Adiabatic Continuity Research Articles

Semiclassics for the QCD vacuum structure through T2-compactification with the baryon-’t Hooft flux

We study QCD vacuum structure with the topological θ angle using a recently proposed semiclassical approach on ℝ2 × T2 with the ’t Hooft and baryon magnetic fluxes. Under the assumption of adiabatic continuity in this setup, the confining vacuum can be described by the dilute gas of center vortices. With this semiclassical approach, we derive the 2d effective description at small T2 and successfully explain the reasonable theta dependence of the QCD vacuum: in the one-flavor QCD at θ = π, the CP symmetry is spontaneously broken for quark mass above a critical value and restored for a subcritical mass, while the CP symmetry is always spontaneously broken in the multi-flavor QCD at θ = π. From our semiclassical description, we discuss implications to the 4d chiral Lagrangian and propose how the η′ meson should be incorporated in consistent with known global structures: the periodicity of the η′ should be extended from the naive one 2π to 2πN. Additionally, we revisit the phase diagram of Nf = 1 + 1 and Nf = 1 + 1 + 1 QCD on the up and down quark mass plane, confirming and refining the existence of the CP-broken Dashen phase.

Non-supersymmetric duality cascade of QCD(BF) via semiclassics on ℝ2× T2 with the baryon-’t Hooft flux

We study the phase diagrams of the bifundamental QCD (QCD(BF)) of different ranks, which is the 4d SU(N1) × SU(N2) gauge theory coupled with a bifundamental Dirac fermion. After discussing the anomaly constraints on possible vacuum structures, we apply a novel semiclassical approach on ℝ2× T2 with the baryon-’t Hooft flux to obtain the concrete dynamics. The 2d effective theory is derived by the dilute gas approximation of center vortices, and it serves as the basis for determining the phase diagram of the model under the assumption of adiabatic continuity. As an application, we justify the non-supersymmetric duality cascade between different QCD(BF), which has been conjectured in the large-N argument. Combined with the semiclassics and the large-N1,2 limit, we construct the explicit duality map from the parent theory, SU(N1) × SU(N2) QCD(BF), to the daughter theory, SU(N1) × SU(N2− N1) QCD(BF), including the correspondence of the coupling constants. We numerically examine the validity of the duality also for finite N1,2 within our semiclassics, finding a remarkable agreement of the phase diagrams between the parent and daughter sides.

Exactly solvable Hamiltonian for non-Abelian quasiparticles

Particles obeying non-Abelian braid statistics have been predicted to emerge in the fractional quantum Hall effect. In particular, a model Hamiltonian with short-range three-body interaction ($\hat{V}^\text{Pf}_3$) between electrons confined to the lowest Landau level provides exact solutions for quasiholes, and thereby allows a proof of principle for the existence of quasiholes obeying non-Abelian braid statistics. We construct, in terms of two- and three- body Haldane pseudopotentials, a model Hamiltonian that can be solved exactly for both quasiholes and quasiparticles, and provide evidence of non-Abelian statistics for the latter as well. The structure of the quasiparticle states of this model is in agreement with that predicted by the bipartite composite-fermion model of quasiparticles with exact lowest Landau level projection. We further demonstrate adiabatic continuity for the ground state, the ordinary neutral excitation, and the topological exciton as we deform our model Hamiltonian continuously into the lowest Landau-level $\hat{V}^\text{Pf}_3$ Hamiltonian.

Consistency of chiral symmetry breaking in chiral Yang-Mills theory with adiabatic continuity

