Papers

We use the exactly-solvable t Hooft model of 1+1D large-N_c QCD as a rigorous laboratory for the breakdown of analyticity of a causal response function, the meson two-point function. A PT-symmetric deformation i gamma(x-1/2) of the light-cone meson operator, the analogue of an imaginary chemical potential, drives the lowest two mesons to an exceptional point (EP) at gamma_c. Recasting the resolvent as a Jacobi continued fraction yields gamma_c in closed form: 2 pi g^2 N_c at the two-pole level, converging to 7.966 g^2 N_c by depth five – an analytic, not numerical, threshold. The square-root exponent nu=1/2 is fixed by the 2x2 Jordan form and confirmed by finite-size scaling to N=1999. The breakdown has an unambiguous time-domain signature: the propagator norm is bounded for gamma < gamma_c, grows linearly at gamma_c (the Jordan secular law), and exponentially beyond – observable, since the deformed operator is a non-Hermitian Wannier-Stark ladder, in photonic and topolectrical analogues. The threshold is locked to confinement, gamma_c propto g^2 N_c, and recurs as a uniform EP cascade; a second, non-reciprocal deformation yields an exactly-exponential non-Hermitian skin effect. This is the first analytically-controlled instance of exceptional-point analyticity breakdown in a confining gauge theory.

Following previous work, the Algebra of Physical Space (APS) is used to explore Wigner-covariance and spin/helicity fields within the Constructive Standard Model (CSM) of Particle Physics. The spinor formalism of the APS is used to derive explicit Wigner-covariance of Lorentz spinors, and equivalencies with the CSM are demonstrated via the Scattering Algebra (SA). Constructive fields for spin-1/2 and spin-1 are given in the APS and the necessary maps for Wigner-covariance are proposed. The forms of these spin fields are equivalent to Pauli spinors, thereby serving as a new bridge between the CSM and the study of Quantum Information. It is further seen that spin fields of the APS are equivalent to the spin fields in the CSM. Sample Lagrangian densities of the CSM are analyzed using the methods herein, are given geometric interpretations, and are connected to traditional Pauli Theory. Finally, the hff (Higgs and two massive fermions) Lagrangian density is used to determine the first constructive scattering amplitude that is defined purely in terms of the APS. Concerningly, this leads to an anti-Hermitian action term, and this surprise is later confirmed using traditional CSM techniques. Throughout this paper, the illuminating power of Geometric Algebra is clear: Everything has a geometric interpretation, and results can be accomplished matrix-free.

For a system with a large number of identical Bosons, it is common to claim, often without any additional justifications, that, when the mean occupation number in a single particle state is sufficiently large, classical field description will be applicable. This is why e.g. for ultra-light dark matter, the classical field equations are used to compute its dynamics. In this work, we test the validity and robustness of this assumption based on the criterion $2 \sigma_\varphi < |\langle \varphi \rangle| $ for classical field behaviour and applying it to aribtrary quantum states. We find that an arbitrary state with large occupation number doesn't behave classically while imposing some restrictions on the state vectors can improve the classical behavior. Since coherent states are known to have quasi-classical behaviour, we also ask how much deviation from coherent state can spoil the classical behaviour. Based on this analysis, we find that it is the proximity of the state to a large occupation coherent state rather than large occupation number itself which ensures validity of classical description. Implications of this for ultra light dark matter are discussed.

The freedom to change Fock basis seems to ensure a minimum amount of locality in lattice theories in the following sense: If $\lbrace (\hat a_i^\dagger\,,\,\hat a_i)\rbrace$ for $i=1,\dots,n$ is a lattice of creation and annihilation operators and if a given Hamiltonian $\hat H$ induces highly non-local dynamics on that lattice, then it will usually be possible to change to a new set of operators $\lbrace (\hat b_i^\dagger\,,\,\hat b_i)\rbrace$ in terms of which the dynamics appear less non-local. We demonstrate this by turning a highly non-local random matrix model into a local, 1D lattice theory where particles can propagate in localized wave packets. More generally, we show that any Hamiltonian can be made to look like such a theory, with the lattice dispersion relation and the non-integrability of the theory depending on the spectrum of $\hat H$. We argue that our results are a step towards quantum mereology for fields.

