arXiv subjects

Sylvain Ribault

Publications and source records attributed to Sylvain Ribault.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Torus one-point functions in critical loop models

We show that in critical loop models, torus 1-point functions can be expressed in terms of sphere 4-point functions at a different central charge. Unlike in the Moore--Seiberg formalism, crossing symmetry on the sphere therefore implies modular covariance on the torus. We systematically compute torus 1-point functions in critical loop models, using a numerical bootstrap approach. We focus on the 1-point functions of the 6 simplest primary fields, which give rise to 10 solutions of modular covariance equations. Such 1-point functions are infinite linear combinations of conformal blocks. The coefficients are products of double Gamma functions, times polynomial functions of loop weights. For each solution, we determine the first 6 to 12 polynomials.

math-ph↗

arXiv2025

Diagonal boundary conditions in critical loop models

In critical loop models, we define diagonal boundaries as boundaries that couple to diagonal fields only. Using analytic bootstrap methods, we show that diagonal boundaries are characterised by one complex parameter, analogous to the boundary cosmological constant in Liouville theory. We determine disc 1-point functions, and write an explicit formula for disc 2-point functions as infinite combinations of conformal blocks. For a discrete subset of values of the boundary parameter, the boundary spectrum becomes discrete, and made of degenerate representations. In such cases, we check our results by numerically bootstrapping disc 2-point functions. We sketch the interpretation of diagonal boundaries in lattice loop models. In particular, a loop can neither end on a diagonal boundary, nor change weight when it touches it. In bulk-to-boundary OPEs, numbers of legs can be conserved, or increase by even numbers.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Three-point functions in critical loop models

In two-dimensional models of critical non-intersecting loops, there are $\ell$-leg fields that insert $\ell\in\mathbb{N}^*$ open loop segments, and diagonal fields that change the weights of closed loops. We conjecture an exact formula for 3-point functions of such fields on the sphere. In the cases of diagonal or spinless 2-leg fields, the conjecture agrees with known results from Conformal Loop Ensembles. We numerically compute 3-point functions in loop models on cylindrical lattices, using transfer matrix techniques. The results agree with the conjecture in almost all cases. We attribute the few discrepancies to difficulties that can arise in our lattice computation when the relevant modules of the unoriented Jones-Temperley--Lieb algebra have degenerate ground states.

math-ph↗

arXiv2025

Fusion rules and structure constants of E-series minimal models

In the ADE classification of Virasoro minimal models, the E-series is the sparsest: their central charges $c=1-6\frac{(p-q)^2}{pq}$ are not dense in the half-line $c\in (-\infty,1)$, due to $q=12,18,30$ taking only 3 values -- the Coxeter numbers of $E_6, E_7, E_8$. The E-series is also the least well understood, with few known results beyond the spectrum. Here, we use a semi-analytic bootstrap approach for numerically computing 4-point correlation functions. We deduce non-chiral fusion rules, i.e. which 3-point structure constants vanish. These vanishings can be explained by constraints from null vectors, interchiral symmetry, simple currents, extended symmetries, permutations, and parity, except in one case for $q=30$. We conjecture that structure constants are given by a universal expression built from the double Gamma function, times polynomial functions of $\cos(π\frac{p}{q})$ with values in $\mathbb{Q}\big(\cos(\fracπ{q})\big)$, which we work out explicitly for $q=12$. We speculate on generalizing E-series minimal models to generic integer values of $q$, and recovering loop CFTs as $p,q\to \infty$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Critical spin chains and loop models with $PSU(n)$ symmetry

Starting with the Ising model, statistical models with global symmetries provide fruitful approaches to interesting physical systems, for example percolation or polymers. These include the $O(n)$ model (symmetry group $O(n)$) and the Potts model (symmetry group $S_Q$). Both models make sense for $n,Q\in \mathbb{C}$ and not just $n,Q\in \mathbb{N}$, and both give rise to a conformal field theory in the critical limit. Here, we study similar models based on the group $PSU(n)$. We focus on the two-dimensional case, where the models can be described either as gases of non-intersecting orientable loops, or as alternating spin chains. This allows us to determine their spectra either by computing a twisted torus partition function, or by studying representations of the walled Brauer algebra. In the critical limit, our models give rise to a CFT that exists for any $n\in\mathbb{C}$ and has a global $PSU(n)$ symmetry. Its spectrum is similar to those of the $O(n)$ and Potts CFTs, but a bit simpler. We conjecture that the $O(n)$ CFT is a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifold of the $PSU(n)$ CFT, where $\mathbb{Z}_2$ acts as complex conjugation.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Exactly solvable conformal field theories