We study the pattern of chiral symmetry breaking in the $\ensuremath{\psi}\ensuremath{\chi}\ensuremath{\eta}$ model [with the chiral fermion sector containing ${\ensuremath{\psi}}^{{ij}}$, ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{[ij]}$, and ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{i}^{A}$; see Armoni and Shifman Phys. Rev. D 85, 105003 (2012)] on ${\mathbb{R}}^{3}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{S}_{L}^{1}$ and derive implications forcing ${\mathbb{R}}^{4}$ physics. Center-symmetric vacua are stabilized by a double-trace deformation. With the center symmetry maintained at small $L({S}^{1})\ensuremath{\ll}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, i.e., at weak coupling, no phase transitions are expected in passing to large $L({S}^{1})\ensuremath{\gg}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ (here, $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ is the dynamical Yang-Mills scale). Starting with the small-$L$ limit, we find the leading-order nonperturbative corrections in the given theory. The instanton-monopole operators induce the adjoint chiral condensate $⟨{\ensuremath{\psi}}^{{ij}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}_{[jk]}⟩\ensuremath{\ne}0$ at weak coupling, i.e., at $L({S}^{1})\ensuremath{\ll}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. Then adiabatic continuity tells us that $⟨{\ensuremath{\psi}}^{{ij}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}_{[jk]}⟩\ensuremath{\ne}0$ exists on ${\mathbb{R}}^{4}$, in full accord with the prediction from Bolognesi et al. [Phys. Rev. D 97, 094007 (2018)]. Simultaneously with $⟨{\ensuremath{\psi}}^{{ij}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}_{[jk]}⟩\ensuremath{\sim}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}^{3}{\ensuremath{\delta}}_{k}^{i}$, the $\mathrm{SU}({N}_{c})$ gauge symmetry is spontaneously broken at strong coupling down to its maximal Abelian subgroup.

Perturbative Confinement in Thermal Yang-Mills Theories Induced by Imaginary Angular Velocity.

We perturbatively compute the Polyakov loop potential at high temperature with finite imaginary angular velocity. This imaginary rotation does not violate the causality, and the thermodynamic limit is well defined. We analytically show that the imaginary angular velocity induces the perturbatively confined phase and serves as a new probe to confinement physics. We discuss a possible phase diagram that exhibits adiabatic continuity from the perturbative confinement to the confined phase at low temperature. We also mention subtlety in the analytical continuation from imaginary to real angular velocity by imposing a causality bound.

Adiabatic continuity of the spinful quantum Hall states

By using the extended Hubbard model of anyons, we numerically demonstrate the adiabatic deformation of the spinful quantum Hall (QH) states by transmutation of statistical fluxes. While the ground state is always spin-polarized in a series of $\nu=1$ integer QH system, the adiabatic continuity between the singlet QH states at $\nu=2$ and $\nu=2/5$ is confirmed. These results are consistent with the composite fermion theory with spin. The many-body Chern number of the ground state multiplet works as an adiabatic invariant and also explains the wild change of the topological degeneracy during the evolution. The generalized Streda formula of spinful systems is justified.

Topological Anderson Insulator in Cation-Disordered Cu2ZnSnS4.

We present the first candidate for the realization of a disorder-induced Topological Anderson Insulator in a real material system. High-energy reactive mechanical alloying produces a polymorph of Cu2ZnSnS4 with high cation disorder. Density functional theory calculations show an inverted ordering of bands at the Brillouin zone center for this polymorph, which is in contrast to its ordered phase. Adiabatic continuity arguments establish that this disordered Cu2ZnSnS4 can be connected to the closely related Cu2ZnSnSe4, which was previously predicted to be a 3D topological insulator, while band structure calculations with a slab geometry reveal the presence of robust surface states. This evidence makes a strong case in favor of a novel topological phase. As such, the study opens up a window to understanding and potentially exploiting topological behavior in a rich class of easily-synthesized multinary, disordered compounds.

Rigidity of topological invariants to symmetry breaking

Symmetry plays an important role in the topological band theory to remedy the eigenstates' gauge obstruction at the cost of a symmetry anomaly and zero-energy boundary modes. One can also make use of the symmetry to enumerate the topological invariants - giving a symmetry classification table. Here we consider various topological phases protected by different symmetries, and examine how the corresponding topological invariants evolve once the protecting symmetry is spontaneously lost. To our surprise, we find that the topological invariants and edge states can sometimes be robust to symmetry breaking quantum orders. This topological robustness persists as long as the mean-field Hamiltonian in a symmetry breaking ordered phase maintains its adiabatic continuity to the non-interacting Hamiltonian. For example, for a time-reversal symmetric topological phase in 2+1D, we show that the Z_2 time-reversal polarization continues to be a good topological invariant even after including distinct time-reversal breaking order parameters. Similar conclusions are drawn for various other symmetry breaking cases. Finally, we discuss that the change in the internal symmetry associated with the spontaneous symmetry breaking has to be accounted for to reinstate the topological invariants into the expected classification table.

