We present high-precision lattice results for the confined-deconfined interface tension and the latent heat of pure <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>SU</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>N</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow></math> gauge theories up to <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>N</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>10</mn></math> and investigate their asymptotic <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>N</mi></math> dependency. For both quantities we observe the leading <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>N</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></math> behavior and subleading corrections, with the result for the interface tension <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>σ</mi><mo>/</mo><msubsup><mi>T</mi><mi>c</mi><mn>3</mn></msubsup><mo>=</mo><mn>0.0182</mn><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>7</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><msup><mi>N</mi><mn>2</mn></msup><mo>−</mo><mn>0.194</mn><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>15</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math> and for the latent heat <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>L</mi><mo>/</mo><msubsup><mi>T</mi><mi>c</mi><mn>4</mn></msubsup><mo>=</mo><mn>0.360</mn><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>6</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><msup><mi>N</mi><mn>2</mn></msup><mo>−</mo><mn>1.88</mn><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>17</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math>. We use the mixed phase ensemble method—where the system is constrained so that half of the volume is in the confined phase and the other half in the deconfined phase—and the interface tension is obtained by measuring the capillary wave fluctuation spectra of the interfaces between the two phases. The method bypasses supercritical slowing down from which other methods for determining the interface tension suffer, and as a by-product produces accurate estimates of the critical inverse gauge coupling as a function of the inverse temperature. We use the latter to determine the lattice beta function values, required to compute the latent heat from the discontinuity in the average plaquette action across the confined-deconfined transition.

Finland

Switzerland

Tobias Rindlisbacher

Kari Rummukainen

Ahmed Salami

Confined-deconfined interface tension and latent heat in <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>SU</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>N</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow></math> gauge theory

We show that the Seiberg-type duality of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi mathvariant="script">N</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></math> gauge theory coupled with tensor chiral fields and fundamental chiral fields works if the meson spectrum built from the tensor fields takes a particular form: (a) It should be truncated. (b) The <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>R</mi></math> charges of tensor fields <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mo stretchy="false">{</mo><msub><mi>R</mi><mi>a</mi></msub><mo stretchy="false">}</mo></math> and the truncated mesons <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mo stretchy="false">{</mo><msub><mi>R</mi><mi>j</mi></msub><mo stretchy="false">}</mo></math> take very special values. The meson spectrum so that the duality works is encoded elegantly in the factorization of the polynomial <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msup><mi>y</mi><mi>n</mi></msup><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>=</mo><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Φ</mi><mo>+</mo></msub><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Φ</mi><mo>−</mo></msub></math>. Our consideration covers many known <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="script">N</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>1</mn></math> dualities and generates a large class of new examples.

China

Yuanyuan Fang

Jing Feng

Dan Xie

Duality of four dimensional <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi mathvariant="script">N</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>1</mn></math> gauge theory

The particle origin of dark matter (DM) remains elusive despite decades of direct, indirect, and collider searches. Several groups have reported a <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>γ</mi></math>-ray excess toward the Galactic Center commonly referred to as the Galactic Center excess (GCE). Its spectrum is consistent with annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) of mass <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi mathvariant="script">O</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>10</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>100</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>GeV</mi></mrow></math> and a thermal-relic cross section. Although many concrete WIMP models reproduce the GCE spectrum, most are now excluded by direct detection experiments that are approaching the neutrino floor. We investigate a class of anomaly-free extensions of the Standard Model featuring gauged differences of lepton number, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>U</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><msub><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>i</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>j</mi></msub></mrow></msub></math>, and gauged baryon minus lepton number, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>U</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><msub><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><mi>B</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>L</mi></mrow></msub></math>. We show that these models can reproduce the GCE while remaining compatible with the observed relic abundance. We then impose collider and direct detection constraints, accounting for both tree-level and loop-induced kinetic mixing. The <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>μ</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>e</mi></msub></math> model gives the best fit to the GCE: a DM mass of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>χ</mi></mrow></msub><mo>∼</mo><mn>40</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>50</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>GeV</mi></mrow></math> remains consistent with the muon and electron magnetic moment anomalies, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>g</mi><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn><msub><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><mi>μ</mi><mo>,</mo><mi>e</mi></mrow></msub></math>, as well as current collider and direct detection limits, for mediator masses in the range <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>A</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>′</mo></mrow></msup></mrow></msub><mo>∼</mo><mn>70</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>86</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>GeV</mi></mrow></math> and a DM mediator coupling of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>5</mn><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>×</mo><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math>. By contrast, the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>e</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>τ</mi></msub></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>μ</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>τ</mi></msub></math> models yield poorer fits; satisfying both the relic density and experimental bounds forces the DM mass to lie very close to resonance (i.e. approximately half the mediator mass). Finally, while the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>B</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>L</mi></math> model also matches the GCE well, its parameter space is almost entirely ruled out by strong direct detection limits, except for the narrow resonance region where <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>m</mi><mi>χ</mi></msub></math> should be equal to <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>m</mi><msup><mi>A</mi><mo>′</mo></msup></msub><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn></math> requiring a fine-tuning at the few-percent level.

