Papers

We investigate the vacuum expectation value of a complex scalar field on a two-dimensional torus with quantized magnetic flux $M$. A characteristic feature of this system is the emergence of a critical area: when the area of the torus exceeds this critical value, the vacuum expectation value becomes nonvanishing. Furthermore, any nonzero vacuum expectation value necessarily exhibits nontrivial dependence on the coordinates of the torus. Employing the lowest-mode approximation, we find a single vacuum configuration for $M=1$, whereas two and six degenerate vacuum configurations arise for $M=2$ and $M=3$, respectively. We then analyze the symmetry properties of these vacuum configurations and determine whether they preserve or spontaneously break the symmetry of the underlying system.

We study the integrability conditions of the conformal Killing equations for the Eisenhart lift of a scalar field in a flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe. The determinant condition of the prolonged conformal Killing equations reduces to a nonlinear second-order differential equation for $h=V'/V$. We solve this equation locally and find two branches. The regular branch reproduces exactly the family of potentials obtained previously, while the singular branch lies on the locus where the determinant equation cannot be written locally in normal form with respect to $h''$ and is incompatible with the full conformal Killing equations. We therefore conclude that the potential obtained in our earlier work is the most general local potential admitting a non-trivial conformal Killing vector in the sector independent of the cyclic Eisenhart coordinate.

Paraparticles beyond bosons and fermions can be exchanged via either the braid group (anyons, existing up to $D=2$ space dimensions) or the permutation group; in the latter case the space dimensions are not limited. Besides being predicted, anyons have been experimentally detected. The situation differs for paraparticles exchanged via the permutation group ("permutation-group parastatistics").The first test to detect their theoretical signature was published in 2021 (for $Z_2\times Z_2$-graded parafermions; it was soon followed by a second paper proving the detectability of $Z_2\times Z_2$-graded parabosons). Later on, two further papers proved theoretical signatures of permutation-group parastatistics. These works demonstrate that, in certain situations, a long-held belief on the "conventionality of parastatistics" argument can be evaded: some measurements of permutation-group paraparticles cannot be recovered from ordinary bosons/fermions. The main question now is how to experimentally detect or engineer in the laboratory such paraparticles. For this aim a minimal setup for the theoretical test is here provided: a Gedankenexperiment (a simplified version of the two tests published in 2021) which, essentially, is a flow chart of logical operations. The key point is to present, to experimentalists, the necessary steps to be simulated/realized in the laboratory (possibly, by manipulating qudits). In this minimal setup, the detection/engineering of paraparticles is mapped into a chirality test. The mathematical setting is based on $Z_2\times Z_2$-graded color Lie (super)algebras and derived mathematical structures.

We propose a general approach, named by us hyperstatistics, to treat complex systems, in which Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics breaks down at the domain level of the system. Hyperstatistics preserves the concavity of the nonadditive $q$-entropy. We obtain analytical closed-form expressions for the here proposed ($q, n$)-generalized Boltzmann factor $B_q^{n}$ considering uniform, $\gamma$, Log-normal, F, and the $q$-$\gamma$ probability distribution functions. Remarkably, for all investigated distribution functions, $B_q^{n}$ reduces to a $q$-exponential-type function. To demonstrate the applicability of hyperstatistics, we use a table top experiment of the discharge of a capacitor considering $\gamma$-distributed relaxation times, the pressure decay over time associated with the pumping of $^4$He lines of a closed cycle cryostat, midrapidity data for $\textit{p}$-Pb collisions at the LHC, as well as data set for acceleration distribution in turbulent systems. Furthermore, we deduce the power-law-like $\textit{universal}$ dielectric response using a $q$-generalized $\gamma$-distribution function proposed in this work. Hyperstatistics is applicable to systems with inherent non-Boltzmann-Gibbsian statistics at the domain level. We demonstrate that at the domain level hyperstatistics and superstatistics are equivalent, while at the macroscopic level hyperstatistics recovers superstatistics for $q \to 1$ because the Boltzmann-Gibbs character of the domains is restored, as well as Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics for $n \to \infty$.