Lattice simulations of a gauge theory with mixed adjoint-fundamental matter

In this paper, we summarize our efforts in simulating Yang-Mills theories coupled to matter fields transforming under the fundamental and adjoint representations of the gauge group. In the context of composite Higgs scenarios, gauge theories with mixed representation fields have been suggested to describe the fundamental interactions well beyond the electroweak unification scale, and they are also closely related to supersymmetric QCD. In addition, they are studied as deformations of theories with pure adjoint matter in the context of adiabatic continuity. We provide some first results for bare parameter tuning and interdependence of the two representations. We also investigate how the chiral symmetry breaking or a conformal scenario can be realized and checked in such theories.

Dirac equation perspective on higher-order topological insulators

In this Tutorial, we pedagogically review recent developments in the field of non-interacting fermionic phases of matter, focusing on the low-energy description of higher-order topological insulators in terms of the Dirac equation. Our aim is to give a mostly self-contained treatment. After introducing the Dirac approximation of topological crystalline band structures, we use it to derive the anomalous end and corner states of first- and higher-order topological insulators in one and two spatial dimensions. In particular, we recast the classical derivation of domain wall bound states of the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) chain in terms of crystalline symmetry. The edge of a two-dimensional higher-order topological insulator can then be viewed as a single crystalline symmetry-protected SSH chain, whose domain wall bound states become the corner states. We never explicitly solve for the full symmetric boundary of the two-dimensional system but instead argue by adiabatic continuity. Our approach captures all salient features of higher-order topology while remaining analytically tractable.

Critical role of the sign structure in the doped Mott insulator: Luther-Emery versus Fermi-liquid-like state in quasi-one-dimensional ladders

Mechanism of superconductivity (SC) in a purely interacting electron system has been one of the most challenging issues in condensed matter physics. In the BCS theory, the Landau's Fermi liquid is a normal state against which an SC instability occurs once an \emph{additional} pairing force is added. We show that in the doped Mott insulator an \emph{intrinsic} SC ground state (specifically a Luther-Emery state in a finite-doping two-leg $t$-$J$ ladder) can be directly turned into a Fermi-gas-like state by merely switching off the hidden statistical sign structure via two schemes. It points to a new pairing paradigm, %beyond the resonating-valence-bond scheme, which is an "Amperean-like pairing" with a "stringlike" pairing force as shown by an adiabatic continuity to a strong anisotropic limit of the model.

Lattice \u2102PN\u22121 model with \u2124N twisted boundary condition: bions, adiabatic continuity and pseudo-entropy

We investigate the lattice ℂPN−1 sigma model on {S}_s^1 (large) × {S}_{tau}^1 (small) with the ℤN symmetric twisted boundary condition, where a sufficiently large ratio of the circumferences (Ls ≫ Lτ) is taken to approximate ℝ × S1. We find that the expectation value of the Polyakov loop, which is an order parameter of the ℤN symmetry, remains consistent with zero (|〈P〉| ∼ 0) from small to relatively large inverse coupling β (from large to small Lτ). As β increases, the distribution of the Polyakov loop on the complex plane, which concentrates around the origin for small β, isotropically spreads and forms a regular N-sided-polygon shape (e.g. pentagon for N = 5), leading to |〈P〉| ∼ 0. By investigating the dependence of the Polyakov loop on {S}_s^1 direction, we also verify the existence of fractional instantons and bions, which cause tunneling transition between the classical N vacua and stabilize the ℤN symmetry. Even for quite high β, we find that a regular-polygon shape of the Polyakov-loop distribution, even if it is broken, tends to be restored and |〈P〉| gets smaller as the number of samples increases. To discuss the adiabatic continuity of the vacuum structure from another viewpoint, we calculate the β dependence of “pseudo-entropy” density ∝ 〈Txx − Tττ〉. The result is consistent with the absence of a phase transition between large and small β regions.

