Broken Scale Invariance Research Articles

Exploring the conformal transition from above and below

We consider conformal transitions arising from the merging of IR and UV fixed points, expected to occur in QCD with a large enough number of flavors. We study the smoothness of physical quantities across this transition, being mostly determined by the logarithmic breaking of conformal invariance. We investigate this explicitly using holography where approaching the conformal transition either from outside or inside the conformal window (perturbed by a mass term) is characterized by the same dynamics. The mass of spin-1 mesons and Fπ are shown to be continuous across the transition, as well as the dilaton mass. This implies that the lightness of the dilaton cannot be a consequence of the spontaneous breaking of scale invariance when leaving the conformal window. Our analysis suggests that the light scalar observed in QCD lattice simulations is a qq¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ q\\overline{q} $$\\end{document} meson that becomes light since the qq¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ q\\overline{q} $$\\end{document}-operator dimension reaches its minimal value.

Dilaton forbidden dark matter

Dilaton effective field theory (dEFT) describes the long distance behavior of certain confining, near-conformal gauge theories that have been studied via lattice computation. Pseudo-Nambu- Goldstone bosons (pNGBs), emerging from the breaking of approximate, continuous, internal symmetries, are coupled to an additional scalar particle, the dilaton, arising from the spontaneous breaking of approximate scale invariance. This effective theory has been employed to study possible extensions of the standard model. In this paper, we propose a complementary role for dEFT, as a description of the dark matter of the Universe, with the pNGBs identified as the dark matter particles. We show that this theory provides a natural implementation of the “forbidden” dark matter mechanism, and we identify regions of parameter space for which the thermal history of dEFT yields the measured dark matter relic density. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Covariant phase space analysis of Lanczos-Lovelock gravity with boundaries

This work introduces a novel prescription for the expression of the thermodynamic potentials associated with the couplings of a Lanczos-Lovelock theory. These potentials emerge in theories with multiple couplings, where the ratio between them provide intrinsic length scales that break scale invariance. Our prescription, derived from the covariant phase space formalism, differs from previous approaches by enabling the construction of finite potentials without reference to any background. To do so, we consistently work with finite-size systems with Dirichlet boundary conditions and rigorously take into account boundary and corner terms: including these terms is found to be crucial for relaxing the integrability conditions for phase space quantities that were required in previous works. We apply this prescription to the first law of (extended) thermodynamics for stationary black holes, and derive a version of the Smarr formula that holds for static black holes with arbitrary asymptotic behaviour.

Scale Invariance in the Lowest Landau Level

We show that the discrete set of pair amplitudes $A_m$ introduced by Haldane are an angular-momentum resolved generalization of the Tan two-body contact, which parametrizes universal short-range correlations in atomic quantum gases. The pair amplitudes provide a complete description of translation-invariant and rotation-invariant states in the lowest Landau level (LLL), both compressible and incompressible. To leading nontrivial order beyond the non-interacting high-temperature limit, they are determined analytically in terms of the Haldane pseudopotential parameters $V_m$, which provides a qualitative description of the crossover towards incompressible ground states for different filling factors. Moreover, we show that for contact interactions $\sim g_2 \delta^{(2)}({\bf x})$, which are scale invariant at the classical level, the non-commutativity of the guiding center coordinates gives rise to a quantum anomaly in the commutator $i [\hat{H}_{\rm LLL}, \hat{D}_R] = (2 + \ell \partial_\ell) \hat{H}_{\rm LLL}$ with the dilatation operator $\hat{D}_R$ in the LLL, which replaces the trace anomaly in the absence of a magnetic field. The interaction-induced breaking of scale invariance gives rise to a finite frequency shift of the breathing mode in a harmonic trap, which describes transitions between different Landau levels, the strength of which is estimated in terms of the relevant dimensionless coupling constant $\tilde{g}_2$.

