M-theory geometric engineering on manifolds of special holonomy yields a rich class of novel field theories. In this paper, we construct new 3d 𝒩 = 2 and 𝒩 = 4 gauge theories, realized as mass-deformations of theories with 16 supercharges, within this framework. These arise from non-compact 8d geometries given by fibrations of ℝ /Γ over Bieberbach 4-manifolds. The existence of consistent Spin(7)-structures on the 8d spaces requires the rotational holonomy of the Bieberbach spaces to act on the Sp(1)-structure of the fibers. Furthermore, we analyze Higgsing the 7d 𝒩 = 1 ADE gauge theories induced by the action of a permutation group on the centres of the corresponding ℝ /Γ spaces. We show that this operation admits a natural interpretation in terms of nilpotent, upper-triangular, Higgsing, although it breaks supersymmetry. Supersymmetry is restored by fibering the singular geometry over a compact internal space, whose structure group is chosen to coincide with the permutation group to implement the nilpotent Higgsing. We refer to such backgrounds as T-geometries, where “T” denotes the triangular nature of the nilpotent Higgsing. Within this framework, we investigate the nilpotent Higgsing of the 3d 𝒩 = 2 and 4d 𝒩 = 1 theories, where the rotational holonomy groups of the Bieberbach spaces realize the permutation groups. We demonstrate that the Higgs branch moduli are encoded by specific elements of the Slodowy slices associated with nilpotent elements. Moreover, we demonstrate that additional elements of the same slice give rise to non-chiral charged matter under the unbroken gauge algebra. We establish that both the Higgs branch moduli and the charged matter are massless and admit a natural interpretation as localized matter.

China

Marwan Najjar

M-theory and T-geometry: Higgs branch moduli and charged matter

We investigate DC transport in a top-down construction of thermal QGP-like theories using a holographic $$ \mathcal{M} $$ -theoretic background, incorporating quartic curvature corrections. The DC and Hall conductivities are computed from the Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) action of the corresponding type-IIA probe $\textit{D}$6 flavor branes via the reality condition method proposed in [1, 2]. We further analyze pair-production contributions in the presence and absence of an external magnetic field and work out regimes where thermal pair production dominates over charge carrier transport. These findings extend earlier AdS/CFT results to non-conformal, higher-derivative settings relevant to thermal QGP-like theories.

India

Shivam Kushwah

Charge transport in magnetized holographic $$ \mathcal{M} $$ -QGP

Currently, the kinetic mass is defined in terms of the pole mass and operators at order $$1/{m}_{Q}^{2}$$ , which are known to N LO accuracy in $\textit{α}$ . At the same time, the Heavy Quark Expansion (HQE) for inclusive semileptonic decays is known up to and including terms of order $$1/{m}_{Q}^{5}$$ . Therefore, it is desirable to extend the definition of the kinetic mass to higher orders in 1/$\textit{m}$ . The original kinetic mass is based on the hadron-mass formula in Heavy Quark Effective Theory (HQET). However, the HQE is formulated in terms of matrix elements defined in full QCD to avoid the appearance of non-local matrix elements. To match this, we develop a definition of the kinetic mass rooted in full QCD. Starting from the hadron-mass formula derived from the energy-momentum tensor of full QCD, we define a relation between a general mass and the pole mass. Using a simple cut-off scheme, we compute a generalized kinetic mass at one loop to all powers of 1/$\textit{m}$ , which reproduces the well-known results for the kinetic mass up to $$1/{m}_{Q}^{2}$$ . Our approach opens the road to a consistent use of the kinetic mass at higher-orders in the heavy quark expansion.

Germany

Thomas Mannel

Ilija Milutin

Netherlands

Rens Verkade

K. Keri Vos

Extending the kinetic mass to higher orders in 1$\textit{/m}$ $\textit{Q}$

We apply the localization method to the BFSS matrix model with a particular class of boundary conditions, that is related to a scattering problem of 11-dimensional M-theory. For the boundary condition that corresponds to the three-point amplitude of gravitons, we exactly compute the partition function of the model based on the localization method. We find that the result correctly reproduces the expected momentum dependence of the three point amplitude.

