Statistical Field Theory Research Articles

Magnetic braneworlds: cosmology and wormholes

We construct 4D flat Big Bang-Big Crunch cosmologies and Anti-de Sitter (AdS) planar eternally traversable wormholes using braneworlds embedded in asymptotically AdS5 spacetimes. The background geometries are the AdS5 magnetic black brane and the magnetically charged AdS5 soliton, respectively. The two setups arise from different analytic continuations of the same saddle of the gravitational Euclidean path integral, in which the braneworld takes the form of a Maldacena-Maoz Euclidean wormhole. We show the existence of a holographic dual description of this setup in terms of a microscopic Euclidean boundary conformal field theory (BCFT) on a strip. By analyzing the BCFT Euclidean path integral, we show that the braneworld cosmology is encoded in a pure excited state of a CFT dual to a black brane microstate, whereas the braneworld wormhole is encoded in the ground state of the BCFT. The latter confines in the IR, and we study its confining properties using holography. We also comment on the properties of bulk reconstruction in the two Lorentzian pictures and their relationship via double analytic continuation. This work can be interpreted as an explicit, doubly-holographic realization of the relationship between cosmology, traversable wormholes, and confinement in holography, first proposed in arXiv:2102.05057, arXiv:2203.11220.

Statistical wave field theory.

In this paper, we introduce the foundations of the Statistical Wave Field Theory. This theory establishes the statistical laws of waves propagating in a closed bounded volume, that are mathematically implied by the boundary-value problem of the wave equation. These laws are derived from the Sturm-Liouville theory and the mathematical theory of dynamical billiards. They hold after many reflections on the boundary surface, and at high frequency. This is the first statistical theory of reverberation which provides the closed-form expression of the power distribution and the correlations of the wave field jointly over time, frequency, and space inside the bounded volume, in terms of the geometry and the specific admittance of its boundary surface. The Statistical Wave Field Theory may find applications in various science fields, including room acoustics, electromagnetic theory, and nuclear physics.

Rough neutron fields and nuclear reactor noise.

Nuclear reactor cores achieve sustained fission chain reactions through the so-called "critical state"-a subtle equilibrium between their material properties and their geometries. Observed at macroscopic scales during operations, the resulting stationary neutron field is tainted by a noise term that hinders various fluctuations occurring at smaller scales. These fluctuations are either of a stochastic nature (whenever the core is operated at low power) or related to various perturbations and vibrations within the core, even operated in its power regime. For reasons that are only partially understood using linear noise theory, incidental events have been reported, characterized by an increase of the power noise. Such events of power noise growth, sometimes up to seemingly unbounded levels, have already led in the past to voluntary scramming of reactors. In this paper, we will use a statistical field theory of critical processes to model the effects of neutron power noise. We will show that the evolution of the neutron field in a reactor is intimately connected to the dynamic of surface growths given by the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation. Recent numerical results emerging from renormalization-group approaches will be used to calculate a threshold in the amplitude of the reactor noise above which the core enters a new criticality state, and to estimate the critical exponents characterizing this phase transition to rough neutron fields. The theoretical model of nonlinear noise built in this paper from ab initio statistical mechanics principles will be correlated and compared to data of misunderstood reactor noise levels and reactor instabilities and will be shown to provide both qualitative and quantitative insights into this long-standing issue of reactor physics.

On the completeness of the $$\delta _{KLS}$$-generalized statistical field theory

On the completeness of the $$\delta _{KLS}$$-generalized statistical field theory

Stochastic Quantization of Two-Dimensional $$P(\Phi )$$ Quantum Field Theory

AbstractWe give a simple and self-contained construction of the $$P(\Phi )$$ P ( Φ ) Euclidean quantum field theory in the plane and verify the Osterwalder–Schrader axioms: translational and rotational invariance, reflection positivity and regularity. In the intermediate steps of the construction, we study measures on spheres. In order to control the infinite volume limit, we use the parabolic stochastic quantization equation and the energy method. To prove the translational and rotational invariance of the limit measure, we take advantage of the fact that the symmetry groups of the plane and the sphere have the same dimension.

Spin polarization in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Polarization has opened a new physics chapter in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Since the first prediction and experimental observation of global spin polarization, a lot of progress has been made in understanding its features, both at experimental and theoretical levels. In this paper, we give an overview on the recent advances in this field. The covered topics include a review of measurements of global and local spin polarization of hyperons and the global spin alignment of vector meson’s. We account for the basic theoretical framework to describe spin polarization in a relativistic fluid such as the Quark–Gluon Plasma, including statistical quantum field theory and local thermodynamic equilibrium, spin hydrodynamics, relativistic kinetic theory with spin and coalescence models.