We develop a minisuperspace formulation of the classical double copy for anisotropic Lifshitz spacetimes in arbitrary dimension. By imposing static symmetries at the level of the action, the gravitational system reduces to an effective one-dimensional radial problem with a universal structure, in which all theory dependence is captured by a single potential. Within this framework, we identify a radial operator that reproduces the Maxwell operator for the temporal component of the single-copy field directly from the reduced gravitational dynamics, without using the equations of motion. For non-relativistic Lifshitz backgrounds, this relation is modified by an additional contribution that encodes the deviation from maximal symmetry. We show that this term has a universal origin, determined by anisotropic scaling and horizon geometry, and that it vanishes smoothly in the relativistic limit. After imposing the Hamiltonian constraint, the matter sector generates the corresponding source term, reproducing known single-copy charge densities when a Kerr–Schild description exists and extending them beyond this setting. We further demonstrate that the same mechanism persists in higher-curvature theories, where the effective potential is replaced by its higher-order generalization while preserving the operator structure. Explicit Lifshitz black hole solutions illustrate how matter content and horizon topology enter the construction. As an additional check, we verify the consistency of the formalism in the relativistic limit using a charged AdS solution in Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet gravity.

We present a black hole response formalism formulated within the worldline approach to the classical gravitational two-body problem. The central objects are response functions: a hierarchy of correlators that encode, successively, the black hole's own gravitational field, the scattering of a gravitational wave off of the black-hole including recoil, and the nonlinear response to multiple gravitational perturbations. These functions serve as the natural building blocks for a systematic diagrammatic expansion in the mass ratio of a binary, the gravitational self-force expansion (SF), employing the worldline quantum field theory (WQFT) formalism. As a first application we treat an ultra-relativistic black hole, whose field is the Aichelburg-Sexl shockwave. We show that our framework reproduces the exact shockwave geometry and the trajectories of probes crossing it. Our main result is the scattering of a gravitational wave off the shockwave, computed exactly in Newton's constant by resumming the full post-Minkowskian (PM) perturbative series, which we compute for off-shell gravitons enabling later use in the SF expansion. The exact on-shell answer takes a strikingly compact form: the leading-order result is dressed by an overall phase that captures the expected infrared (Weinberg) behaviour together with a Coulomb-like scattering phase. Our results provide the basic WQFT ingredients for future 1SF computations of observables such as the impulse and waveform in the ultra high-energy regime.

This thesis discusses exotic 7-spheres, i.e. manifolds that are homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the ordinary 7-sphere, using a set of analytical and computational tools from theoretical physics. The theory of fibre bundles and instantons, together with their relation to Yang-Mills theory, are reviewed, before presenting a generalisation of self-duality to twisted self-duality. The formalism required to derive and geometrically interpret some solutions to twisted-self-duality is relevant to the main subject of this thesis: investigating the geometry of the Gromoll-Meyer sphere. Through a Kaluza-Klein ansatz, motivated by bundle-theoretic arguments, an analytic expression for a family of Riemannian metrics on the Gromoll-Meyer sphere is derived. After a detailed study of its geometric constituents, recast as quaternionic-valued objects, the metric with maximal isometry is identified. Its curvature properties are also studied and the associated energy conditions are assessed. Then, an up-to-date and broader overview on the current work concerning exotic spheres and exotic manifolds in general is offered, before focusing again on the Gromoll-Meyer sphere, but this time under the lens of differential topology. Some explicit realisations of the homeomorphism between an exotic 7-sphere and an ordinary one are discussed, together with their possible interpretations in the context of general relativity. Finally, a numerical algorithm for finding Riemannian Einstein metrics on arbitrary manifolds is presented; it is based on machine learning, and highly generalisable in many directions. The current work on implementing its application to exotic spheres is also discussed. The thesis ends with an ample discussion of possible future directions.

Tidal dissipation in spinning compact binaries imprints characteristic corrections on the late-inspiral gravitational-wave signal. We develop a next-to-leading order post-Newtonian description of dissipative, electric-quadrupolar tides in spinning compact binaries, deriving the center-of-mass equations of motion, a generalized energy-balance law, and the corresponding Fourier-phase correction for quasi-circular orbits with spins aligned or anti-aligned with the orbital angular momentum. Using the most general, low-frequency, linear tidal response compatible with rotational symmetry, we show that spin-induced tidal dissipation enters the gravitational-wave phase at 2.5 post-Newtonian order and carries a logarithmic frequency dependence, so it is not degenerate with the coalescence phase. For binary black holes, our dissipative flux reproduces horizon absorption in the extreme-mass-ratio limit. These results provide new waveform ingredients for precision modeling of spinning compact binaries in the high-signal-to-noise era.