Italy

Jordan Koechler

Mattia Di Mauro

Leptophilic dark matter in <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>U</mi><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mn>1</mn><msub><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mrow><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>i</mi></msub><mo>−</mo><msub><mi>L</mi><mi>j</mi></msub></mrow></msub></math> models: A solution to the Fermi-LAT Galactic Center excess consistent with cosmological and laboratory observations

In this paper we analyze the 2 + 1d conformal fixed points arising from SU($\textit{N}$ ) Chern-Simons-matter theories with multiple flavors $\textit{N}$ $\textit{ >}$ 1 in the ’t Hooft large $\textit{N}$ limit. The multi-flavor generalization of quasi-fermionic theories (fermions or critical scalars coupled to Chern-Simons gauge fields) is straightforward, but this is not true for quasi-bosonic theories (scalars or critical fermions coupled to Chern-Simons gauge fields). The latter theories have three flavor-singlet relevant operators and also three marginal operators, that become exactly marginal for infinite $\textit{N}$ , but have a non-zero beta function at order 1$\textit{/N}$ . We compute the beta functions of these couplings in various weak coupling limits, and also discuss their general structure, generalizing previous computations for $\textit{N}$ = 1. We find that IR-stable fixed points of the marginal couplings exist for some values of $\textit{N}$ and of the ’t Hooft coupling $\textit{λ}$, but not for other values, and in one case we can explicitly follow how two pairs of fixed points merge and disappear as $\textit{λ}$ is increased. We also analyze the “Semi-Critical” conformal field theories that arise when fine-tuning two (rather than three) relevant operators, and compute the beta function for their (single) marginal coupling constant.

Israel

Ofer Aharony

Ronny Frumkin

Jonathan Mehl

Large $\textit{N}$ Chern-Simons-matter fixed points with multiple flavors

We determine the scaling dimensions in the boundary CFT corresponding to the O($\textit{N}$) model in EAdS . The CFT data accessible to the 4-point boundary correlator of fundamental fields are extracted in $\textit{d}$ = 2 and $\textit{d}$ = 4, at a finite coupling, and to the leading nontrivial order in the 1$\textit{/N}$ expansion. We focus on the non-singlet sectors, namely the anti-symmetric and symmetric traceless irreducible representations of the O($\textit{N}$) group, extending the previous results that considered only the singlet sector. Studying the non-singlet sector requires an understanding of the crossed-channel diagram contributions to the $\textit{s}$-channel conformal block decomposition. Building upon an existing computation, we present general formulas in $\textit{d}$ = 2 and $\textit{d}$ = 4 for the contribution of a $\textit{t}$-channel conformal block to the anomalous dimensions of $\textit{s}$-channel double-twist operators, derived for external scalar operators with equal scaling dimensions. Up to some technical details, this eventually leads to the complete picture of 1$\textit{/N}$ corrections to the CFT data in the interacting theory.

Czechia

Jonáš Dujava

Petr Vaško

Finite-coupling spectrum of O($\textit{N}$) model in AdS

We investigate the fully supersymmetric solutions in a class of $$\mathcal{N}=3$$ and $$\mathcal{N}=4$$ higher derivative Poincaré supergravity theories. These class of theories are obtained within the framework of conformal supergravity using the standard Weyl multiplet and contains a set of terms related to the Weyl square term by supersymmetry. We work in the superconformal formalism and show that flat spacetime is the only fully supersymmetric solution in these theories. However, in $$\mathcal{N}=2$$ Poincaré supergravity theories that falls into the same class, two fully supersymmetric stationary solutions exist: Bertotti-Robinson geometry ($\textit{AdS}$ × $\textit{S}$ ) and flat spacetime, which are known in the literature. We discuss the reason behind the richer vacua in $$\mathcal{N}=2$$ supergravity compared to its $$\mathcal{N}=3$$ and $$\mathcal{N}=4$$ cousins.