Decay of correlations in stochastic quantization: the exponential Euclidean field in two dimensions

AbstractWe present two approaches to establish the exponential decay of correlation functions of Euclidean quantum field theories (EQFTs) via stochastic quantization (SQ). In particular we consider the elliptic stochastic quantization of the Høegh–Krohn (or $$\exp (\alpha \phi )_2$$ exp ( α ϕ ) 2 ) EQFT in two dimensions. The first method is based on a path-wise coupling argument and PDE apriori estimates, while the second on estimates of the Malliavin derivative of the solution to the SQ equation.

The Euclidean $\phi^{4}_{2}$ theory as a limit of an interacting Bose gas

We prove that the complex Euclidean field theory with local quartic self-interaction in two dimensions arises as a limit of an interacting Bose gas at positive temperature, when the density of the gas becomes large and the range of the interaction becomes small. The field theory is supported on distributions of negative regularity, which requires a renormalization by divergent mass and energy counterterms. We obtain convergence of the relative partition function and uniform convergence of the renormalized reduced density matrices. The proof is based on three main ingredients: (a) a quantitative analysis of the infinite-dimensional saddle point argument for the functional integral introduced by Fröhlich et al. (2022) using continuity properties of Brownian paths, (b) a Nelson-type estimate for a general nonlocal field theory in two dimensions, and (c) repeated Gaussian integration by parts in field space to obtain uniform control on the renormalized correlation functions. As a byproduct of our proof, in two and three dimensions we also extend the results on the mean-field limit by Fröhlich et al. (2022) and Lewin et al. (2021) to unbounded interaction potentials satisfying the optimal integrability conditions proposed by Bourgain (1997).

Statistical field theory of polarizable polymer chains with nonlocal dipolar interactions.

The electromechanical response of polymeric soft matter to applied electric fields is of fundamental scientific interest as well as relevant to technologies for sensing and actuation. Several existing theoretical and numerical approaches for polarizable polymers subject to a combined applied electric field and stretch are based on discrete monomer models. In these models, accounting for the interactions between the induced dipoles on monomers is challenging due to the nonlocality of these interactions. On the other hand, the framework of statistical field theory provides a continuous description of polymer chains that potentially enables a tractable way to account for these interactions. However, prior formulations using this framework have been restricted to the case of weak anisotropy of the monomer polarizability. This paper formulates a general approach based in the framework of statistical field theory to account for the nonlocal nature of the dipolar interactions without any restrictions on the anisotropy or nonlinearity of the polarizability of the monomer. The approach is based on three key elements: (1) the statistical field theory framework, in which the discrete monomers are regularized to a continuous dipole distribution, (2) a replacement of the nonlocal dipole-dipole interactions by the local electrostatics partial differential equationwith the continuous dipole distribution as the forcing, and (3) the use of a completely general relation between the polarization and the local electric field. Rather than treat the dipole-dipole interactions directly, the continuous description in the field theory enables the computationally tractable nonlocal-to-local transformation. Further, it enables the use of a realistic statistical-mechanical ensemble wherein the average far-field applied electric field is prescribed, rather than prescribing the applied field at every point in the polymer domain. The model is applied, using the finite element method, to study the electromechanical response of a polymer chain in the ensemble with fixed far-field applied electric field and fixed chain stretch. The nonlocal dipolar interactions are found to increase, over the case where dipole-dipole interactions are neglected, the magnitudes of the polarization and electric field by orders of magnitude as well as significantly change their spatial distributions. Next, the effect of the relative orientation between the applied field and the chain on the local electric field and polarization is studied. The model predicts that the elastic response of the polymer chain is linear, consistent with the Gaussian approximation, and largely unchanged by the orientation of the applied electric field, though the polarization and local electric field distributions are significantly impacted.

On the emergent “Quantum” theory in complex adaptive systems

We explore the concept of emergent quantum-like theory in complex adaptive systems, and examine in particular the concrete example of such an emergent (or “mock”) quantum theory in the Lotka–Volterra system. In general, we investigate the possibility of implementing the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics on classical systems, and what would be the conditions for using such an approach. We start from a standard description of a classical system via Hamilton–Jacobi (HJ) equation and reduce it to an effective Schrodinger-type equation, with a (mock) Planck constant ▪ , which is system-dependent. The condition for this is that the so-called quantum potential VQ, which is state-dependent, is canceled out by some additional term in the HJ equation. We consider this additional term to provide for the coupling of the classical system under consideration to the ‘environment’. We assume that a classical system could cancel out the VQ term (at least approximately) by fine tuning to the environment. This might provide a mechanism for establishing a stable, stationary states in (complex) adaptive systems, such as biological systems. In particular, we present a general argument as to why the non-equilibrium dynamics of a classical system could lead to a mock quantum description that ensures stability compatible with adaptability. In this context we emphasize the state dependent nature of the mock quantum dynamics and we also introduce the new concept of the mock quantum, state dependent, statistical field theory. We also discuss some universal features of the quantum-to-classical as well as the mock-quantum-to-classical transition found in the turbulent phase of the hydrodynamic formulation of our proposal. In this way we re-frame the concept of decoherence into the concept of ‘quantum turbulence’, i.e. that the transition between quantum and classical could be defined in analogy to the transition from laminar to turbulent flow in hydrodynamics.