We study self-dual instantons of topological charge $Q=r/N$, for any natural $r$, in $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory on a four torus with 't Hooft twists, by embedding them into worldvolume theories of $D$-branes. To study their moduli, we construct the wrapped intersecting brane configurations dual to general constant field strength instanton backgrounds. We show that, locally, the moduli space is identified with the Higgs branch of an $N=2$ supersymmetric theory. This parameterization of the moduli space is equivalent to one recently found in field theory, but is obtained with significantly less effort and has manifest hyper-Kähler structure. Our hope is that combining different perspectives on instantons on the twisted torus will help understand the still unknown global structure of the moduli space for general solutions with $Q=r/N$ as well as the nature of instantons with all moduli turned on – when some $Q<1$ and all $Q \ge 1$ instantons become space-time dependent. For integer $Q$, these are expected to match the ADHM solution in an appropriately taken infinite volume limit.

We investigate theories of flavour based on genus $g=2$ modular invariance and analyze how fermion mass hierarchies can be generated in this context, in the vicinity of invariant points or regions in moduli space where a residual symmetry is preserved. We apply this mechanism of modular proximity-induced hierarchies to the quark sector, with the vacuum expectation values of the moduli being the only sources of spontaneous breaking of the flavour and CP symmetries. We present a benchmark model where quark mass hierarchies and CP violation are explained, with mass ratios vanishing in the symmetric limit, and quark mixing is reproduced. In this model, the values of the moduli turn out to be close to special values such as $\tau_1 \simeq \omega$ and $\tau_2 \simeq \omega, i$.

We argue that kinetic mixing between topological flux sectors generates an effective shift of the QCD $\bar\theta$ angle, thereby inducing CP-violating effects. To demonstrate this mechanism, we analyze a $(1+1)$-dimensional $U(1)\times U(1)$ gauge theory as a controlled setting, where kinetic mixing leads to observable shifts in electric fluxes. We then extend the analysis to four dimensions using a three-form field description of QCD coupled to an additional $U(1)$ three-form gauge field. We find that hidden-sector fluxes, through kinetic mixing, shift the effective $\theta$ parameter of QCD and induce a nonzero expectation value of $\langle G\tilde{G}\rangle$. We discuss the implications for the strong CP problem and clarify under which conditions standard solutions, such as axion or CP/parity-based mechanisms, are compromised or remain robust.

We find that heavy quark transport beyond leading logarithm at weak coupling is intrinsically non-Gaussian: the longitudinal momentum transfer distribution has asymmetric exponential tails that are crucial for equilibration dynamics. We show this by computing the leading-order momentum transfer kernel for relativistic heavy quarks in weakly coupled non-Abelian plasmas, matching perturbative momentum transfer on the thermal scale to hard-thermal-loop-resummed soft physics. This is the same structure previously found in strongly coupled holographic plasmas, showing that it is not peculiar to weak or strong coupling, conformality, or supersymmetry. We therefore expect that this is a robust feature that physical quark-gluon plasma should also exhibit.

While spin polarization from synchrotron radiation is well established, the polarization of orbital angular momentum (OAM) in such radiative processes remains elusive. We study radiation and polarization of relativistic electrons in a uniform magnetic field, focusing on OAM polarization radiation for vortex electrons which carry intrinsic OAM. The results illustrate that transition rates are asymmetric in the low-photon-energy regime, favoring OAM decrease, analogous to the spin-flip asymmetry in the Sokolov-Ternov effect. Under these conditions, synchrotron radiation can polarize the OAM. The characteristic relaxation time and stationary-state OAM distribution are obtained analytically. The polarization of spin about \(\mathcal{P}_{\text{spin}}\) reaches \(92.38\%\), while that of \(\mathcal{P}_{\text{OAM}}\) can even approach almost unity for a large OAM; however, their polarization behaviors are different. For typical storage ring parameters, the OAM polarization time is orders of magnitude shorter than the spin polarization time. Thus, synchrotron radiation offers a mechanism for controlling vortex electron beams which carry OAM for high-energy accelerator applications.