We study supersymmetric BPS branes (BPS-B) in supergravity theories. Some of these states are anticipated by BPS black-brane (BPS-BB) solutions of supergravity. In particular, we define and distinguish the cone generated by BPS branes from the subcone of charges that admit BPS black-brane attractor solutions in the infrared limit of the supergravity effective field theory. We denote these cones by $C_{\rm BPS-B}$ and $C_{\rm BPS-BB}$, respectively. We conjecture that, in any supersymmetric theory of quantum gravity, every integrally charged state lying in $C_{\rm BPS-BB}$ is realized by a BPS state in the spectrum. Furthermore, we conjecture and present evidence that when $C_{\rm BPS-B}$ is moduli independent, it can be determined as the cone dual to the $C_{\rm BPS-BB}$ under the electric-magnetic pairing.

The Weil-Petersson (WP) volumes of the (compactified) moduli space of ${N}=1$ supersymmetric Riemann surfaces with Neveu-Schwarz (NS) boundaries are frequently discussed in the literature. Such surfaces can also have marked points called Ramond (R) punctures, where the superconformal structure degenerates. Computing the volumes when these R punctures are included is more challenging for the usual differential and algebraic geometry approaches, and they are therefore less well explored. In particular, the spectral curve describing the inclusion of R punctures is apparently unknown, so far. However, the right random matrix model approach can handle the NS and~R sectors on an equal footing. Such a construction is presented, showing how to use a recently developed technique to readily compute many closed-form formulae for $V^{(2m)}_{g,n}(\{b_i\})$, the WP volumes for genus $g$ with $n$ NS-boundaries of geodesic lengths $b_i$ ($i{=}1,\ldots,n$), and $2m$ R-punctures. Several striking relations between volumes (and subsectors thereof) emerge naturally in this approach. Moreover, the hitherto missing spectral curve is presented, and its use for (re-)deriving the $V^{(2m)}_{g,n}(\{b_i\})$ is demonstrated by using topological recursion.

The deconfined quantum critical point (DQCP) provides a prominent example of the unconventional phase transitions beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm and its nature has been controversial for decades. The DQCP has been extensively studied and the results lead to two opposite scenarios with pseudo-criticality or multicriticality. The pseudo-criticality is a prevailing scenario of DQCP which interprets the approximately scale invariant numerical results with the walking behavior near complex fixed points. In contrast, the multicriticality scenario conjectures the DQCP is a unitary fixed point with a relevant $SO(5)$ singlet scalar. In this work we provide substantial evidence for the multicriticality scenario using conformal bootstrap. We start with the observation that the large scale Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) results nearly saturate the bootstrap bounds. After imposing suitable sparseness condition the bootstrap bound forms a sharp cone in the three-dimensional parameter space. The bootstrap cone is close to the QMC data. We use the navigator algorithm to locate the apex of the cone and extract the extremal solutions. We find striking consistencies between the bootstrap solutions and the fuzzy sphere data of DQCP, including the coefficients in the operator product expansions (OPEs) and the higher spectrum! The bootstrap cone unifies the QMC and the fuzzy sphere data into a unitary conformal field theory with a relevant $SO(5)$ singlet scalar, thus strongly supporting the multicriticality scenario of DQCP. The agreement between the conformal bootstrap, QMC and fuzzy sphere results is a surprise towards solving DQCP and decoding the profound phase diagram of the two-dimensional quantum magnets.

Spherical reduction of four-dimensional minimally coupled matter yields a two-dimensional theory with dilaton-coupled matter rather than minimally coupled conformal matter. We use this distinction to revisit the backreacted late-time endpoint problem for the regular two-dimensional Bardeen-like black hole considered by Barenboim, Frolov, and Kunstatter. Replacing the Polyakov quantum sector by the dilaton-coupled anomaly model of Fabbri, Farese, and Navarro-Salas (FFN), we derive the corresponding semiclassical field equations and classify the asymptotically allowed late branches at finite radius. For any quiescent finite-radius branch with finite nonzero conformal factor, the late-time mixed equation enforces $J'(r_\infty)=0$, and hence $r_\infty=\sqrt{2}\,\ell$, independently of the local dilaton-anomaly convention. For finite-radius null branches satisfying the stated state-tail assumptions, the ordinary strong-cosmic-censorship-restoring exponential null boundary is excluded. Generic power-law branches $e^{2\rho}\sim v^{-p}$ with $p>1$ are likewise excluded, except for the borderline case $p=2$, which is the only remaining null loophole of this type. In the FFN model, the settled realization of this loophole carries finite affine flux and requires the stronger state-tail decay $s_\phi=O(v^{-2})$. The natural finite-radius outcome is remnant-like, while the surviving null branch is a highly constrained soft-null alternative.

