Scalar Field Theory Research Articles

Scattering of kinks in scalar-field models with higher-order self-interactions

Higher-order scalar field models in two dimensions, including the ϕ8 model, have been researched. It has been shown that for some special cases of the minima positions of the potential, the explicit kink solutions can be found. However, in physical applications, it is very important to know all the explicit solutions of a model for any minima position. In the present study, with the help of some deformation functions, we have shown that higher-order scalar field theories can be obtained with explicit kinks. In particular, we introduced two deformation functions that, when applied to the well known ϕ4 and ϕ6 models, produce modified ϕ8 and ϕ10 models, respectively, with all their explicit kink-like solutions which depend on a single parameter. Since this parameter controls the position of the minima of the potential, we have found interesting new solutions in many distinct cases. We have also studied the kink mass, the behavior of the excitation spectra and several kink-antikink collisions for these two new modified models. The collision outcome is determined by the initial configuration, specifically the sequence in which the kink-antikink and antikink-kink pairings emerge. Another interesting finding is the suppression of resonance windows, which may be explained by the presence of a set of internal modes in the model.

Vacuum energy in the effective field theory of general relativity with a scalar field

A consistency condition of general relativity as an effective field theory in Minkowskian background uniquely fixes the value of the cosmological constant. In two-loop calculations, including the interaction of gravitons with matter fields, it has been shown that this value of the cosmological constant leads to vanishing vacuum energy, under the assumption that the energy-momentum tensor of the gravitational field is given by the pseudotensor of Landau-Lifshitz’s classic textbook. Here, we demonstrate that this result also holds when the self-interaction of a scalar field is taken into account. That is, our two-loop-order calculation suggests that, in an effective field theory of metric and scalar fields, one arrives at a consistent theory with massless gravitons if the cosmological constant is fixed from the condition of vanishing vacuum energy. Vice versa, imposing the consistency condition in Minkowskian background leads to a vanishing vacuum energy. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Emergence of String Monodromy in Effective Field Theory.

We demonstrate that when the field theory Kleiss-Kuijf and Bern-Carrasco-Johansson relations are imposed on one color ordering of general local bi-adjoint scalar effective field theories, the string monodromy relations must be obeyed by the other color ordering. This is a surprising example of an open string world-sheet property appearing in a purely field theoretic context. As part of the derivation, we show that nonlinear relations among the four-point Wilson coefficients arise from imposing linear symmetries on the six-point amplitude via factorization.

Position dependent mass dissipative scalar field at finite temperature

Position dependent mass dissipative scalar field is a theoretical framework that combines the concepts of position-dependent mass and dissipative systems in the context of scalar field theory. In this framework, the mass of the scalar field is allowed to vary with position, leading to interesting physical phenomena such as non-locality and non-Hermiticity. We consider a generalized classical Lagrangian for the system and by developing a theoretical formulation, quantized system canonically. In follow, two-point correlation functions of the system is obtained at finite temperature and Free energy of the system is calculated in terms of Matsubara frequencies. This research can provide insights into the behavior of particles and fields in non-uniform environments, and has potential applications in various fields of physics.

On the (in)consistency of perturbation theory at finite temperature

A well-known difficulty of perturbative approaches to quantum field theory at finite temperature is the necessity to address theoretical constraints that are not present in the vacuum theory. In this work, we use lattice simulations of scalar correlation functions in massive ϕ4 theory to analyse the extent to which these constraints affect the perturbative predictions. We find that the standard perturbative predictions deteriorate even in the absence of infrared divergences at relatively low temperatures, and that this is directly connected to the analytic structure of the propagators used in the expansion. This suggests that the incorporation of non-perturbative thermal effects in the propagators is essential for a consistent perturbative formulation of scalar quantum field theories at finite temperature. By utilising the spectral constraints imposed on finite-temperature correlation functions, we explore how these effects manifest themselves in the lattice data, and discuss why the presence of distinct thermoparticle excitations provides a potential resolution to these issues.

