\text{PQ}})/\mathbb{Z}_2$ acting between the Peccei-Quinn symmetry and the electroweak gauge group plays a crucial role in determining the precise nature of the domain wall problem, which has important implications in both cubic and quartic DFSZ. We then demonstrate that the stability of the domain walls is enforced by a non-invertible chiral symmetry in quark flavor $Z'$ models which have additional global structure $(SU(3)_C \times G_F)/\mathbb{Z}_3$ acting between the color and the gauged quark flavor groups. The strategy of Non-invertible Naturalness then leads us to UV theories that resolve the domain wall problem through small-instanton-induced breaking of non-invertible symmetries. Finally, we sketch potential gravitational wave signatures arising from the annihilation of axion domain walls. Our work illustrates the importance of considerations of global structure in realistic models of particle physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Multi-Instantons, Multi-Axions, and Non-Invertible Symmetries in 4d QFT

We study non-invertible global symmetries in 4d quantum field theories, aiming to generalize existing discussions to theories with multiple instantons and axions, and to make the subject more accessible to particle phenomenology. Building on both the Adler-Bell-Jackiw (ABJ) anomaly construction and the half-space gauging approach, we identify the 3d topological quantum field theories required to describe non-invertible symmetries in the presence of multi-instanton effects. To this end, we introduce a method we call partial gauging and show that partial gauging of 3d Chern-Simons theories naturally leads to anomaly inflow actions with general ABJ anomaly matrices. We further generalize the half-space gauging construction to the case of multiple gauge sectors and compute correlation functions of boundary line operators. This enables us to analyze the action of non-invertible operators on various species of 't Hooft lines and to interpret the results in terms of the Witten effect. For theories with multiple axions, we determine both the non-invertible 0-form and 1-form symmetries, as well as their actions on axion strings and 't Hooft lines, thereby generalizing the previously known notion of the non-invertible Gauss law. Our framework unifies several previously disparate constructions, provides a concrete Lagrangian-based formulation of non-invertible symmetries, and naturally extends to theories with multiple instantons and axions, which are of both phenomenological and theoretical interest. These results may also find broader applications in beyond-the-Standard-Model scenarios.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Gravitational Wave with Domain Wall Dominance

Domain walls (DWs) can be produced when a discrete symmetry is spontaneously broken, and long-lived DWs can dominate the energy density of the universe. In this work, we explore the possibility that a "domain wall dominant (DWD)" phase existed in the early universe and ended with DW decay. During the DWD phase, the universe undergoes a power-law accelerated expansion of the scale factor and exhibits temporal superhorizon evolution of the relevant frequency modes. We show that this can lead to distinct features imprinted on the stochastic gravitational wave (GW) background including the independence of its amplitude from the wall tension. Our findings provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating GW emission associated with DWD, leading to distinguishable long-lived DW-induced GWs from other cosmological sources, with significant implications for future GW observatories.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Conformal Freeze-In from Neutrino Portal

We study a scenario where a dark sector, described by a Conformal Field Theory (CFT), interacts with the Standard Model through the neutrino portal. In this setup, conformal invariance breaks below the electroweak scale, causing the theory to transition into a confined (hadronic) phase. One of the hadronic excitations in this phase can act as dark matter. In the "Conformal Freeze-In" cosmological framework, the dark sector is populated through interactions with the Standard Model at temperatures where it retains approximate conformal symmetry. The dark matter relic density depends on the CFT parameters, such as the dimension of the operator coupled to the Standard Model. We demonstrate that this model can reproduce the DM relic density and meet all observational constraints. The same neutrino portal interaction may also generate masses for the active neutrinos. The dark matter candidate could either be a pseudo-Goldstone boson (PGB) or a composite fermion with the quantum numbers of a sterile neutrino. In the latter case, the model is consistent with the current X-ray constraints, and may be detectable with future X-ray observations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Conformal Leptogenesis in Composite Higgs Models