We show that axions coupled to photons in F-theory Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) satisfy the coupling-to-mass relation $g_{a\gamma}/m_a \leq C\, \frac{\alpha_{\rm em}}{2\pi}\frac{1}{m_\pi f_\pi}$, with $C$ a calculable coefficient. This bound is saturated for the QCD axion with $C = \mathcal{O}(1)$ and holds in field theoretic and perturbative heterotic GUT constructions. In F-theory, topological GUT symmetry breaking by hypercharge flux introduces axion-like particles (ALPs) coupled to photons without coupling to QCD. These ALPs arise from the non-universal holomorphic threshold corrections to the gauge kinetic functions induced by the hypercharge flux. When gauge couplings approximately unify near the string scale, as required in phenomenologically viable models, the shift symmetries of these ALPs are broken by D-instantons whose action is controlled by the size of the threshold corrections to the gauge couplings. Small corrections imply unsuppressed instantons and heavy ALPs. We compute the resulting axion potentials and show that the coupling-to-mass ratio $g_{a\gamma}/m_a$ for every non-universal ALP lies well below the QCD axion prediction. We consider possible loopholes to this result – some of which could lead to $C\gg 1$ – and argue that none of them allows for $g_{a\gamma}/m_a$ to be arbitrarily above the QCD axion prediction within regions of control for the effective action. The bound persists in models with large threshold corrections, where new incomplete GUT multiplets at intermediate energy scales are required. As a result, in the geometric regime, where the $\alpha'$ expansion is under control, no ALP parametrically above the QCD axion band exists. Our results make F-theory GUTs falsifiable: finding an ALP far above the QCD band, for example discovering axion-induced cosmic birefringence, rules out F-theory GUTs in regimes of control of the effective theory.

We continue the tree-level S-matrix bootstrap program for quantum gravity, now in ten-dimensional theories with half-maximal supersymmetry. This setting includes the heterotic string and allows us to test whether the string-like structures found in the maximally supersymmetric bootstrap persist with less supersymmetry and in non-planar gauge sectors. Imposing analyticity, crossing symmetry, unitarity, and Regge boundedness, we constraint weakly coupled UV completions of supergravity and super Yang-Mills. In the gravitational sector, much of the boundary of the allowed region is explained by extremal amplitudes supported on a single linear Regge trajectory, or by convex combinations of such amplitudes. In the gluon sector, the non-planar problem reveals a tension between representation-channel positivity and the trace decomposition of the EFT data, obstructing a direct normalization by $G$ or $g_{\rm YM}$; a coupled gluon/graviton bootstrap may be necessary to directly constrain the relative strength of gauge and gravitational interactions. Overall, our results support the emergence of linear Regge trajectories as a robust feature of the tree-level quantum-gravity bootstrap.

Feynman integrals may be viewed as generalized hypergeometric functions, and specifically as solutions of GKZ systems of partial differential equations that typically exhibit resonance. Resonance is a type of non-genericity implying reducibility to subsystems. We use this resonance to construct reduction operators, which are differential operators that can contract edges of Feynman graphs. Correspondingly, their action is naturally compatible with cuts of Feynman graphs. Reduction operators may be used to close the system of differential equations for a given integral. The remaining GKZ data lead to algebraic relations identifying a smaller system that is fully reduced to master integrals. We develop the construction for one-loop, sunrise and banana graphs and discuss restrictions to physical kinematics. While reduction operators can generally shift both propagator powers and spacetime dimension, certain combinations isolate a pure dimension shift together with contraction of a chosen edge.