Duality between the quantum inverted harmonic oscillator and inverse square potentials

In this paper we show how the quantum mechanics of the inverted harmonic oscillator (IHO) can be mapped to the quantum mechanics of a particle in a super-critical inverse square potential (ISP). We demonstrate this by relating both of these systems to the Berry–Keating system with Hamiltonian H=(xp+px)/2 . It has long been appreciated that the quantum mechanics of the ISP has an ambiguity in choosing a boundary condition near the origin and we show how this ambiguity is mapped to the IHO system. Imposing a boundary condition requires specifying a distance scale where it is applied and changes to this scale come with a renormalisation group (RG) evolution of the boundary condition that ensures observables do not directly depend on the scale (which is arbitrary). Physical scales instead emerge as RG invariants of this evolution. The RG flow for the ISP is known to follow limit cycles describing the discrete breaking of classical scale invariance in a simple example of a quantum anomaly, and we find that limit cycles also occur for the IHO. However, unlike the ISP where the continuous scaling symmetry is explicit, in the case of the IHO it is hidden and occurs because the Hamiltonian is part of a larger su(1,1) spectrum generating algebra. Our map does not require the boundary condition to be self-adjoint, as can be appropriate for systems that involve the absorption or emission of particles.

Electroweak symmetry breaking by gravity

We consider a simple scale-invariant action coupling the Higgs field to the metric scalar curvature R and containing an R2 term that exhibits spontaneous breaking of scale invariance and electroweak symmetry. The coefficient of the R2 term in this case determines the self-coupling of the Higgs boson in the Einstein frame, and the scalaron becomes a dilaton weakly coupled to the Higgs boson. Majorana mass terms for right-handed neutrinos can be generated in a scale-invariant manner by using the Higgs-field invariant; in this case, the existing experimental limits on the Higgs-boson total width rule out Majorana mass values in a certain range. The model inherits the naturalness issues of general relativity connected with the smallness of the gravitational and cosmological constants.

Light dilaton in rare meson decays and extraction of its CP property

The dilaton ϕ is a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson associated with the spontaneous breaking of scale invariance in a nearly conformal theory, and couples to the trace of the stress-energy tensor. We analyze experimental constraints on a light dilaton with mass in the MeV–GeV range from rare meson decays. New model-independent inclusive bounds for the b → sϕ transition largely exclude the parameter space of a light dilaton that could explain the muon g − 2 anomaly. Despite similarities between a dilaton and a Higgs-portal scalar, the dilaton-photon coupling is enhanced compared to the Higgs-portal scalar due to contributions from loops of the conformal sector. Consequently, the shortened lifetime of the dilaton relaxes bounds from K → π + invisible searches at the NA62 experiment and constraints from the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We utilize this fact to search for the dilaton signature at a lepton collider such as the ongoing Belle II experiment. Further, we demonstrate how to extract the CP property of the dilaton using the variation of the differential cross-section of e+e− → e+e−ϕ with the azimuthal angle between the outgoing leptons.

Unparticle effects at the MUonE experiment

We investigate possible effects of unparticles at the MUonE experiment by considering a general model for unparticle with broken scale invariance, characterized by the scaling dimension d and the energy scale μ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\mu $$\\end{document} at which the scale invariance is broken. Taking into account available relevant constraints on the couplings of the unparticles with the Standard Model (SM) leptons, we found that the MUonE experiment at the level of 10 ppm systematic accuracy is sensitive to such effects if 1<d≲1.4\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$1<d\\lesssim 1.4$$\\end{document} and 1≤μ≲12\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$1\\le \\mu \\lesssim 12$$\\end{document} GeV for vector unparticles. The effects of scalar unparticles are too feeble to be detected. The vector unparticles can induce a significant shift on the best-fit value of aμhad\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$a_\\mu ^\ ext {had}$$\\end{document} at the MUonE, thereby providing an opportunity to detect unparticles or to obtain a new bound on the unparticle-SM couplings in the case of no anomaly.

Primordial black holes from single-field inflation: a fine-tuning audit

All single-field inflationary models invoke varying degrees of tuning in order to account for cosmological observations. Mechanisms that generate primordial black holes (PBHs) from enhancement of primordial power at small scales posit inflationary potentials that transiently break scale invariance and possibly adiabaticity over a range of modes. This requires additional tuning on top of that required to account for observations at scales probed by cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies. In this paper we study the parametric dependence of various single-field models of inflation that enhance power at small scales and quantify the degree to which coefficients in the model construction have to be tuned in order for certain observables to lie within specified ranges. We find significant tuning: changing the parameters of the potentials by between one part in a hundred and one part in 108 (depending on the model) is enough to change the power spectrum peak amplitude by an order one factor. The fine-tuning of the PBH abundance is larger still by 1–2 orders of magnitude. We highlight the challenges imposed by this tuning on any given model construction. Furthermore, polynomial potentials appear to require significant additional fine-tuning to also match the CMB observations.