A scalar field theory of 1+1-dimensional laser wakefield accelerators

Abstract A relativistic non-linear scalar field theory is developed from a 2+2-dimensional decomposition of the cold plasma field equations, and the theory is used to investigate a 1+1-dimensional description of a laser wakefield accelerator. The relationship between the properties of a compact laser pulse and its wake is explored. Non-linear solutions are sought describing a regular (i.e. unbroken) wake driven by a prescribed rectangular circularly-polarised laser pulse. An upper bound on the dimensionless amplitude a 0 of the laser pulse is determined as a function of the phase speed v of the wake. The asymptotic behaviour of the upper bound on a 0 as v → c is shown to agree with well-established, but approximate, results obtained using the conventional encoding of the plasma degrees of freedom. Our approach leads to a closed-form expression for the upper bound on a 0 which is exact for all values of the phase speed of the wake, unlike conventional results that are applicable only when v is sufficiently close to c.

Capacity of entanglement for scalar fields in squeezed states

We study various aspects of capacity of entanglement in the squeezed states of a scalar field theory. This quantity is a quantum informational counterpart of heat capacity and characterizes the width of the eigenvalue spectrum of the reduced density matrix. In particular, we carefully examine the dependence of capacity of entanglement and its universal terms on the squeezing parameter in the specific regimes of the parameter space. Remarkably, we find that the capacity of entanglement obeys a volume law in the large squeezing limit. We discuss how these results are consistent with the behavior of other entanglement measures including entanglement and Renyi entropies. We also comment on the existence of consistent holographic duals for a family of Gaussian states with generic squeezing parameter based on the ratio of entanglement entropy and the capacity of entanglement. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Carroll-invariant propagating fields

We construct Carroll-invariant theories with fields propagating outside the Carroll light cone, i.e., at a speed strictly greater than zero (“Carroll swiftons”). We first consider models in flat Carroll spacetime in general dimensions, where we present scalar and vector Carroll swifton field theories. We then turn to the coupling to gravity and achieve in particular in two dimensions a Carroll-invariant scalar swifton by coupling it suitably to Carroll dilaton gravity. Its backreaction on the geometry generates dynamical torsion. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Effectively flat potential in the Friedberg–Lee–Sirlin model

The Friedberg–Lee–Sirlin (FLS) model is a well-known renormalizable theory of scalar fields that provides for the existence of non-topological solitons. Since this model was proposed, numerous works have been dedicated to studying its classical configurations and its general suitability for various physical problems in cosmology, quantum chromodynamics, etc. In this paper, we study how Q-balls in effective field theory (EFT) reproduce non-topological solitons in the full FLS theory. We obtain an analytical description of the simplified model and compare the results with numerical calculations and perturbation theory. We also study the condensation of charged bosons on the domain wall. A full numerical solution allows us to check the EFT methods for this problem. The latter analysis is based on the application of EFT methods to significantly inhomogeneous configurations. We give an interpretation of the results in terms of the shifted boson mass and the vacuum rearrangement.

Loop correction and resummation of vertex functions for a self interacting scalar field in the de Sitter spacetime

We consider a massless and minimally coupled self interacting quantum scalar field theory in the inflationary de Sitter background of dimension four. The self interaction potential is taken to be either quartic, λϕ4/4!, or quartic plus cubic, λϕ4/4!+βϕ3/3! (λ>0). We compute the four and three point vertex functions up to two loop. The purely local or partly local part of these renormalised loop corrected vertex functions grow unboundedly after sufficient number of de Sitter e-foldings, due to the appearances of secular logarithms. We focus on the purely local part of the vertex functions and attempt a resummation of them in terms of the dynamically generated mass of the scalar field at late times. Such local logarithms have sub-leading powers compared to the non-local leading ones which can be resummed via the stochastic formalism. The variation of these vertex functions are investigated with respect to the tree level couplings numerically. Since neither the secular effect, nor the dynamical generation of field mass is possible in the Minkowski spacetime, the above phenomenon has no flat spacetime analogue. We have also compared our result with the ones that could be found via the recently proposed renormalisation group techniques. All these results suggest that at late times the value of the non-perturbative vertex function should be less than the tree level coupling.