We study the generation of the baryon asymmetry in Composite Higgs models with partial compositeness of the Standard Model (SM) fermions and heavy right-handed neutrinos, developing for the first time a complete picture of leptogenesis in that setup. The asymmetry is induced by the out of equilibrium decays of the heavy right-handed neutrinos into a plasma of the nearly conformal field theory (CFT), i.e. the deconfined phase of the Composite Higgs dynamics. This exotic mechanism, which we call Conformal Leptogenesis, admits a reliable description in terms of a set of ``Boltzmann equations'' whose coefficients can be expressed in terms of correlation functions of the CFT. The asymmetry thus generated is subsequently affected by the supercooling resulting from the confining phase transition of the strong Higgs sector as well as by the washout induced by the resonances formed after the transition. Nevertheless, a qualitative description of the latter effects suggests that conformal leptogenesis can successfully reproduce the observed baryon asymmetry in a wide region of parameter space. A distinctive signature of our scenarios is a sizable compositeness for all the generations of SM neutrinos, which is currently consistent with all constraints but may be within reach of future colliders.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Non-Invertible Peccei-Quinn Symmetry and the Massless Quark Solution to the Strong CP Problem

We consider theories of gauged quark flavor and identify non-invertible Peccei-Quinn symmetries arising from fractional instantons when the resulting gauge group has non-trivial global structure. Such symmetries exist solely because the Standard Model has the same numbers of generations as colors, $N_g = N_c$. This leads us to a massless down-type quark solution to the strong CP problem in an ultraviolet $SU(9)$ theory of quark color-flavor unification. We show how the CKM flavor structure and weak CP violation can be generated without upsetting our solution.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Coupling a Cosmic String to a TQFT

A common framework of particle physics consists of two sectors of particles, such as the Standard Model and a dark sector, with some interaction between them. In this work, we initiate the study of a qualitatively different setup in which one of the sectors is a topological quantum field theory (TQFT). Instead of particles, the physics of a TQFT only manifests itself in non-trivial spacetime topologies. Topological defects provide a natural place to investigate such effects. In particular, we consider two possible ways in which axionic cosmic strings can interact with a Zn TQFT. One of them, by extending the structure of the axion coupling, leads to specific predictions for the localized degrees of freedom on the cosmic string, which can in turn effect their evolution and leave observable signals. The second approach, by gauging a discrete subgroup of the axionic shift symmetry, leads to dramatic changes in the string spectrum. We stress that the scenario considered here should be regarded as a plausible way for new physics to arise since it can be the low energy effective field theory for quite generic scenarios at high energies. To demonstrate this point and further illustrate the physical implications, we constructed such UV completions for both of the cases of couplings to TQFTs. The detailed prediction for observable signals of such scenarios needs further investigation. At the same time, our results demonstrate that there are rich new phenomena in this scenario.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Axion Domain Walls, Small Instantons, and Non-Invertible Symmetry Breaking

Non-invertible global symmetry often predicts degeneracy in axion potentials and carries important information about the global form of the gauge group. When these symmetries are spontaneously broken they can lead to the formation of stable axion domain wall networks which support topological degrees of freedom on their worldvolume. Such non-invertible symmetries can be broken by embedding into appropriate larger UV gauge groups where small instanton contributions lift the vacuum degeneracy, and provide a possible solution to the domain wall problem. We explain these ideas in simple illustrative examples and then apply them to the Standard Model, whose gauge algebra and matter content are consistent with several possible global structures. Each possible global structure leads to different selection rules on the axion couplings, and various UV completions of the Standard Model lead to more specific relations. As a proof of principle, we also present an example of a UV embedding of the Standard Model which can solve the axion domain wall problem. The formation and annihilation of the long-lived axion domain walls can lead to observables, such as gravitational wave signals. Observing such signals, in combination with the axion coupling measurements, can provide valuable insight into the global structure of the Standard Model, as well as its UV completion.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Introduction to Generalized Global Symmetries in QFT and Particle Physics