Scale invariance and critical balance in electrostatic drift-kinetic turbulence

The equations of electrostatic drift kinetics are observed to possess a symmetry associated with their intrinsic scale invariance. Under the assumptions of spatial periodicity, stationarity, and locality, this symmetry implies a particular scaling of the turbulent heat flux with the system's parallel size, from which its scaling with the equilibrium temperature gradient can be deduced under some additional assumptions. This macroscopic transport prediction is then confirmed numerically for a reduced model of electron-temperature-gradient-driven turbulence in slab geometry. The system realises this scaling through a turbulent cascade from large to small perpendicular spatial scales. The route of this cascade through wavenumber space (i.e. the relationship between parallel and perpendicular scales in the inertial range) is shown to be determined by a balance between nonlinear-decorrelation and parallel-dissipation timescales. This type of ‘critically balanced’ cascade, which maintains a constant energy flux despite the presence of parallel dissipation throughout the inertial range (as well as order-unity dissipative losses at the outer scale) is expected to be a generic feature of plasma turbulence. The outer scale of the turbulence, on which the turbulent heat flux depends, is determined by the breaking of drift-kinetic scale invariance due to the existence of large-scale parallel inhomogeneity (the parallel system size).

Broken scale invariance and the regularization of a conformal sector in gravity with Wess-Zumino actions

We elaborate on anomaly induced actions of the Wess-Zumino (WZ) form and their relation to the renormalized effective action, which is defined by an ordinary path integral over a conformal sector, in an external gravitational background. In anomaly - induced actions, the issue of scale breaking is usually not addressed, since these actions are obtained only by solving the trace anomaly constraint and are determined by scale invariant functionals. We investigate the changes induced in the structure of such actions once identified in dimensional renormalization (DR) when the ϵ=d−4→0 limit is accompanied by the dimensional reduction (DRed) of the field dependencies. We show that operatorial nonlocal modifications (∼□ϵ) of the counterterms are unnecessary to justify a scale anomaly. In this case, only the ordinary finite subtractions play a critical role in the determination of the scale breaking. This is illustrated for the WZ form of the effective action and its WZ consistency condition, as seen from a renormalization procedure. Logarithmic corrections from finite subtractions are also illustrated in a pure d=4 (cutoff) scheme. The interplay between two renormalization schemes, one based on dimensional regularization (DR) and the second on a cutoff in d=4, illustrates the ambiguities of DR in handling the quantum corrections in a curved background. Therefore, using DR in a curved background, the scale and trace anomalies can both be obtained by counterterms that are Weyl invariant only at d=4.

Critical fermions with spontaneously broken scale symmetry

We study relativistic fermions in three euclidean dimensions with four- and six-fermion interactions of the Gross-Neveu type. In the limit of many fermion flavors, and besides the isolated free fixed point, the theory displays a line of interacting ultraviolet fixed points. At the endpoint of the critical line, we establish that mass is generated through the spontaneous breaking of quantum scale invariance. Curiously, broken parity symmetry is a prerequisite for the spontaneous generation of mass rather than a consequence thereof. We also calculate critical exponents and find that hyperscaling relations are violated. Further similarities with critical scalar theories, and implications for conformal field theories and higher spin theories are discussed.

Charge diffusion in relativistic resistive second-order dissipative magnetohydrodynamics

We study charge diffusion in relativistic resistive second-order dissipative magnetohydrodynamics. In this theory, charge diffusion is not simply given by the standard Navier-Stokes form of Ohm's law, but by an evolution equation which ensures causality and stability. This, in turn, leads to transient effects in the charge diffusion current, the nature of which depends on the particular values of the electrical conductivity and the charge-diffusion relaxation time. The ensuing equations of motion are of so-called stiff character, which requires special care when solving them numerically. To this end, we specifically develop an implicit-explicit Runge-Kutta method for solving relativistic resistive second-order dissipative magnetohydrodynamics and subject it to various tests. We then study the system's evolution in a simplified 1+1-dimensional scenario for a heavy-ion collision, where matter and electromagnetic fields are assumed to be transversely homogeneous, and investigate the cases of an initially non-expanding fluid and a fluid initially expanding according to a Bjorken scaling flow. In the latter case, the scale invariance is broken by the ensuing self-consistent dynamics of matter and electromagnetic fields. However, the breaking becomes quantitatively important only if the electromagnetic fields are sufficiently strong. The breaking of scale invariance is larger for smaller values of the conductivity. Aspects of entropy production from charge diffusion currents and stability are also discussed.