Coupling renormalization flow in the strongly interacting regime of an asymptotically free quantum field theory in four dimensions

We consider a scalar quantum field theory with global O(N)3 symmetry in four Euclidean dimensions and solve it numerically in closed form in the large-N limit. For imaginary tetrahedral coupling the theory is asymptotically free, with stable and real quantum effective action. We demonstrate the dynamical build-up of a strong interaction as the correlation length increases in a regime where the coupling renormalization flow remains well defined in the infrared. This is in contrast to perturbative results of asymptotically free theories, which predict that the coupling becomes ill defined in the infrared, like in quantum chromodynamics. These properties make the model an important laboratory for the study of strong-coupling phenomena in quantum field theory from first principles. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

First order phase transition with the functional renormalization group method

The renormalization group method, more specifically the Wegner-Houghton equation, is used to find first order phase transitions in a simple scalar field theory with a polynomial potential. An improved definition of the running parameters allows us to explore the renormalization group flow down to the IR endpoint and to locate phase transitions. Beyond the expected first order transition further radiative correction generated first and second order transitions are found. The phase diagram is reviewed by a Monte-Carlo simulation of the lattice regulated version of the theory but the serious slow down of the convergence prevents us from obtaining conclusive results from the simulation. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Celestial holography revisited. Part II. Correlators and Källén-Lehmann

In this work we continue the investigation of the extrapolate dictionary for celestial holography recently proposed in [1], at both the perturbative and non-perturbative level. Focusing on scalar field theories, we give a complete set of Feynman rules for extrapolate celestial correlation functions and their radial reduction in the hyperbolic slicing of Minkowski space. We prove to all orders in perturbation theory that celestial correlators can be rewritten in terms of corresponding Witten diagrams in EAdS which, in the hyperbolic slicing of Minkowski space, follows from the fact that the same is true in dS space. We then initiate the study of non-perturbative properties of celestial correlators, deriving the radial reduction of the Källén-Lehmann spectral representation of the exact Minkowski two-point function. We discuss the analytic properties of the radially reduced spectral function, which is a meromorphic function of the spectral parameter, and highlight a connection with the Watson-Sommerfeld transform.

On the interplay between boundary conditions and the Lorentzian Wetterich equation

In the framework of the functional renormalization group and of the perturbative, algebraic approach to quantum field theory (pAQFT), in D’Angelo et al. [Ann. Henri Poinc. 25 (2024) 2295–2352] it has been derived a Lorentzian version of a flow equation à la Wetterich, which can be used to study nonlinear, quantum scalar field theories on a globally hyperbolic spacetime. In this work, we show that the realm of validity of this result can be extended to study interacting scalar field theories on globally hyperbolic manifolds with a timelike boundary. By considering the specific examples of half-Minkowski spacetime and of the Poincaré patch of Anti-de Sitter, we show that the form of the Lorentzian Wetterich equation is strongly dependent on the boundary conditions assigned to the underlying field theory. In addition, using a numerical approach, we are able to provide strong evidences that there is a qualitative and not only a quantitative difference in the associated flow and we highlight this feature by considering Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions on half-Minkowski spacetime.

Symmetry restoration in transverse diffeomorphism invariant scalar field theories

Symmetry restoration in transverse diffeomorphism invariant scalar field theories

Dynamics of a higher-dimensional Einstein–Scalar–Gauss–Bonnet cosmology

We study the dynamics of the field equations in a five-dimensional spatially flat Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric in the context of a Gauss–Bonnet–Scalar field theory where the quintessence scalar field is coupled to the Gauss–Bonnet scalar. Contrary to the four-dimensional Gauss–Bonnet theory, where the Gauss–Bonnet term does not contribute to the field equations, in this five-dimensional Einstein–Scalar–Gauss–Bonnet model, the Gauss–Bonnet term contributes to the field equations even when the coupling function is a constant. Additionally, we consider a more general coupling described by a power-law function. For the scalar field potential, we consider the exponential function. For each choice of the coupling function, we define a set of dimensionless variables and write the field equations into a system of ordinary differential equations. We perform a detailed analysis of the dynamics for both systems and classify the stability of the equilibrium points. We determine the presence of scaling and super-collapsing solutions using the cosmological deceleration parameter. This means that our models can explain the Universe’s early and late-time acceleration phases. Consequently, this model can be used to study inflation or as a dark energy candidate.