A correspondence between deep Boltzmann machines and $p$-adic statistical field theories

A correspondence between deep Boltzmann machines and $p$-adic statistical field theories

Scaled affine quantization of φ312 is nontrivial

We prove through path integral Monte Carlo that the covariant Euclidean scalar field theory, [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] denotes the power of the interaction term and [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] as the spatial dimension and 1 adds imaginary time, such that [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] can be acceptably quantized using scaled affine quantization (AQ) and the resulting theory is nontrivial, unlike what happens using canonical quantization which finds it trivial.

Statistical field theory of mechanical stresses in Coulomb fluids: general covariant approach vs Noether’s theorem

In this paper, we introduce a statistical field theory that describes the macroscopic mechanical forces in inhomogeneous Coulomb fluids. Our approach employs the generalization of Noether’s first theorem for the case of a fluctuating order parameter to calculate the stress tensor for Coulomb fluids. This tensor encompasses the mean-field stress tensor and fluctuation corrections derived through the one-loop approximation. The correction for fluctuations includes a term that accounts for the thermal fluctuations of the local electrostatic potential and field in the vicinity of the mean-field configuration. This correlation stress tensor determines how electrostatic correlation affects local stresses in a nonuniform Coulomb fluid. We also use a previously formulated general covariant methodology (Brandyshev and Budkov 2023 J. Chem. Phys. 158 174114) in conjunction with a functional Legendre transformation method and derive within it the same total stress tensor. We would like to emphasize that our general approaches are applicable not only to Coulomb fluids but also to nonionic simple or complex fluids, for which the field-theoretic Hamiltonian is known as a function of the relevant scalar order parameters.

Bild Conception of Scientific Theory Structuring in Classical and Quantum Physics: From Hertz and Boltzmann to Schrödinger and De Broglie.

We start with a methodological analysis of the notion of scientific theory and its interrelation with reality. This analysis is based on the works of Helmholtz, Hertz, Boltzmann, and Schrödinger (and reviews of D'Agostino). Following Helmholtz, Hertz established the "Bild conception" for scientific theories. Here, "Bild" ("picture") carries the meaning "model" (mathematical). The main aim of natural sciences is construction of the causal theoretical models (CTMs) of natural phenomena. Hertz claimed that a CTM cannot be designed solely on the basis of observational data; it typically contains hidden quantities. Experimental data can be described by an observational model (OM), often based on the price of acausality. CTM-OM interrelation can be tricky. Schrödinger used the Bild concept to create a CTM for quantum mechanics (QM), and QM was treated as OM. We follow him and suggest a special CTM for QM, so-called prequantum classical statistical field theory (PCSFT). QM can be considered as a PCSFT image, but not as straightforward as in Bell's model with hidden variables. The common interpretation of the violation of the Bell inequality is criticized from the perspective of the two-level structuring of scientific theories. Such critical analysis of von Neumann and Bell no-go theorems for hidden variables was performed already by De Broglie (and Lochak) in the 1970s. The Bild approach is applied to the two-level CTM-OM modeling of Brownian motion: the overdamped regime corresponds to OM. In classical mechanics, CTM=OM; on the one hand, this is very convenient; on the other hand, this exceptional coincidence blurred the general CTM-OM structuring of scientific theories. We briefly discuss ontic-epistemic structuring of scientific theories (Primas-Atmanspacher) and its relation to the Bild concept. Interestingly, Atmanspacher as well as Hertz claim that even classical physical theories should be presented on the basic of two-level structuring.