The photon hologram of a one-particle density matrix of a photon gas is derived including the case where the energy of a probe photon is above the electron-positron pair creation threshold. The explicit expressions for the holograms of a photon gas with one-particle density matrix in the form of a single Gaussian and of coherent and incoherent lattices of Gaussians are obtained. The conditions for resonant cones of coherent scattering by coherent and incoherent lattices are found. These conditions turn out to be different. The explicit expression for the dielectric susceptibility tensor of a photon gas and of a single photon prepared in arbitrary quantum states are derived on the probe photon mass-shell. It is established that a photon gas and a single photon behave in coherent photon scattering as a medium with linear and circular birefringence. This medium is transparent below the electron-positron creation threshold and is absorbing otherwise. In the high-energy limit, $\sqrt{s}\gg 2m$, it has the dielectric susceptibility tensor of a birefringent plasma except for a slow logarithmic scaling. It is shown that, for the probe photon energies of order $1$ GeV and higher, the energies of target photons of order $1$ eV and higher, and the photon gas density such that the classical intensity parameter is of order unity, the hologram of the photon gas can be measured with existing experimental facilities.

We quantise integrable point-particle systems with opposite-sign kinetic terms and nontrivial interactions. Using methods from separability theory, we show that previously determined classical stability conditions also imply discrete separated eigenvalue spectra. The resulting energy spectrum is unbounded above and below but not necessarily dense. We establish sufficient conditions for (i) exactly one accumulation point, or (ii) none at all. This dispels the widespread notion that ghostly quantum systems must have a continuous or dense energy spectrum.

We quantize a classically stable system of a harmonic oscillator polynomially coupled to a ghost with negative kinetic energy. We prove that due to an integral of motion with a positive discrete spectrum: i) the Hamiltonian has a pure point spectrum unbounded in both directions, ii) the evolution is manifestly unitary, iii) the vacuum is well-defined, iv) expectation values for squares of canonical variables are bounded. Numerical solutions of the Schrödinger equation confirm these results. We argue that the discrete spectrum of the integral of motion enforces stability for extended interactions.

We present the RLL-realization of extended orthosymplectic quantum supergroups for any parity sequence, with R-matrices evaluated in the earlier work arxiv:2408.16720. Our isomorphism is compatible with the internal structure of generalized doubles. We also relate different sign conventions through 2-cocycle twists. Furthermore, we establish a factorization of the reduced R-matrix within the RLL-realization.

In this work, we systematically investigate the quantum-information diagnostics of cosmological perturbations with a nontrivial sound speed, utilizing a normalized open two-mode squeezed-state framework. Rather than introducing new observables, our analysis focuses on how a modified sound speed dynamically reshapes the Schrödinger evolution of the squeezing parameters ($r_k$ and $\phi_k$). We demonstrate how these dynamical changes are inherited by the reduced density matrix of the observable sector. By employing a sound-speed-resonance parametrization, we derive and evaluate the purity, von Neumann entropy, Rényi entropies, and logarithmic negativity. To overcome the intrinsic multiscale stiffness of the post-inflationary equations, we introduce a bounded variable $x = \tanh r_k$ as a partial regularization, which enables reliable numerical simulations exclusively within the inflationary regime. Our numerical results reveal that a nontrivial sound speed significantly suppresses the purity of the reduced state, indicating enhanced effective mixedness. Simultaneously, it strongly amplifies and modulates both the entropic and entanglement diagnostics. More precisely, a nontrivial sound speed postpones the onset of classicality by modulating the decoherence process. Ultimately, we show that a nontrivial sound speed leaves distinct and identifiable quantum-information signatures within the entanglement structure of the early universe.