We review 2d CFT in the bootstrap approach, and sketch the known exactly solvable CFTs with no extended chiral symmetry: Liouville theory, (generalized) minimal models, limits thereof, and loop CFTs, including the $O(n)$, Potts and $PSU(n)$ CFTs. Exact solvability relies on local conformal symmetry, and on the existence of degenerate fields. We show how these assumptions constrain the spectrum and correlation functions. We discuss how crossing symmetry equations can be solved analytically and/or numerically, leading to analytic expressions for structure constants in terms of the double Gamma function. In the case of loop CFTs, we sketch the corresponding statistical models, and derive the relation between statistical and CFT variables. We review the resulting combinatorial description of correlation functions, and discuss what remains to be done for solving the CFTs.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Critical loop models are exactly solvable

In two-dimensional critical loop models, including the $O(n)$ and Potts models, the spectrum is exactly known, as are a few structure constants or ratios thereof. Using numerical conformal bootstrap methods, we study $235$ of the simplest 4-point structure constants. For each structure constant, we find an analytic expression as a product of two factors: 1) a universal function of conformal dimensions, built from Barnes' double Gamma function, and 2) a polynomial function of loop weights, whose degree obeys a simple upper bound. We conjecture that all structure constants are of this form. For a few 4-point functions, we build corresponding observables in a lattice loop model. From numerical lattice results, we extract amplitude ratios that depend neither on the lattice size nor on the lattice coupling. These ratios agree with the corresponding ratios of 4-point structure constants.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

On the Virasoro fusion kernel at $c=25$

We find a formula for the Virasoro fusion kernel at $c=25$, in terms of the connection coefficients of the Painlevé VI differential equation. Our formula agrees numerically with previously known integral representations of the kernel. The derivation of our formula relies on a duality $c\to 26-c$ that is obeyed by the shift equations for the fusion and modular kernels. We conjecture that for $c<1$ the fusion and modular kernels are not smooth functions, but distributions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

From combinatorial maps to correlation functions in loop models

In two-dimensional statistical physics, correlation functions of the O(N) and Potts models may be written as sums over configurations of non-intersecting loops. We define sums associated to a large class of combinatorial maps (also known as ribbon graphs). We allow disconnected maps, but not maps that include monogons. Given a map with n vertices, we obtain a function of the moduli of the corresponding punctured Riemann surface. Due to the map's combinatorial (rather than topological) nature, that function is single-valued, and we call it an n-point correlation function. We conjecture that in the critical limit, such functions form a basis of solutions of certain conformal bootstrap equations. They include all correlation functions of the O(N) and Potts models, and correlation functions that do not belong to any known model. We test the conjecture by counting solutions of crossing symmetry for four-point functions on the sphere.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Diagonal fields in critical loop models

In critical loop models, there exist diagonal fields with arbitrary conformal dimensions, whose $3$-point functions coincide with those of Liouville theory at $c\leq 1$. We study their $N$-point functions, which depend on the $2^{N-1}$ weights of combinatorially inequivalent loops on a sphere with $N$ punctures. Using a numerical conformal bootstrap approach, we find that $4$-point functions decompose into infinite but discrete linear combinations of conformal blocks. We conclude that diagonal fields belong to an extension of the $O(n)$ model.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Spaces of states of the two-dimensional O(n) and Potts models

We determine the spaces of states of the two-dimensional $O(n)$ and $Q$-state Potts models with generic parameters $n,Q\in \mathbb{C}$ as representations of their known symmetry algebras. While the relevant representations of the conformal algebra were recently worked out, it remained to determine the action of the global symmetry groups: the orthogonal group for the $O(n)$ model, and the symmetric group $S_Q$ for the $Q$-state Potts model. We do this by two independent methods. First we compute the twisted torus partition functions of the models at criticality. The twist in question is the insertion of a group element along one cycle of the torus: this breaks modular invariance, but allows the partition function to have a unique decomposition into characters of irreducible representations of the global symmetry group. Our second method reduces the problem to determining branching rules of certain diagram algebras. For the $O(n)$ model, we decompose representations of the Brauer algebra into representations of its unoriented Jones--Temperley--Lieb subalgebra. For the $Q$-state Potts model, we decompose representations of the partition algebra into representations of the appropriate subalgebra. We find explicit expressions for these decompositions as sums over certain sets of diagrams, and over standard Young tableaux. We check that both methods agree in many cases. Moreover, our spaces of states are consistent with recent bootstrap results on four-point functions of the corresponding CFTs.

math-ph↗

arXiv2022

Conformal field theory on the plane

We review conformal field theory on the plane in the conformal bootstrap approach. We introduce the main ideas of the bootstrap approach to quantum field theory, and how they apply to two-dimensional theories with local conformal symmetry. We describe the mathematical structures that appear in such theories, from the Virasoro algebra and its representations, to BPZ equations and conformal blocks. Examples include Liouville theory, (generalized) minimal models, free bosonic theories, the $H_3^+$ model, and the $SU_2$ and $\widetilde{SL}_2(\mathbb{R})$ WZW models. We also discuss relations between some of these models, and limits of these models when the central charge and/or conformal dimensions tend to particular values.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Logarithmic CFT at generic central charge: from Liouville theory to the $Q$-state Potts model