Emergent particles and gauge fields in quantum matter

ABSTRACT I give a pedagogical introduction to some of the many particles and gauge fields that can emerge in correlated matter. The standard model of materials is built on Landau's foundational principles: adiabatic continuity and spontaneous symmetry breaking. These ideas lead to quasiparticles that inherit their quantum numbers from fundamental particles, Nambu-Goldstone bosons, the Anderson-Higgs mechanism, and topological defects in order parameters. I then describe the modern discovery of physics beyond the standard model. Here, quantum correlations (entanglement) and topology play key roles in defining the properties of matter. This can lead to fractionalised quasiparticles that carry only a fraction of the quantum numbers that define fundamental particles. These particles can have exotic properties: for example Majorana fermions are their own antiparticles, anyons have exchange statistics that are neither bosonic nor fermionic, and magnetic monopoles do not occur in the vacuum. Gauge fields emerge naturally in the description of highly correlated matter and can lead to gauge bosons. Relationships to the standard model of particle physics are discussed.

Self-conjugate QCD

We carry out a systematic study of SU(6) Yang-Mills theory endowed with fermions in the adjoint and 3-index antisymmetric mixed-representation. The fermion bilinear in the 3-index antisymmetric representation vanishes identically, which leads to interesting new phenomena. We first study the theory on a small circle, i.e., on {mathrm{mathbb{R}}}^3times {mathbbm{S}}_L^1 , employing symmetry-twisted boundary conditions and semi-classical techniques. We find that the ground state is 3-fold degenerate, which can be explained as a consequence of a 1-form/0-form mixed ’t Hooft anomaly. In addition, the theory may admit massless bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom, depending on the number of flavors, and confines the electric probes in the infrared. Empowered by ’t Hooft anomaly matching conditions along with the 2-loop β-function, we further examine the possible infrared symmetry realizations on ℝ4 for various number of adjoint and 3-index antisymmetric fermions. The infrared theory is either a conformal field theory, which is expected for a large number of flavors, or it is confining with or without chiral symmetry breaking. In a few cases, we are able to give enough evidence for adiabatic continuity between the small- and large-circle limits.

Phase structure of the twisted SU(3)/U(1)2 flag sigma model on \u211d \xd7 S1

We investigate the phase structure of the compactified 2-dimensional nonlinear SU(3)/U(1)2 flag sigma model with respect to two θ-terms. Based on the circle compactification with the ℤ3-twisted boundary condition, which preserves an ’t Hooft anomaly of the original uncompactified theory, we perform the semiclassical analysis based on the dilute instanton gas approximation (DIGA). We clarify classical vacua of the theory and derive fractional instanton solutions connecting these vacua. The resulting phase structure based on DIGA exhibits the quantum phase transitions and triple degeneracy at special points in the (θ1, θ2)-plane, which is consistent with the phase diagram obtained from the anomaly matching and global inconsistency conditions. This result indicates the adiabatic continuity between the flag sigma models on ℝ2 and ℝ × S1 with small compactification radius. We further estimate contributions from instanton-anti-instanton configuration (bion) and show the existence of the imaginary ambiguity, which is expected to be cancelled by that of the perturbative Borel resummation.

Pressure-induced rotational symmetry breaking in URu2Si2

Phase transitions and symmetry are intimately linked. Melting of ice, for example, restores translation invariance. The mysterious hidden order (HO) phase of URu$_2$Si$_2$ has, despite relentless research efforts, kept its symmetry breaking element intangible. Here we present a high-resolution x-ray diffraction study of the URu$_2$Si$_2$ crystal structure as a function of hydrostatic pressure. Below a critical pressure threshold $p_c\approx3$ kbar, no tetragonal lattice symmetry breaking is observed even below the HO transition $T_{HO}=17.5$ K. For $p>p_c$, however, a pressure-induced rotational symmetry breaking is identified with an onset temperatures $T_{OR}\sim 100$ K. The emergence of an orthorhombic phase is found and discussed in terms of an electronic nematic order that appears unrelated to the HO, but with possible relevance for the pressure-induced antiferromagnetic (AF) phase. Existing theories describe the HO and AF phases through an adiabatic continuity of a complex order parameter. Since none of these theories predicts a pressure-induced nematic order, our finding adds an additional symmetry breaking element to this long-standing problem.

