Matrix Field Theory Research Articles

Renormalization in Combinatorially Non-Local Field Theories: the BPHZ Momentum Scheme

Various combinatorially non-local field theories are known to be renormalizable. Still, explicit calculations of amplitudes are very rare and restricted to matrix field theory. In this contribution I want to demonstrate how the BPHZ momentum scheme in terms of the Connes-Kreimer Hopf algebra applies to any combinatorially non-local field theory which is renormalizable. This algebraic method improves the understanding of known results in noncommutative field theory in its matrix formulation. Furthermore, I use it to provide new explicit perturbative calculations of amplitudes in tensorial field theories of rank r>2.

Renormalization in Combinatorially Non-Local Field Theories: The Hopf Algebra of 2-Graphs

Renormalization in perturbative quantum field theory is based on a Hopf algebra of Feynman diagrams. A precondition for this is locality. Therefore one might suspect that non-local field theories such as matrix or tensor field theories cannot benefit from a similar algebraic understanding. Here I show that, on the contrary, perturbative renormalization of a broad class of such field theories is based in the same way on a Hopf algebra. Their interaction vertices have the structure of graphs. This gives the necessary concept of locality and leads to Feynman diagrams defined as “2-graphs” which generate the Hopf algebra. These results set the stage for a systematic study of perturbative renormalization as well as non-perturbative aspects, e.g. Dyson-Schwinger equations, for a number of combinatorially non-local field theories with possible applications to random geometry and quantum gravity.

Diagrammatic Monte Carlo for the weak-coupling expansion of non-Abelian lattice field theories: Large- N U(N)×U(N) principal chiral model

We develop numerical tools for Diagrammatic Monte-Carlo simulations of non-Abelian lattice field theories in the t'Hooft large-N limit based on the weak-coupling expansion. First we note that the path integral measure of such theories contributes a bare mass term in the effective action which is proportional to the bare coupling constant. This mass term renders the perturbative expansion infrared-finite and allows to study it directly in the large-N and infinite-volume limits using the Diagrammatic Monte-Carlo approach. On the exactly solvable example of a large-N O(N) sigma model in D=2 dimensions we show that this infrared-finite weak-coupling expansion contains, in addition to powers of bare coupling, also powers of its logarithm, reminiscent of re-summed perturbation theory in thermal field theory and resurgent trans-series without exponential terms. We numerically demonstrate the convergence of these double series to the manifestly non-perturbative dynamical mass gap. We then develop a Diagrammatic Monte-Carlo algorithm for sampling planar diagrams in the large-N matrix field theory, and apply it to study this infrared-finite weak-coupling expansion for large-N U(N)xU(N) nonlinear sigma model (principal chiral model) in D=2. We sample up to 12 leading orders of the weak-coupling expansion, which is the practical limit set by the increasingly strong sign problem at high orders. Comparing Diagrammatic Monte-Carlo with conventional Monte-Carlo simulations extrapolated to infinite N, we find a good agreement for the energy density as well as for the critical temperature of the "deconfinement" transition. Finally, we comment on the applicability of our approach to planar QCD at zero and finite density.

General covariance from the quantum renormalization group

The Quantum renormalization group (QRG) is a realisation of holography through a coarse graining prescription that maps the beta functions of a quantum field theory thought to live on the `boundary' of some space to holographic actions in the `bulk' of this space. A consistency condition will be proposed that translates into general covariance of the gravitational theory in the $D + 1$ dimensional bulk. This emerges from the application of the QRG on a planar matrix field theory living on the $D$ dimensional boundary. This will be a particular form of the Wess--Zumino consistency condition that the generating functional of the boundary theory needs to satisfy. In the bulk, this condition forces the Poisson bracket algebra of the scalar and vector constraints of the dual gravitational theory to close in a very specific manner, namely, the manner in which the corresponding constraints of general relativity do. A number of features of the gravitational theory will be fixed as a consequence of this form of the Poisson bracket algebra. In particular, it will require the metric beta function to be of gradient form.

Anatomy of quantum critical wave functions in dissipative impurity problems

Quantum phase transitions reflect singular changes taking place in a many-body ground state, however, computing and analyzing large-scale critical wave functions constitutes a formidable challenge. New physical insights into the sub-Ohmic spin-boson model are provided by the coherent state expansion (CSE), which represents the wave function by a linear combination of classically displaced configurations. We find that the distribution of low-energy displacements displays an emergent symmetry in the absence of spontaneous symmetry breaking, while experiencing strong fluctuations of the order parameter near the quantum critical point. Quantum criticality provides two strong fingerprints in critical low-energy modes: an algebraic decay of the average displacement and a constant universal average squeezing amplitude. These observations, confirmed by extensive variational matrix product states (VMPS) simulations and field theory arguments, offer precious clues into the microscopics of critical many-body states in quantum impurity models.