Anomalous dimensions in hypercubic theories

We perform a comprehensive perturbative study of the operator spectrum in multi-scalar theories with hypercubic global symmetry. This includes working out symmetry representations and their corresponding tensor structures. These structures are then used to compute the anomalous dimensions of scalar operators with up to four fields and arbitrary representations to six-loop order. Moreover, we determine one-loop anomalous dimensions for a large number of low-lying operators in the spectrum which include more powers of the fundamental field and/or insertions of derivatives. As an aside we show how projectors used in the conformal bootstrap can be conveniently reused in computations of anomalous dimensions. The results of our study are of use to the conformal bootstrap. They also illuminate features of conformal perturbation theory and the large n expansion. Our results may be of interest for various crossover phenomena in statistical field theory. In total, we compute the scaling dimension of more than 300 operators, of which 16 are computed to six-loops. Our analysis is exhaustive with respect to group theory up to rank 4 for any number of flavours n, and also exhaustive with respect to which representations exist for n ⩽ 4.

Generalized Gaussian integrals with application to the Hubbard–Stratonovich transformation

We analyze a variety of Gaussian integrals with the aim of revisiting the derivation of the Hubbard–Stratonovich transformation as given in standard graduate-level textbooks and provide an overview of its applications. We pinpoint problematic steps in the usual discussions and propose careful derivations of the Hubbard–Stratonovich identity pertinent to a variety of situations relevant to statistical physics and quantum field theory. These derivations are based on direct use of either a resolution identity or a series expansion. A few homework problems for students are suggested.

Analog model for Euclidean wormholes effects

Using results of statistical field theory for systems with an anisotropic disorder, we present an analog model for Euclidean wormholes and topological fluctuation effects in a Riemannian space [Formula: see text]. The contribution of wormholes and topological fluctuations to the Euclidean gravitational functional integral is modeled by quenched randomness defined in the [Formula: see text] manifold. We obtain a disorder-averaged free energy by taking the average over all the realizations of the random fields. In the scenario of topology fluctuation, there appears a superposition of infinite branes that contribute to the physical quantities. All topology fluctuations can be understood as two distinct kinds of Euclidean wormholes: wormholes confined to one brane, and wormholes connecting different branes.

Is γKLS-generalized statistical field theory complete?

In this Letter we introduce some field-theoretic approach for computing the critical properties of γKLS-generalized systems undergoing continuous phase transitions, namely γKLS-statistical field theory. From this new approach emerges the new generalized O(N)γKLS universality class, which is capable of encompassing nonconventional critical exponents for real imperfect systems known as manganites not described by standard statistical field theory. We compare the generalized results with those obtained from measurements in manganites. The agreement was satisfactory, where the relative errors are <5% for the most of manganites used. Although the present approach describes the aforementioned nonconventional critical indices, we show that it is not complete. For example, it does not explain the results for some other manganites, being explained only for nonextensive statistical field theory recently introduced in literature. So, γKLS-statistical field theory has to be discarded for statistical mechanics generalization purposes.

Realizable Eddy Damped Markovian Anisotropic Closure for Turbulence and Rossby Wave Interactions

A realizable Eddy Damped Markovian Anisotropic Closure (EDMAC) is presented for the interaction of two-dimensional turbulence and transient waves such as Rossby waves. The structure of the EDMAC ensures that it is as computationally efficient as the eddy damped quasi normal Markovian (EDQNM) closure but, unlike the EDQNM, is guaranteed to be realizable in the presence of transient waves. Jack Herring’s important contributions to laying the foundations of statistical dynamical closure theories of fluid turbulence are briefly reviewed. The topics covered include equilibrium statistical mechanics, Eulerian and quasi-Lagrangian statistical dynamical closure theories, and the statistical dynamics of interactions of turbulence with topography. The impact of Herring’s work is described and placed in the context of related developments. Some of the further works that have built upon Herring’s foundations are discussed. The relationships between theoretical approaches employed in statistical classical and quantum field theories, and their overlap, are outlined. The seminal advances made by the pioneers in strong interaction fluid turbulence theory are put in perspective by comparing related developments in strong interaction quantum field theory.

Is Kaniadakis κ-generalized statistical mechanics general?

In this Letter we introduce some field-theoretic approach for computing the critical properties of systems undergoing continuous phase transitions governed by the κ-generalized statistics, namely κ-generalized statistical field theory. In particular, we show, by computations through analytic and simulation results, that the κ-generalized Ising-like systems are not capable of describing the nonconventional critical properties of real imperfect crystals, e.g. of manganites, as some alternative generalized theory is, namely nonextensive statistical field theory, as shown recently in literature. Although κ-Ising-like systems do not depend on κ, we show that a few distinct systems do. Thus the κ-generalized statistical field theory is not general, i.e. it fails to generalize Ising-like systems for describing the critical behavior of imperfect crystals, and must be discarded as one generalizing statistical mechanics. For the latter systems we present the physical interpretation of the theory by furnishing the general physical interpretation of the deformation κ-parameter.