Gravitational path-integral over $\mathbb{R}\times S^3$ complex metrics with fluctuations is studied in 4D for Einstein-Hilbert gravity in Lorentzian signature, with the aim to investigate the IR behaviour of complex saddles for various boundary choices. General covariance doesn't allow arbitrary boundary choices for the background and fluctuations. In the ADM-decomposition, while imposing “no-boundary” condition at the initial boundary, two scenarios are considered for the final boundary: Dirichlet and fixed extrinsic curvature. The universe undergoes a transition from a Euclidean to a Lorentzian phase in either scenario, where the dominant saddle in Euclidean phase corresponds to a Euclidean metric, while the Lorentzian phase has two dominant complex saddles that superimpose. One-loop lapse action is computed using Hurwitz-Zeta regularization. UV-divergences canceled by suitable counterterms lead to a renormalized lapse action. One-loop Hartle-Hawking wave-function is computed using the Picard-Lefschetz (PL) and WKB methods, where the contributions from the metric fluctuations show secularly growing infrared divergences as the Universe expands. This is compared with the situation in Lorentzian dS, corresponding to a Universe transitioning from an initial state of vanishing conjugate momenta to a final state of fixed extrinsic curvature. The PL method alone is not sufficient to overcome the technical hurdles in the one-loop computation, which needs to be supplemented by an $i\epsilon$-prescription, achieved via slight complexification of the cosmological constant $\Lambda$. The renormalized one-loop dS wavefunction is seen to have qualitatively the same leading IR behaviour as the no-boundary wavefunction, though the coefficients are seen to be sensitive to the UV boundary choices. Interestingly, for all boundary choices considered, the saddles remain KSW-allowed.

We have considered the problem of the influence of inhomogeneity of gravitational field on transport effects predicted by the field theory describing massless Dirac fermions in the Maxwell and dark matter background. As a model of dark sector one takes into account dark photon model, where the hidden sector is described by the auxiliary U(1)-gauge field coupled to the visible sector. Elaborating the model we restrict our considerations to the case when Weyl type conformal transformation slightly differs from the Minkowski spacetime. This assumption simplifies the calculations and enables us not to use complicated methods of the quantum field theory in the curved background. The resulting currents stemming both from visible and dark sectors are proportional to the adequate beta functions appearing in the elaborated systems. For charge-less dark sector we predict corrections to the scale conductivities in both sectors: linear in {\alpha} in the dark sector and quadratic in the visible one.

The paper develops a model to understand the effective quantum geometry of a black hole horizon and the emission of Hawking spectrum in $2+1$ dimensions. Using the algebra of Hamiltonian charges on the horizon, we establish that one should view the black hole horizon as formed out of quantised lengths of elementary quanta of value $8\pi \ell_{P}\, n$, where $n\in \mathbb{N}$, and $\ell_{P}$ is the Planck length. We determine the black hole entropy using this equidistant length spectrum in the microcanonical ensemble and show that its value is close to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. To evaluate the Hawking spectrum, we note that, to an observer near the black hole horizon, the entropy (or length of horizon cross-section) is related to the black hole energy. Hence, one may develop a formulation of length ensemble (similar to the area canonical ensemble of Krasnov) from which the black body spectrum may be obtained directly. This local observer perceives a Hawking spectrum whose temperature is modified by the Tolman factor.

Inflation is conventionally described by fundamental scalar fields whose microscopic origin remains unknown. We propose a different mechanism in which inflation emerges from fermion condensates generated by torsion-induced four-fermion interactions in Einstein-Cartan-Holst gravity. Starting from a purely fermionic theory, we derive a two-condensate effective description whose dynamics resembles hybrid inflation but exhibits a new exit mechanism: a density-driven waterfall transition. During inflation, axial charge production continuously increases the fermion density and associated chiral chemical potential. Solving the finite-density gap equation, we show that above a critical axial density the condensate no longer admits a symmetry-broken solution. Inflation therefore ends through evaporation of the condensate itself rather than the inflaton crossing a critical field value. This mechanism naturally triggers rapid energy transfer to fermionic degrees of freedom, providing a microscopic realization of instant preheating. The post-transition condensate is unstable to fragmentation into charged non-topological solitons. These objects can subsequently collapse into primordial black holes, generating a calculable relic population whose properties follow from the same condensate dynamics that drives inflation. Because the underlying theory is intrinsically chiral and connected to dynamical Chern-Simons gravity, the scenario also predicts parity-violating signatures. The framework unifies inflation, reheating, soliton formation, primordial-black-hole production, and parity-violating phenomenology within a single gravitationally induced fermion-condensation mechanism. It provides a composite alternative to scalar-field inflation and identifies correlated observational signatures that can test the role of spacetime torsion in the early Universe.