Universal coefficient of the exact correlator of a large-Nmatrix field theory

Exact expressions have been proposed for correlation functions of the large-$N$ (planar) limit of the $(1+1)$-dimensional ${\rm SU}(N)\times {\rm SU}(N)$ principal chiral sigma model. These were obtained with the form-factor bootstrap. The short-distance form of the two-point function of the scaling field $\Phi(x)$, was found to be $N^{-1}\langle {\rm Tr}\,\Phi(0)^{\dagger} \Phi(x)\rangle=C_{2}\ln^{2}mx$, where $m$ is the mass gap, in agreement with the perturbative renormalization group. Here we point out that the universal coefficient $C_{2}$, is proportional to the mean first-passage time of a L\'{e}vy flight in one dimension. This observation enables us to calculate $C_{2}=1/16\pi$.

Decoding perturbation theory using resurgence: Stokes phenomena, new saddle points and Lefschetz thimbles

Resurgence theory implies that the non-perturbative (NP) and perturbative (P) data in a QFT are quantitatively related, and that detailed information about non-perturbative saddle point field configurations of path integrals can be extracted from perturbation theory. Traditionally, only stable NP saddle points are considered in QFT, and homotopy group considerations are used to classify them. However, in many QFTs the relevant homotopy groups are trivial, and even when they are non-trivial they leave many NP saddle points undetected. Resurgence provides a refined classification of NP-saddles, going beyond conventional topological considerations. To demonstrate some of these ideas, we study the SU(N) principal chiral model (PCM), a two dimensional asymptotically free matrix field theory which has no instantons, because the relevant homotopy group is trivial. Adiabatic continuity is used to reach a weakly coupled regime where NP effects are calculable. We then use resurgence theory to uncover the existence and role of novel ‘fracton’ saddle points, which turn out to be the fractionalized constituents of previously observed unstable ‘uniton’ saddle points. The fractons play a crucial role in the physics of the PCM, and are responsible for the dynamically generated mass gap of the theory. Moreover, we show that the fracton-anti-fracton events are the weak coupling realization of ’t Hooft’s renormalons, and argue that the renormalon ambiguities are systematically cancelled in the semi-classical expansion. Our results motivate the conjecture that the semi-classical expansion of the path integral can be geometrized as a sum over Lefschetz thimbles.

Seeing asymptotic freedom in an exact correlator of a large-Nmatrix field theory

Exact expressions for correlation functions are known for the large-$N$ (planar) limit of the $(1+1)$-dimensional ${\rm SU}(N)\times {\rm SU}(N)$ principal chiral sigma model. These were obtained with the form-factor bootstrap, an entirely nonperturbative method. The large-$N$ solution of this asymptotically-free model is far less trivial than that of O($N$) sigma model (or other isovector models). Here we study the Euclidean two-point correlation function $N^{-1}< {\rm Tr}\,\Phi(0)^{\dagger} \Phi(x)>$, where $\Phi(x)\sim Z^{-1/2}U(x)$ is the scaling field and $U(x)\in SU(N)$ is the bare field. We express the two-point function in terms of the spectrum of the operator $\sqrt{-d^{2}/du^{2}}$, where $u\in (-1,1)$. At short distances, this expression perfectly matches the result from the perturbative renormalization group.

Quantum renormalization group and holography

Quantum renormalization group scheme provides a microscopic understanding of holography through a general mapping between the beta functions of underlying quantum field theories and the holographic actions in the bulk. We show that the Einstein gravity emerges as a holographic description upto two derivative order for a matrix field theory which has no other operator with finite scaling dimension except for the energymomentum tensor. We also point out that holographic actions for general large N matrix field theories respect the inversion symmetry along the radial direction in the bulk if the beta functions of single-trace operators are gradient flows with respect to the target space metric set by the beta functions of double-trace operators.

Background independent holographic description: from matrix field theory to quantum gravity

We propose a local renormalization group procedure where length scale is changed in spacetime dependent way. Combining this scheme with an earlier observation that high energy modes in renormalization group play the role of dynamical sources for low energy modes at each scale, we provide a prescription to derive background independent holographic duals for field theories. From a first principle construction, it is shown that the holographic theory dual to a D-dimensional matrix field theory is a (D+1)-dimensional quantum theory of gravity coupled with matter fields of various spins. The gravitational theory has (D+1) first-class constraints which generate local spacetime transformations in the bulk. The (D+1)-dimensional diffeomorphism invariance is a consequence of the freedom to choose different local RG schemes.

Ising Deconfinement Transition between Feshbach-Resonant Superfluids

We investigate the phase diagram of bosons interacting via Feshbach-resonant pairing interactions in a one-dimensional lattice. Using large scale density matrix renormalization group and field theory techniques we explore the atomic and molecular correlations in this low-dimensional setting. We provide compelling evidence for an Ising deconfinement transition occurring between distinct superfluids and extract the Ising order parameter and correlation length of this unusual superfluid transition. This is supported by results for the entanglement entropy which reveal both the location of the transition and critical Ising degrees of freedom on the phase boundary.