Japan

Yuhma Asano

Goro Ishiki

Yoshua Murayama

Localization of the BFSS matrix model and three-point amplitude in M-theory

<p>The flux of Hidden Sector particles from the Galactic halo reaching an underground detector can be significantly attenuated by interactions within the Earth for sufficiently large scattering cross- sections. This attenuation gives rise to a characteristic daily modulation in the detection rate, due to Earth’s rotation. We present results from a search for such a modulation using a 1.257 kg-day dataset collected with the DAMIC-M Low Background Chamber. A model-independent analysis reveals no significant modulation in the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mn>1</mn><msup><mrow><mi>e</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow></msup></mrow></math> event rate over periods from 1 to 48 h, highlighting the excellent temporal stability of the detector. In a complementary model-dependent analysis, we target the expected daily modulation signature of Hidden Sector particles, with masses in the range <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mo stretchy="false">[</mo><mn>0.53</mn><mo>,</mo><mi>2</mi><mo stretchy="false">]</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mrow><mi>MeV</mi><mo>/</mo></mrow><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">c</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></math>, interacting with electrons via a dark photon mediator. By leveraging the expected temporal evolution of the signal, we set improved constraints on Dark Matter masses below <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>1.2</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi><mo>/</mo><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">c</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></math>, surpassing our previous limits.</p>

United States

K. Aggarwal

I. Arnquist

France

N. Avalos

X. Bertou

Spain

N. Castelló-Mor

C. Centeno-Lorca

A.E. Chavarria

J. Cuevas-Zepeda

A. Dastgheibi-Fard

C. De Dominicis

O. Deligny

J. Duarte-Campderros

Argentina

E. Estrada

R. Gaïor

Switzerland

E.L. Gkougkousis

T. Hossbach

L. Iddir

B.J. Kavanagh

B. Kilminster

Canada

I. Lawson

A. Letessier-Selvon

H. Lin

P. Loaiza

A. Lopez-Virto

R. Lou

H. Lumengo-Kidimbu

K.J. McGuire

S. Munagavalasa

J. Noonan

D. Norcini

S. Paul

P. Privitera

P. Robmann

B. Roach

D. Rosenmerkel

M. Settimo

R. Smida

M. Traina

R. Vilar

R. Yajur

D. Venegas-Vargas

C. Zhu

Y. Zhu

Daily modulation constraints on light dark matter with DAMIC-M

<p>Nucleon-nucleon systems in the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mmultiscripts><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub></mrow><mprescripts></mprescripts><none></none><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></mmultiscripts></mrow></math> and the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mmultiscripts><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub></mrow><mprescripts></mprescripts><none></none><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></mmultiscripts></mrow></math> channels are studied in lattice quantum chromodynamics at a pion mass of approximately <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>m</mi><mi>π</mi></msub><mo>≈</mo><mn>292</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></math>, employing three <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>N</mi><mi>f</mi></msub><mo>=</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math> ensembles with the same pion mass and lattice spacing <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>a</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.10530</mn><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>18</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>fm</mi></math> but different spatial volumes. Finite-volume energies of the nucleon-nucleon systems are determined in both the rest frame and a moving frame. The distillation quark smearing method is applied to improve the precision and to ensure the symmetric correlators by using the same interpolating operators at sink and source. The scattering amplitudes are extracted from the finite-volume spectra using the Lüscher’s finite-volume method. At the studied pion mass, both the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mmultiscripts><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub></mrow><mprescripts></mprescripts><none></none><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></mmultiscripts></mrow></math> (deuteron) and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mmultiscripts><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>S</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow></msub></mrow><mprescripts></mprescripts><none></none><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></mmultiscripts></mrow></math> (dineutron) channels exhibit a virtual state pole, with binding energies of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mn>6</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>3</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>5</mn></mrow></msubsup><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msubsup><mn>11</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>5</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>6</mn></mrow></msubsup><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></math>, respectively. To investigate the effects of the left-hand cut, an alternative method—the nonperturbative Hamiltonian framework—is used for the scattering analysis and yields consistent results with those from the Lüscher method.</p>