The internal low-energy symmetry of the massless Lorentz-invariant Dirac Hamiltonian in $2+1$ dimensions is known to be $O(2N)$, where $N$ is the number of two-component Dirac fermions. Here we point out that there exists an analogous internal symmetry of the single-particle quadratic-band-touching Hamiltonian in two spatial dimensions, and it is the unitary symplectic group, $USp(2N)$. All fermionic bilinears belong to one of the three small irreducible representations of this group. The interacting theory that respects the $USp(2N)$ symmetry and the spatial rotations is constructed and found to allow two independent interaction terms. When these interactions are infrared-relevant the symplectic symmetry either remains preserved or becomes spontaneously broken to $USp(N) \times USp(N)$. The symmetry in the lattices such as honeycomb to infinite order in the dispersion's expansion in powers of local momentum is given by the overlap of the symplectic and the orthogonal groups. We show that this overlap is $O(2N) \bigcap USp(2N) = U(N)$.

We construct asymptotically AdS$_5$ black brane solutions in a theory of gravity with an infinite series of curvature corrections. The action is based on an $O(d,d)$ symmetric ansatz which has been argued to describe the classical NSNS sector of string theories. We find that, for this general class of theories, the singularity behind the horizon is not resolved by the curvature corrections. The approach to the singularity is however generically modified, being characterized by different Kasner exponents. We also show that, in the presence of a non-trivial dilaton, a slight generalization of these types of curvature corrections can generate dynamically a negative cosmological constant in the region of small coupling. This provides a mechanism through which asymptotic freedom could emerge in the hypothetical string dual of QCD.

We compute the holographic complexity of conformal quantum fields in rigid global de Sitter spacetime (dS$_{d}$) using the volume and action prescriptions. First we consider AdS$_{d+1}$ spacetime in global dS$_{d}$ foliations, and compute the complexity of the CFT supported on the global dS$_{d}$ conformal boundary. Next, we consider CFT supported on a global dS$_d$ (UV) brane embedded in AdS$_{d+1}$ spacetime, and compute the holographic complexity in this brane set up. We compare and contrast the results in the two cases, as well as with related results in the literature obtained in alternative holographic set ups involving patches of de Sitter spacetime covered by static coordinates or conformal (Poincaré) coordinates.

We consider two-dimensional harmonic oscillator in the complex Bargmann-Fock-Segal representation with $T^*{\mathbb R}^{2}={\mathbb C}^2$ as classical phase space. We show that the eigenfunctions $\psi_n$ of the quantum Hamiltonian correspond to complex radial coordinates in the reduced phase space ${\mathbb C}^2/{\mathbb Z}_n\subset{\mathbb C}^2$. They describe ${\mathbb Z}_n$-invariant motion of particle along a circle $S^1$ in lens space $S^3/{\mathbb Z}_n\subset{\mathbb C}^2/{\mathbb Z}_n$, where ${\mathbb Z}_n$ is the cyclic group of rotation by an angle $2\pi/n$ on the circle $S^1$, $n=1,2,...\,$. Thus the general solution of the Schrödinger equation carries information about an infinite number of admissible classical states $\psi_n$ that can be mapped to other states after lifting into the quantum bundle. We show that in the Kepler/hydrogen atom problem there is a similar correspondence between classical and quantum states.