Diagonal multi-matrix correlators and BPS operators in 𝒩 = 4 SYM

We present a complete basis of multi-trace multi-matrix operators that has a diagonal two point function for the free matrix field theory at finite N. This generalises to multiple matrices the single matrix diagonalisation by Schur polynomials. Crucially, it involves intertwining the gauge group U(N) and the global symmetry group U(M) with Clebsch-Gordan coefficients of symmetric groups Sn. When applied to = 4 super Yang-Mills we consider the U(3) subgroup of the full symmetry group. The diagonalisation allows the description of a dual basis to multi-traces, which permits the characterisation of the metric on operators transforming in short representations at weak coupling. This gives a framework for the comparison of quarter and eighth-BPS giant gravitons of AdS5 × S5 spacetime to gauge invariant operators of the dual = 4 SYM.

2 + 1 ABELIAN "GAUGE THEORY" INSPIRED BY IDEAL HYDRODYNAMICS

We study a possibly integrable model of Abelian gauge fields on a two-dimensional surface M, with volume form μ. It has the same phase-space as ideal hydrodynamics, a coadjoint orbit of the volume-preserving diffeomorphism group of M. Gauge field Poisson brackets differ from the Heisenberg algebra, but are reminiscent of Yang–Mills theory on a null surface. Enstrophy invariants are Casimirs of the Poisson algebra of gauge invariant observables. Some symplectic leaves of the Poisson manifold are identified. The Hamiltonian is a magnetic energy, similar to that of electrodynamics, and depends on a metric whose volume element is not a multiple of μ. The magnetic field evolves by a quadratically nonlinear "Euler" equation, which may also be regarded as describing geodesic flow on SDiff (M, μ). Static solutions are obtained. For uniform μ, an infinite sequence of local conserved charges beginning with the Hamiltonian are found. The charges are shown to be in involution, suggesting integrability. Besides being a theory of a novel kind of ideal flow, this is a toy-model for Yang–Mills theory and matrix field theories, whose gauge-invariant phase-space is conjectured to be a coadjoint orbit of the diffeomorphism group of a noncommutative space.

Steepest descent calculation of RNA pseudoknots

We enumerate possible topologies of pseudoknots in single-stranded RNA molecules. We use a steepest-descent approximation in the large N matrix field theory, and a Feynman diagram formalism to describe the resulting pseudoknot structure.

Simplicial vs. continuum string theory and loop equations

We derive loop equations in a scalar matrix field theory. We discuss their solutions in terms of simplicial string theory -- the theory describing embeddings of two--dimensional simplicial complexes into the space--time of the matrix field theory. This relation between the loop equations and the simplicial string theory gives further arguments that favor one of the statements of the paper hep-th/0407018. The statement is that there is an equivalence between the partition function of the simplicial string theory and the functional integral in a continuum string theory -- the theory describing embeddings of smooth two--dimensional world--sheets into the space--time of the matrix field theory in question.

On the relation between non-commutative field theories at = and largeNmatrix field theories

It is well-known that non-commutative (NC) field theories at theta = infinity are ``equivalent'' to large N matrix field theories to all orders in perturbation theory, due to the dominance of planar diagrams. By formulating a NC field theory on the lattice non-perturbatively and mapping it onto a twisted reduced model, we point out that the above equivalence does not hold if the translational symmetry of the NC field theory is broken spontaneously. As an example we discuss NC scalar field theory, where such a spontaneous symmetry breakdown has been confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations.

Transport properties of clean and disordered superconductors in matrix field theory

A comprehensive field theory is developed for superconductors with quenched disorder. We first show that the matrix field theory, used previously to describe a disordered Fermi liquid and a disordered itinerant ferromagnet, also has a saddle-point solution that describes a disordered superconductor. A general gap equation is obtained. We then expand about the saddle point to Gaussian order to explicitly obtain the physical correlation functions. The ultrasonic attenuation, number density susceptibility, spin-density susceptibility, and the electrical conductivity are used as examples. Results in the clean limit and in the disordered case are discussed, respectively. This formalism is expected to be a powerful tool to study the quantum phase transitions between the normal-metal state and the superconductor state.

LARGE N MATRIX MECHANICS ON THE LIGHT-CONE

We report a simplification in the large N matrix mechanics of light-cone matrix field theories. The absence of pure creation or pure annihilation terms in the Hamiltonian formulation of these theories allows us to find their reduced large N Hamiltonians as explicit functions of the generators of the Cuntz algebra. This opens up a free-algebraic playground of new reduced models — all of which exhibit new hidden conserved quantities at large N and all of whose eigenvalue problems are surprisingly simple. The basic tool we develop for the study of these models is the infinite dimensional algebra of all normal-ordered products of Cuntz operators, and this algebra also leads us to a special number-conserving subset of these models, each of which exhibits an infinite number of new hidden conserved quantities at large N.

RNA folding and large N matrix theory

We formulate the RNA folding problem as an N× N matrix field theory. This matrix formalism allows us to give a systematic classification of the terms in the partition function according to their topological character. The theory is set up in such a way that the limit N→∞ yields the so-called secondary structure (Hartree theory). Tertiary structure and pseudo-knots are obtained by calculating the 1/ N 2 corrections to the partition function. We propose a generalization of the Hartree recursion relation to generate the tertiary structure.

LargeN Matrix Field Theories

We discuss aspects of recent novel approaches towards understanding the large N limit of matrix field theories with local or global non-abelian symmetry.