Kuan Zhang

Kang Yu

Yiqi Geng

Chuan Liu

Liuming Liu

Peng Sun

Jia-Jun Wu

Ruilin Zhu

Two-nucleon systems at <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>m</mi><mi>π</mi></msub><mo>≈</mo><mn>292</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></math> from lattice QCD

In this article, we investigate the observational properties of the Reissner–Nordstr $$\ddot{\textrm{o}}$$ m–Tangherlini (RNT) black hole (BH). Firstly, we briefly explore the spacetime properties of the RNT BH, including the horizon structure and scalar invariants. It was found that the values of the event horizon radius decrease with increasing BH dimension and charge. Subsequently, we explore the massive and massless particle dynamics around RNT BH. Afterwards, gravitational weak lensing is investigated for two plasma types: uniform and non-uniform. Our results show that a uniform plasma increases the deflection angle of light around an RNT BH, whereas a non-uniform plasma decreases it. Finally, we study the BH shadow and constrain the values of the spacetime parameters using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observational results.

Weiqiang Yang

Uzbekistan

Mirzabek Alloqulov

Akbar Davlataliev

Ahmadjon Abdujabbarov

Bobomurat Ahmedov

Chengxun Yuan

Chen Zhou

Observational signature of Reissner–Nordstr $$\ddot{\textrm{o}}$$ m–Tangherlini black hole

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2026)099

Bruno Bento

Miguel Montero

Erratum to: An M-theory dS maximum from Casimir energies on Riemann-flat manifolds

We study the partition function associated with the democratic formulation of M-theory, focusing on its global definition and quantum properties. Using a path integral representation that makes manifest the underlying cohomological structure, we analyze the coupled system of M-theory form fields ($\textit{A}$ + $\textit{A}$ ), and the background fields ($\textit{C}$ + $\textit{C}$ ), as well as their associated global transformations. We show that the resulting description is naturally captured by a Heisenberg-type group reflecting the presence of a quadratic coupling between electric and magnetic degrees of freedom. This framework provides a transparent characterization of the global structure of the theory, clarifies the role of higher-form global symmetry, and allows for a consistent definition of the partition function in terms of higher-dimensional auxiliary manifolds.

South Korea

J. Rosabal

Holographic partition function of democratic M-theory

We study the equation of state (EoS) of QCD matter in a bottom-up holographic setup that combines an Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton (EMD) sector with an improved Karch-Katz-Son-Stephanov (KKSS) flavor action. In the probe approximation, we perform an inverse reconstruction of the model functions by parameterizing them with neural networks and solving the EMD equations via a differentiable ODE solver (a neural ODE framework), calibrating the model to a reference thermodynamic table for $(2+1)$ -flavor QCD at finite temperature and finite baryon chemical potential. The reconstructed model functions are then parameterized and kept fixed across thermodynamic states. Next, viewing the EMD sector as an effective description of pure Yang-Mills theory, we fix its parameters by fitting the $\mu_B=0$ lattice pure-glue EoS using a hybrid optimization strategy. Finally, we go beyond the probe limit and solve the coupled EMD+KKSS equations with back-reaction, using the pure-glue-calibrated EMD sector as a fixed input and varying the KKSS couplings to compare with the $\mu_B=0$ two-flavor lattice EoS. We find a visible mismatch and a high-temperature behavior in which the back-reacted dimensionless ratios approach a nearly $\beta_1$ -insensitive plateau close to the pure-glue baseline, providing a simple structural diagnostic for the present flavor-sector truncation.

Yutian Deng

Mei Huang

Lin Zhang

Holographic QCD equation of state constrained by lattice QCD: neural-ODE for probe-limit and a back-reaction test * Start-up funding from Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) (Y. Deng and L. Zhang); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (12235016) (L. Zhang and M. Huang) and 12221005 (M. Huang)