India

Abhinava Bhattacharjee

Germany

Subramanya Hegde

Bindusar Sahoo

Only flat spacetime is full BPS in four dimensional $$\mathcal{N}=3$$ and $$\mathcal{N}=4$$ supergravity

We study large-<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>N</mi><mi>c</mi></msub></math> scalar <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>QCD</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></math>, a <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></math>-dimensional confining gauge theory with fundamental scalar quarks, whose meson spectrum is governed by a Bethe-Salpeter equation structurally parallel to the ’t Hooft equation. Exploiting this structural analogy, we develop a nonperturbative analytic framework, based on integrability and inspired by the Fateev-Lukyanov-Zamolodchikov (FLZ) method, originally devised for the ’t Hooft model and later extended in our previous works. Notably, the same Bethe-Salpeter equation also arises in the description of interchain mesons in the doubled Ising model coupled via a spin-spin interaction term. Within the FLZ approach, we find spectral sums and derive a systematic large-<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>n</mi></math> WKB expansion for the meson spectrum. The analytic results reproduce the expected behavior in key asymptotic regimes, such as the near-critical limit <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>m</mi><mo stretchy="false">→</mo><mi>g</mi><mo>/</mo><msqrt><mi>π</mi></msqrt></math> and the heavy-quark regime <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi>m</mi><mo>≫</mo><mi>g</mi></mrow></math>, and are in good agreement with numerical data. Finally, by analytically continuing the mass parameter into the complex plane, we uncover two infinite families of singularities where individual mesons become massless, suggesting a hidden connection to nontrivial conformal field theories.

United States

Pavel Meshcheriakov

Analytical results for large-<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>N</mi><mi>c</mi></msub></math> scalar <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>QCD</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></math>

Models with classically degenerate vacua often support quasiclassical configurations of nontrivial topology. In (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mn>0</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></math>)-dimensional quantum mechanics with a double-well potential, for example, instantons induce mixing between the two perturbative ground states in the purely bosonic case, while in the supersymmetric version, the tunneling amplitude is suppressed. In this work, we investigate (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></math>)-dimensional models featuring classically Bogomol’nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield saturated kinks with degenerate masses and identical topology. Recent studies suggest that such kinks may undergo mixing mediated by scalar-field instantons. We analyze this phenomenon in a supersymmetric framework and demonstrate that, whereas mixing indeed occurs in the bosonic theory, the presence of fermionic zero modes in the supersymmetric case leads to the vanishing of the transition amplitude. To illustrate these results, we examine two examples featuring Wess-Zumino models with two and four supercharges. The latter example is motivated by the Affleck-Dine-Seiberg superpotential. We also present a number of developments of instanton calculus in the case of instantons in kink backgrounds.

Evgenii Ievlev

Mikhail Shifman

Degenerate kinks and kink-instantons in two-dimensional scalar field models with <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mrow><mi mathvariant="script">N</mi></mrow><mo>=</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></math> and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mrow><mi mathvariant="script">N</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></math> supersymmetry

We revisit the calculation of exclusive <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi></math> production in electron-proton scattering within the QCD dipole model, employing a refined description of the proton in terms of gluonic hot spots in the dilute regime. In contrast to earlier studies, we incorporate key missing elements; the event-by-event fluctuations in both the number of hot spots and their local saturation scales, as well as the first relativistic corrections to the <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi></math> wave function. We perform a Bayesian analysis to constrain the model parameters using HERA data. These enhancements significantly improve the agreement with HERA data. Saturation scale fluctuations are found to be more important than fluctuations in the number of hot spots. Including the first relativistic correction is found to be important, especially in order to describe the observed power-law behavior in the incoherent cross section at large <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>t</mi></math>.

Anh Dung Le

Heikki Mäntysaari

Exclusive <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>J</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>ψ</mi></math> production off a dilute proton within a refined hotspot description

Based on available experimental results on $ \chi _{cJ}(J=0,1,2) $ decays, we investigated the $ \chi_{cJ}\to PP $ , $ VV $ , $ PV $ , and $ PT $ decays using the $\textit{SU}$(3) flavor symmetry/breaking approach, where $\textit{P}$, $\textit{V}$, and $\textit{T}$ denote light pseudoscalar, vector, and tensor mesons, respectively. With the decay amplitude relations determined by $\textit{SU}$(3) flavor symmetry/breaking, we present the branching ratios for all $ \chi_{cJ}\to PP $ and $ \chi_{cJ}\to VV $ modes, including those without experimental data. While theoretical considerations strongly suppress or even forbid most $ \chi_{cJ}\to PV $ and $ PT $ decays, we also provide quantitative predictions constrained by existing experimental data. Our results are expected to be accessible in future experiments at BESIII and the planned Super Tau-Charm Facility.

Bo Lan

Qin-Ze Song

Jin-Huan Sheng

Yi Qiao

Ru-Min Wang

Study of χ$_{cJ}$ ($\textit{J}$ = 0,1,2) decays to light meson pairs based on $\textit{SU}$(3) flavor symmetry/breaking analysis * Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12175088, 12305100, 12365014) and Graduate Innovation Fund Project of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education (YJS2024091)