Perturbations of Q-balls: from spectral structure to radiation pressure

We investigate Q-balls in a 1+1 dimensional complex scalar field theory. We find that the relaxation of a squashed Q-ball is dominated by the decay of a normal mode through nonlinear coupling to scattering modes and a long-lasting quasi-normal mode. We also study how these Q-balls behave when exposed to scalar radiation, finding that for certain conditions they can experience negative radiation pressure.

Probing the quantum nature of gravity using a Bose-Einstein condensate

The effect of noise induced by gravitons has been investigated using a Bose-Einstein condensate. The general complex scalar field theory with a quadratic self-interaction term has been considered in the presence of a gravitational wave. The gravitational wave perturbation is then considered as a sum of discrete Fourier modes in the momentum space. Varying the action and making use of the principle of least action, one obtains two equations of motion corresponding to the gravitational perturbation and the time-dependent part of the pseudo-Goldstone boson. Coming to an operatorial representation and quantizing the phase space variables via appropriately introduced canonical commutation relations between the canonically conjugate variables corresponding to the graviton and bosonic part of the total system, one obtains a proper quantum gravity setup. Then we obtain the Bogoliubov coefficients from the solution of the time-dependent part of the pseudo-Goldstone boson and construct the covariance metric for the bosons initially being in a squeezed state. The entries of the covariance matrix now involves a stochastic contribution which results in an operatorial stochastic structure of the quantum Fisher information. Using the stochastic average of the Fisher information, we obtain a lower bound on the amplitude parameter of the gravitational wave. As the entire calculation is done at zero temperature, the bosonic system, by construction, will behave as a Bose-Einstein condensate. For a Bose-Einstein condensate with a single mode, we observe that the lower bound of the expectation value of the square of the uncertainty in the amplitude measurement does not become infinite when the total observational term approaches zero. It always has a finite value if the gravitons are initially in a squeezed state with high enough squeezing. In order to sum over all possible momentum modes, we next consider a noise term with a suitable Gaussian weight factor which decays over time. We then obtain the lower bound on the final expectation value of the square of the variance in the amplitude parameter. Because of the noise induced by the graviton, there is a minimum value of the measurement time below which it is impossible to detect any gravitational wave using a Bose-Einstein condensate. Finally, we consider interaction between the phonon modes of the Bose-Einstein condensate which results in a decoherence. We observe that the decoherence effect becomes significant for gravitons with minimal squeezing. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Quantum Error Correction Realized by the Renormalization Group in Scalar Field Theories

Abstract We demonstrate that quantum error correction is realized by the renormalization group in scalar field theories. We construct q-level states by using coherent states in the IR region. By acting on them the inverse of the unitary operator U that describes the renormalization group flow of the ground state, we encode them into states in the UV region. We find the situations in which the Knill–Laflamme condition is satisfied for operators that create coherent states. We verify this to the first order in the perturbation theory. This result suggests a general relationship between the renormalization group and quantum error correction and should give insights into understanding the role played by them in the gauge/gravity correspondence.

Perturbative versus non-perturbative renormalization

Approximated functional renormalization group (FRG) equations lead to regulator-dependent β-functions, in analogy to the scheme-dependence of the perturbative renormalization group (pRG) approach. A scheme transformation redefines the couplings to relate the β-functions of the FRG method with an arbitrary regulator function to the pRG ones obtained in a given scheme. Here, we consider a periodic sine-Gordon scalar field theory in d = 2 dimensions and show that the relation of the FRG and pRG approaches is intricate. Although both the FRG and the pRG methods are known to be sufficient to obtain the critical frequency βc2=8π of the model independently of the choice of the regulator and the renormalization scheme, we show that one has to go beyond the standard pRG method (e.g. using an auxiliary mass term) or the Coulomb-gas representation in order to obtain the β-function of the wave function renormalization. This aspect makes the scheme transformation non-trivial. Comparing flow equations of the two-dimensional sine-Gordon theory without any scheme-transformation, i.e. redefinition of couplings, we find that the auxiliary mass pRG β-functions of the minimal subtraction scheme can be recovered within the FRG approach with the choice of the power-law regulator with b = 2, which therefore constitutes a preferred choice for the comparison of FRG and pRG flows.