QCD sum rule analysis of heavy quarkonium states in magnetized matter: Effects of magnetic and inverse magnetic catalysis

In-medium masses of the $1S$ and $1P$ states of heavy quarkonia are investigated in the magnetized asymmetric nuclear medium, accounting for the Dirac sea effects, using a combined approach of chiral effective model and QCD sum rule method. Masses are calculated from the in-medium scalar and twist-2 gluon condensates, calculated within the chiral model. The gluon condensate is simulated through the scalar dilaton field, $\ensuremath{\chi}$ introduced in the model through a scale-invariance breaking logarithmic potential. Contribution of the Dirac sea is incorporated through the nucleonic tadpole diagrams. Treating the scalar fields as classical, the dilaton field, $\ensuremath{\chi}$, the isoscalar nonstrange $\ensuremath{\sigma}(\ensuremath{\sim}(⟨\overline{u}u⟩+⟨\overline{d}d⟩))$, strange $\ensuremath{\zeta}(\ensuremath{\sim}⟨\overline{s}s⟩)$ and isovector $\ensuremath{\delta}(\ensuremath{\sim}(⟨\overline{u}u⟩\ensuremath{-}⟨\overline{d}d⟩))$ fields, are obtained by solving their coupled equations of motion as derived from the chiral model Lagrangian. The effects of magnetic field are incorporated through the Dirac sea as well as the Landau energy levels of the protons, and the anomalous magnetic moments of the nucleons. The scalar fields modify appreciably with magnetic field due to the Dirac sea contribution. In-medium masses of the charmonium and bottomonium ground states are observed to have significant modifications with magnetic field due to the effects of (inverse) magnetic catalysis. In presence of an external magnetic field, there is mixing between the longitudinal component of the vector and the pseudoscalar mesons (PV mixing) in both quarkonia sectors, leading to a rise (drop) of the masses of $J/{\ensuremath{\psi}}^{||}({\ensuremath{\eta}}_{c})$ and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Upsilon}}}^{||}(1S)({\ensuremath{\eta}}_{b})$ states. These might show in the experimental observables, e.g., the dilepton spectra in the noncentral, ultrarelativistic heavy ion collision experiments at RHIC and LHC, where the produced magnetic field is huge.

Dilaton Effective Field Theory

We review and extend recent studies of dilaton effective field theory (dEFT) that provide a framework for the description of the Higgs boson as a composite structure. We first describe the dEFT as applied to lattice data for a class of gauge theories with near-conformal infrared behavior. This includes the dilaton associated with the spontaneous breaking of (approximate) scale invariance and a set of pseudo-Nambu–Goldstone bosons (pNGBs) associated with the spontaneous breaking of an (approximate) internal global symmetry. The theory contains two small symmetry-breaking parameters. We display the leading-order (LO) Lagrangian and review its fit to lattice data for the SU(3) gauge theory with Nf=8 Dirac fermions in the fundamental representation. We then develop power-counting rules to identify the corrections emerging at next-to-leading order (NLO) in the dEFT action. We list the NLO operators that appear and provide estimates for the coefficients. We comment on implications for composite Higgs model building.

Soft pion scattering in infrared-conformal gauge-fermion theories

We consider the problem of soft scattering for the analogue of pion states in gauge-fermion theories which approach a conformal fixed point in the infrared limit. Introducing a fermion mass into such a theory will explicitly break both scale invariance and chiral symmetry, leading to confinement and a spectrum of bound states. We argue that in such a theory, the pion scattering length diverges in the limit of zero fermion mass, in sharp contrast to QCD-like theories where the chiral Lagrangian predicts a vanishing scattering length. We demonstrate this effect both with a simple dimensional argument, and in a generalized linear sigma model which we argue can be used to describe the interactions of light scalar and pseudoscalar bound states in the soft limit of a mass-deformed infrared-conformal theory. As a result, lattice calculations of pion scattering lengths could be a sensitive probe for infrared scale invariance in gauge-fermion theories.