Generalized symmetries (also known as categorical symmetries) is a newly developing technique for studying quantum field theories. It has given us new insights into the structure of QFT and many new powerful tools that can be applied to the study of particle phenomenology. In these notes we give an exposition to the topic of generalized/categorical symmetries for high energy phenomenologists although the topics covered may be useful to the broader physics community. Here we describe generalized symmetries without the use of category theory and pay particular attention to the introduction of discrete symmetries and their gauging.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Dark Matter from a Conformal Dark Sector

We consider theories in which a dark sector is described by a Conformal Field Theory (CFT) over a broad range of energy scales. A coupling of the dark sector to the Standard Model breaks conformal invariance. While weak at high energies, the breaking grows in the infrared, and at a certain energy scale the theory enters a confined (hadronic) phase. One of the hadronic excitations can play the role of dark matter. We study a "Conformal Freeze-In" cosmological scenario, in which the dark sector is populated through its interactions with the SM at temperatures when it is conformal. In this scenario, the dark matter relic density is determined by the CFT data, such as the dimension of the CFT operator coupled to the Standard Model. We show that this simple and highly predictive model of dark matter is phenomenologically viable. The observed relic density is reproduced for a variety of SM operators ("portals") coupled to the CFT, and the resulting models are consistent with observational constraints. The mass of the COFI dark matter candidate is predicted to be in the keV-MeV range.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Conformal Freeze-In, Composite Dark Photon, and Asymmetric Reheating

Large classes of dark sector models feature mass scales and couplings very different from the ones we observe in the Standard Model (SM). Moreover, in the freeze-in mechanism, often employed by the dark sector models, it is also required that the dark sector cannot be populated during the reheating process like the SM. This is the so called asymmetric reheating. Such disparities in sizes and scales often call for dynamical explanations. In this paper, we explore a scenario in which slow evolving conformal field theories (CFTs) offer such an explanation. Building on the recent work on conformal freeze-in (COFI), we focus on a coupling between the Standard Model Hypercharge gauge boson and an anti-symmetric tensor operator in the dark CFT. We present a scenario which dynamically realizes the asymmetric reheating and COFI production. With a detailed study of dark matter production, and taking into account limits on the dark matter (DM) self-interaction, warm DM bound, and constraints from the stellar evolution, we demonstrate that the correct relic abundance can be obtained with reasonable choices of parameters. The model predicts the existence of a dark photon as an emergent composite particle, with a small kinetic mixing also determined by the CFT dynamics, which correlates it with the generation of the mass scale of the dark sector. At the same time, COFI production of dark matter is very different from those freeze-in mediated by the dark photon. This is an example of the physics in which a realistic dark sector model can often be much richer and with unexpected features.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Neutrino Masses from Generalized Symmetry Breaking

We explore generalized global symmetries in theories of physics beyond the Standard Model. Theories of $Z'$ bosons generically contain 'non-invertible' chiral symmetries, whose presence indicates a natural paradigm to break this symmetry by an exponentially small amount in an ultraviolet completion. For example, in models of gauged lepton family difference such as the phenomenologically well-motivated $U(1)_{L_μ- L_τ}$, there is a non-invertible lepton number symmetry which protects neutrino masses. We embed these theories in gauged non-Abelian horizontal lepton symmetries, e.g. $U(1)_{L_μ- L_τ} \subset SU(3)_H$, where the generalized symmetries are broken nonperturbatively by the existence of lepton family magnetic monopoles. In such theories, either Majorana or Dirac neutrino masses may be generated through quantum gauge theory effects from the charged lepton Yukawas e.g. $y_ν\sim y_τ\exp(-S_{\rm inst})$. These theories require no bevy of new fields nor ad hoc additional global symmetries, but are instead simple, natural, and predictive: the discovery of a lepton family $Z'$ at low energies will reveal the scale at which $L_μ- L_τ$ emerges from a larger gauge symmetry.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Snowmass2021 White Paper: Collider Physics Opportunities of Extended Warped Extra-Dimensional Models

While the warped extra-dimensional models provide an attractive solution to both the gauge and the flavor hierarchy problems, the mass scale of new particles predicted by the minimal models would be beyond the reach of the LHC. Models of extended warped extra dimensions have been proposed to evade these issues and their collider implications have been investigated for the last decade. This white paper summarizes the recent developments in the context of collider phenomenology. The strategies and lessons are broad, and provide a template to extend the experimental program, to cover a wider class of signals in other new physics scenarios as well.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