Using derivatives of primary fields (null or not) with respect to the conformal dimension, we build infinite families of non-trivial logarithmic representations of the conformal algebra at generic central charge, with Jordan blocks of dimension $2$ or $3$. Each representation comes with one free parameter, which takes fixed values under assumptions on the existence of degenerate fields. This parameter can be viewed as a simpler, normalization-independent redefinition of the logarithmic coupling. In the example of the vacuum module at central charge zero, this parameter characterizes a Jordan block of dimension $3$, and takes the value $-\frac{1}{48}$. We compute the corresponding non-chiral conformal blocks, although they in general do not satisfy any nontrivial differential equation. We show that these blocks appear in limits of Liouville theory four-point functions. As an application, we describe the logarithmic structures of the critical two-dimensional $O(n)$ and $Q$-state Potts models at generic central charge. The validity of our description is demonstrated by semi-analytically bootstrapping four-point connectivities in the $Q$-state Potts model to arbitrary precision. Moreover, we provide numerical evidence for the Delfino--Viti conjecture for the three-point connectivity. Our results hold for generic values of $Q$ in the complex plane and beyond.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Global symmetry and conformal bootstrap in the two-dimensional $O(n)$ model

We define the two-dimensional $O(n)$ conformal field theory as a theory that includes the critical dilute and dense $O(n)$ models as special cases, and depends analytically on the central charge. For generic values of $n\in\mathbb{C}$, we write a conjecture for the decomposition of the spectrum into irreducible representations of $O(n)$. We then explain how to numerically bootstrap arbitrary four-point functions of primary fields in the presence of the global $O(n)$ symmetry. We determine the needed conformal blocks, including logarithmic blocks, including in singular cases. We argue that $O(n)$ representation theory provides upper bounds on the number of solutions of crossing symmetry for any given four-point function. We study some of the simplest correlation functions in detail, and determine a few fusion rules. We count the solutions of crossing symmetry for the $30$ simplest four-point functions. The number of solutions varies from $2$ to $6$, and saturates the bound from $O(n)$ representation theory in $21$ out of $30$ cases.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Analytic conformal bootstrap and Virasoro primary fields in the Ashkin-Teller model

We revisit the critical two-dimensional Ashkin-Teller model, i.e. the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifold of the compactified free boson CFT at $c=1$. We solve the model on the plane by computing its three-point structure constants and proving crossing symmetry of four-point correlation functions. We do this not only for affine primary fields, but also for Virasoro primary fields, i.e. higher twist fields and degenerate fields. This leads us to clarify the analytic properties of Virasoro conformal blocks and fusion kernels at $c=1$. We show that blocks with a degenerate channel field should be computed by taking limits in the central charge, rather than in the conformal dimension. In particular, Al. Zamolodchikov's simple explicit expression for the blocks that appear in four-twist correlation functions is only valid in the non-degenerate case: degenerate blocks, starting with the identity block, are more complicated generalized theta functions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

The non-rational limit of D-series minimal models

We study the limit of D-series minimal models when the central charge tends to a generic irrational value $c\in (-\infty, 1)$. We find that the limit theory's diagonal three-point structure constant differs from that of Liouville theory by a distribution factor, which is given by a divergent Verlinde formula. Nevertheless, correlation functions that involve both non-diagonal and diagonal fields are smooth functions of the diagonal fields' conformal dimensions. The limit theory is a non-trivial example of a non-diagonal, non-rational, solved two-dimensional conformal field theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

On four-point connectivities in the critical 2d Potts model

We perform Monte-Carlo computations of four-point cluster connectivities in the critical 2d Potts model, for numbers of states $Q\in (0,4)$ that are not necessarily integer. We compare these connectivities to four-point functions in a CFT that interpolates between D-series minimal models. We find that 3 combinations of the 4 independent connectivities agree with CFT four-point functions, down to the $2$ to $4$ significant digits of our Monte-Carlo computations. However, we argue that the agreement is exact only in the special cases $Q=0, 3, 4$. We conjecture that the Potts model can be analytically continued to a double cover of the half-plane $\{\Re c <13\}$, where $c$ is the central charge of the Virasoro symmetry algebra.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

On 2d CFTs that interpolate between minimal models

We investigate exactly solvable two-dimensional conformal field theories that exist at generic values of the central charge, and that interpolate between A-series or D-series minimal models. When the central charge becomes rational, correlation functions of these CFTs may tend to correlation functions of minimal models, or diverge, or have finite limits which can be logarithmic. These results are based on analytic relations between four-point structure constants and residues of conformal blocks.

hep-th↗