Unifying inflation with early and late dark energy with multiple fields: Spontaneously broken scale invariant two measures theory

A unified multi scalar field model with three flat regions is discussed. The three flat regions are the inflation, early and late dark energy epochs. The potential is obtained by a spontaneous breaking of scale invariance generated by Non Riemannian Measures of integration (or Two Measures Theories (TMT)).We define the scale invariant couplings of the scalar fields to the different measures through exponential potentials. Spontaneous breaking of scale invariance takes place when integrating the fields that define the measures. When going to the Einstein frame we obtain: (i) An effective potential for the scalar fields with three flat regions which allows for a unified description of both early universe inflation (in the higher energy density flat region) as well as of present dark energy epoch which can be realized with a double phase, i.e., in two flat regions. (ii) In the slow roll inflation, only one field combination the ``dilaton", which transforms under scale transformations, has non trivial dynamics, the orthogonal one, which is scale invariant remains constant. (iv) In the late universe we define scale invariant couplings of Dark Matter to the dilaton. These couplings define a matter induced potential for the dilaton and extremizing this potential determines the scale invariant scalar field, while all exotic non canonical behavior of the Dark Matter as well as any possible $5^{th}$ force disappear. (v) We calculate the evolution of the late universe under these conditions with the realization of two different possible realizations of $\Lambda$CDM type scenarios depending of the flat region in the late universe. These two phases could appear at different times in the history of the universe.(vi) From the Planck data, we find the constraints on the parameters during the inflationary epoch and these values are used to obtain constraints relevant to the present epoch.

Dilaton in scalar QFT: a no-go theorem in 4-epsilon and 3-epsilon dimensions

Spontaneous scale invariance breaking and the associated Goldstone boson, the dilaton, is investigated in renormalizable, unitary, interacting non-supersymmetric scalar field theories in 4-\varepsilon4−ε dimensions. At leading order it is possible to construct models which give rise to spontaneous scale invariance breaking classically and indeed a massless dilaton can be identified. Beyond leading order, in order to have no anomalous scale symmetry breaking in QFT, the models need to be defined at a Wilson-Fisher fixed point with exact conformal symmetry. It is shown that this requirement on the couplings is incompatible with having the type of flat direction which would be necessary for an exactly massless dilaton. As a result spontaneous scale symmetry breaking and an exactly massless dilaton can not occur in renormalizable, unitary 4-\varepsilon4−ε dimensional scalar QFT. The arguments apply to \phi^6ϕ6 theory in 3-\varepsilon3−ε dimensions as well.

Discrete scale-invariant boson-fermion duality in one dimension

We introduce models of one-dimensional $n(\geq3)$-body problems that undergo phase transition from a continuous scale-invariant phase to a discrete scale-invariant phase. In this paper, we focus on identical spinless particles that interact only through two-body contacts. Without assuming any particular cluster-decomposition property, we first classify all possible scale-invariant two-body contact interactions that respect unitarity, permutation invariance, and translation invariance in one dimension. We then present a criterion for the breakdown of continuous scale invariance to discrete scale invariance. Under the assumption that the criterion is met, we solve the many-body Schr\"{o}dinger equation exactly; we obtain the exact $n$-body bound-state spectrum as well as the exact $n$-body S-matrix elements for arbitrary $n\geq3$, all of which enjoy discrete scale invariance or log-periodicity. Thanks to the boson-fermion duality, these results can be applied equally well to both bosons and fermions. Finally, we demonstrate how the criterion is met in the case of $n=3$; we determine the exact phase diagram for the scale-invariance breaking in the three-body problem of identical bosons and fermions. The zero-temperature transition from the unbroken phase to the broken phase is the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless-like transition discussed in the literature.

Emergent Planck mass and dark energy from affine gravity

We introduce a novel model of affine gravity, which implements the no-scale scenario. Namely, Planck mass and Hubble constant emerge dynamically, through the mechanism of spontaneous breaking of scale-invariance. Moreover, in our model the time direction and non--degenerate metric emerge dynamically as well. This naturally gives rise to the inflation and may server as a starting point for the "birth" of the Universe. We show that our model is phenomenologically viable, both from the perspective of the direct tests of gravity and cosmological evolution.