New Anomalies, TQFTs, and Confinement in Bosonic Chiral Gauge Theories

We study a class of 4-dimensional $SU(N)$ chiral gauge theories with fermions in the 2-index symmetric and antisymmetric representations and classify their infrared phases. The choice $N=4\mathbb{Z}$ corresponds to gauging the fermion number and makes the theory purely bosonic. We examine the most general background fields of the centers of the gauge, non-abelian flavor, and $U(1)$-axial groups that can be consistently activated, thereby determine the faithful global continuous and discrete symmetries of the theory. This allows us to identify new mixed 0-form/1-form `t Hooft anomalies on both spin and nonspin manifolds. If the theory confines, the absence of composite fermions implies that continuous symmetries must be broken down to anomaly-free subgroups. Anomalies associated with discrete symmetries can be saturated either by breaking the symmetry or by a symmetry-preserving topological quantum field theory (TQFT). The latter, however, is obstructed on spin manifold. The interplay between these features greatly restricts the possible infrared physics. We present two examples that demonstrate our approach. We argue that if the theory confines, the zoo of anomalies and TQFT obstruction greatly restrict the viable infrared condensates. We also discuss the possibility that some theories flow to a conformal fixed point.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Continuum Dark Matter

We initiate the study of dark matter models based on a gapped continuum. Dark matter consists of a mixture of states with a continuous mass distribution, which evolves as the universe expands. We present an effective field theory describing the gapped continuum, outline the structure of the Hilbert space and show how to deal with the thermodynamics of such a system. This formalism enables us to study the cosmological evolution and phenomenology of gapped continuum DM in detail. As a concrete example, we consider a weakly-interacting continuum (WIC) model, a gapped continuum counterpart of the familiar WIMP. The DM interacts with the SM via a Z-portal. The model successfully reproduces the observed relic density, while direct detection constraints are avoided due to the effect of continuum kinematics. The model has striking observational consequences, including continuous decays of DM states throughout cosmological history, as well as cascade decays of DM states produced at colliders. We also describe how the WIC theory can arise from a local, unitary scalar QFT propagating on a five-dimensional warped background with a soft wall.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Z-portal Continuum Dark Matter

We examine the possibility that dark matter (DM) consists of a gapped continuum, rather than ordinary particles. A Weakly-Interacting Continuum (WIC) model, coupled to the Standard Model via a Z-portal, provides an explicit realization of this idea. The thermal DM relic density in this model is naturally consistent with observations, providing a continuum counterpart of the "WIMP miracle". Direct detection cross sections are strongly suppressed compared to ordinary Z-portal WIMP, thanks to a unique effect of the continuum kinematics. Continuum DM states decay throughout the history of the universe, and observations of cosmic microwave background place constraints on potential late decays. Production of WICs at colliders can provide a striking cascade-decay signature. We show that a simple Z-portal WIC model provides a fully viable DM candidate consistent with all current experimental constraints.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Multi-particle Representations of the Poincaré Group

In this work we extend the definition of asymptotic multi-particle states of the $S$-matrix, beyond the direct products of one-particle states. We identify new quantum numbers which we call pairwise helicities, or $q_{ij}$, associated with asymptotically separated pairs of particles. These signal the appearance of a new source of angular momentum, beyond the orbital and spin contributions. The essence of our construction is to first treat all single particles as well as all particle pairs independently, ultimately projecting onto the physical states. The resulting representations reproduce the usual direct product states for vanishing $q_{ij}$, while for vanishing spins they reproduce Zwanziger's electric-magnetic multi-particle states. Pairwise helicity then appears as a label for the extra little group phase for our quantum states, in addition to their standard little group transformation. Our newly defined multi-particle states are the correct asymptotic states for the scattering of electric and magnetic charges, with pairwise helicity identified as $q_{ij}=e_i g_j-e_j g_i$.

hep-th↗