We prove an exact quantum conservation law for a harmonic oscillator coupled to a ghost degree of freedom: a second classical conserved quantity lifts to a quantum operator that commutes with the Hamiltonian with no hbar corrections, yielding a rigorous, state-independent upper bound on the mean squared phase-space radius for all time and every quantum state with finite initial second moments. The proof uses only canonical commutation relations and the Leibniz rule; it requires no confining potential, no spectral assumptions, and no perturbative expansion. The interaction studied here is bounded and vanishes at large separations, the generic situation in effective field theory, yet this suffices to guarantee quantum stability in the sense of bounded second moments. Three independent numerical frameworks (Heisenberg picture, Schrodinger picture, and Fock-space diagonalization) confirm wavepacket confinement below the analytic bound, a real energy spectrum, and Poisson level statistics numerically consistent with an integrable structure. The absence of a confining potential means the proof is silent on spectral discreteness and the existence of a ground state; those questions, addressed for polynomial confining interactions in concurrent work, remain open for the interaction class studied here and represent the sharpest targets for future work. Ghost quantum instability is therefore not an inevitable consequence of a wrong-sign kinetic term but depends critically on the interaction structure.

We investigate quantum entanglement and Bell-inequality violation in top-antitop pair production at future lepton colliders such as the International Linear Collider (ILC) and multi-TeV muon colliders. Within the Standard Model (SM), the process proceeds through $s$-channel $\gamma$ and $Z$ exchange and exhibits characteristic spin-correlation patterns that encode a non-trivial amount of entanglement. We then examine how these features are modified in several well-motivated extensions of the SM:(i) a neutral scalar mediator that couples to charged leptons and top quarks via Yukawa interactions and contributes as an additional $s$-channel exchange; (ii) the minimal gauged $U(1)_{B-L}$ model, which introduces a new neutral gauge boson $Z'$ coupling vectorially to SM fermions; and (iii) a Randall-Sundrum scenario, in which the exchange of massive Kaluza-Klein gravitons arising from a warped extra dimension induces additional spin-dependent interactions. For all cases, we evaluate quantum-information observables, including the entanglement marker, the concurrence, and the maximal Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt parameter, and study their dependence on the center-of-mass energy, scattering angle, and model parameters. We find that, relative to the SM expectation, the entanglement is typically reduced in the scalar-mediator scenario, while sizable deviations can arise in the $U(1)_{B-L}$ and Randall-Sundrum cases for phenomenologically relevant regions of parameter space. These results demonstrate the potential of quantum-information observables as sensitive probes of new particles and their interaction patterns in future lepton colliders.

We study the late-time evolution of an anisotropic Bianchi-I universe with radiation in the framework of asymptotically safe gravity. We first discuss the radiation-dominated universe for the perfect fluid with the equation of state $p=\rho/3$, and find that the classical evolution involves logarithmic terms, which lead to a slow approach toward isotropy. The quantum effects introduce subleading corrections that soften the anisotropy in the intermediate stage. Next we discuss the universe with magnetic fields. For a vanishing classical cosmological constant, we find that the universe in general evolves toward a Kasner-type regime with persistent anisotropy while the expansion rate is enhanced by quantum effects, leading to a faster decay of the magnetic field. In contrast, for a nonzero classical cosmological constant, the late-time dynamics are dominated by the cosmological constant, and the universe asymptotically approaches an isotropic de Sitter phase with exponential decay of both anisotropies and the magnetic field. Finally, we employ Hodge duality to demonstrate that these cosmological findings apply equally to environments dominated by electric fields.

We obtain exact expressions for various factors involved in the Hadamard form of the retarded Green function for the (Bardeen-Press-)Teukolsky equation on Schwarzschild spacetime. We use these to improve on previous results for the calculation of this Green function. We work in a spacetime $\mathcal{M}_2\times\mathbb{S}^2$ conformal to Schwarzschild, in which the metric takes a direct product form. This allows us to derive a separable form for the direct (i.e., singular) part of the Hadamard form of the retarded Green function. The angular factor in this quantity is calculated explicitly. This shows an interesting interplay between geodesics of $\mathbb{S}^2$, spin-weighted spherical harmonics, and Euler angles. The $\mathcal{M}_2$ factor equates to a spin-dependent factor that satisfies a transport equation along geodesics, times the square root of the van Vleck determinant. Both terms are calculated in an exact form for constant radius orbits (which includes the cases of circular timelike geodesics and static worldlines of Schwarzschild spacetime). This separable form also allows us to obtain the multipolar $\ell$-modes of the direct part for electromagnetic and gravitational field perturbations. We then use these $\ell$-modes to calculate, in the gravitational case, the retarded Green function minus its direct part: this is a better representation in practise of the retarded Green function for points near coincidence.