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 transforming in the adjoint representation of the gauge group. These theories have the remarkable property that confinement and discrete chiral symmetry breaking can persist at weak coupling on ℝ3 × S1 up to small (non-thermal) compactification radii. This work presents a lattice investigation of a gauge theory coupled to a single adjoint Majorana fermion, the mathcal{N}=1 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM), and opens the prospect to understand analytically a number of non-perturbative phenomena, such as confinement, mass gap, chiral and center symmetry realizations, both on the lattice and in the continuum. We study the compactification of mathcal{N}=1 SYM on the lattice with periodic and thermal boundary conditions applied to the fermion field. We provide numerical evidences for the conjectured absence of phase transitions with periodic boundary conditions for sufficiently light lattice fermions (stability of center-symmetry), for the suppression of the chiral transition, and we provide also a diagnostic for Abelian vs. non-Abelian confinement, based on per-site Polyakov loop eigenvalue distribution functions. We identify the role of the lattice artefacts that become relevant in the very small radius regime, and we resolve some puzzles in the naive comparison between continuum and lattice.

Quantum distillation of Hilbert spaces, semi-classics and anomaly matching

A symmetry-twisted boundary condition of the path integral provides a suitable framework for the semi-classical analysis of nonperturbative quantum field theories (QFTs), and we reinterpret it from the viewpoint of the Hilbert space. An appropriate twist with the unbroken symmetry can potentially produce huge cancellations among excited states in the state-sum, without affecting the ground states; we call this effect “quantum distillation”. Quantum distillation can provide the underlying mechanism for adiabatic continuity, by preventing a phase transition under S1 compactification. We revisit this point via the ’t Hooft anomaly matching condition when it constrains the vacuum structure of the theory on ℝd and upon compactification. We show that there is a precise relation between the persistence of the anomaly upon compactification, the Hilbert space quantum distillation, and the semi-classical analysis of the corresponding symmetry-twisted path integrals. We motivate quantum distillation in quantum mechanical examples, and then study its non-trivial action in QFT, with the example of the 2D Grassmannian sigma model Gr(N, M). We also discuss the connection of quantum distillation with large-N volume independence and flavor-momentum transmutation.

QCD in Stars

We discuss cold dense QCD by examining constraints from neutron stars, nuclear experiments, and QCD calculations at low and high baryon density. The two solar mass constraint and suggestive small radii (10~13 km) of neutron stars constrain the strength of hadron-quark matter phase transitions. Assuming the adiabatic continuity from hadronic to quark matter, we use a schematic quark model for hadron physics and examine the size of medium coupling constants. We find that to baryon density nB ~ 10n0 (n0: nuclear saturation density), the model coupling constants should be as large as in the vacuum, indicating that gluons remain non- perturbative even after the quark matter formation.

Adiabatic continuity, wave-function overlap, and topological phase transitions

In this article, we study the relation between wavefunction overlap and adiabatic continuity in gapped quantum systems. We show that for two band insulators, a scalar function can be defined in the momentum space, which characterizes the wavefunction overlap between Bloch states in the two insulators. If this overlap is nonzero for all momentum points in the Brillouin zone, these two insulators are adiabatically connected, i.e. we can deform one insulator into the other smoothly without closing the band gap. In addition, we further prove that this adiabatic path preserves all the symmetries of the insulators. The existence of such an adiabatic path implies that two insulators with nonzero wavefunction overlap belong to the same topological phase. This relation, between adiabatic continuity and wavefunction overlap, can be further generalized to correlated systems. The generalized relation cannot be applied to study generic many-body systems in the thermodynamic limit, because of the orthogonality catastrophe. However, for certain interacting systems (e.g. quantum Hall systems), the quantum wavefunction overlap can be utilized to distinguish different quantum states. Experimental implications are also discussed.