The superstring amplitude's Mellin transform in energy is computed at fixed momentum transfer. In the forward limit, it is shown that this transformed amplitude reduces to the Riemann zeta function, while for $t\neq 0$ it represents a deformation of $\zeta$. This object exhibits remarkable mathematical properties as a result of physical attributes of the string amplitude. For integer subtractions, the dispersion relation defined by the Mellin transform yields the effective field theory expansion of the string amplitude order by order in $s$ at finite $t$, for which a new closed-form expression is derived.

We prove, to all orders, maximal transcendentality of the strongly coupled large-N Principal Chiral Model in the double-scaling regime introduced in our earlier work. We also prove that, after a natural shift of the coupling constant, the coefficients of the vacuum-energy expansion are expressed purely as polynomials in odd zeta values with rational coefficients. The first 35 explicitly computed orders reveal further number-theoretic regularities, pointing to hidden structure beyond maximal transcendentality.

Entanglement and non-stabilizerness (magic) quantify two distinct departures of quantum systems from classical description: the former measures non-local correlations, while the latter measures the deviation from stabilizer states that can be efficiently simulated classically. Understanding magic in physically relevant quantum field theories is essential for identifying where quantum advantage may be realized in the early fault-tolerant quantum computing era. We calculate the gauge-invariant entanglement entropy and stabilizer Rényi entropy of the ground state of the (1+1)-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge theory formulated in a dressed-site basis that enforces Gauss's law exactly. Using tensor networks, we obtain results for system sizes up to $L=100$ (300 qubits). We find a crossover denoted by $g_{\star}$ where the ground state passes from a more magic-rich regime into a regime with less magic; this is also tracked by the sharpest change of both the entanglement entropy and lattice particle density. Our large-scale study of non-stabilizerness and entanglement entropy in a non-Abelian lattice gauge theory with matter provides new insight into the interplay of magic and entanglement in gauge theories, both of which are relevant for classical and early fault-tolerant quantum simulations.

Could two worlds localised on neighbouring branes communicate through gravity alone? We investigate this question in a minimal higher-dimensional framework in which Standard Model fields are confined to our brane while gravity propagates through the bulk. From the brane-to-brane graviton propagator we derive the retarded transfer kernel of the inter-brane link and identify the transition from evanescent to propagating Kaluza-Klein modes. The central idea is to give the Kaluza-Klein tower a new role: not only as a spectrum of massive gravitational states, but as a set of communication carriers. Below the first KK threshold the channel is effectively four-dimensional and is mediated only by the massless graviton. Above threshold, massive KK modes open as additional propagating subchannels, and information may be encoded in their occupation pattern, relative phases, and arrival-time structure as well as in ordinary signal variables. The compactification determines the KK masses, wavefunctions, brane overlap factors, and propagation phases, which together define a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) channel matrix. In the resolved-mode limit, the tower yields approximate parallel subchannels, to which standard information-theoretic notions such as capacity bounds, water-filling, effective rank, and sparse occupancy codes apply. The production and detection of such signals are highly model-dependent and not assumed to be feasible with known technology. Nevertheless, the channel structure is well defined: a neighbouring brane-world could be separated from us by a microscopic distance in the compact space while remaining hidden because the only shared interaction is gravity. The first observable signature may not be a deliberate message, but the spectral and modal structure of the Kaluza-Klein tower itself, revealing partial information about the geometry of a nearby hidden world.

Atomic interferometry provides a sensitive near Earth probe of high energy physics through precision measurements of quantum phase. In this Letter, we point out that MAGIS and AION like long-baseline atom interferometers can also be used to test supersymmetric hidden sectors, if these sectors contain ultralight moduli, dilatons or hidden scalars that induce coherent phase oscillations. In such a setup, the measured atomic phase does not only constrain an effective phenomenological scalar coupling. It can be related to derivatives of supersymmetric gauge kinetic functions, Kähler metrics, Yukawa couplings, Higgs sector parameters and the QCD scale along light hidden sector directions. We derive the mapping from a generic SUSY/SUGRA modulus to the effective atom interferometric coupling, and show that future phase sensitivities may probe very small visible sector admixtures of otherwise hidden fields. This identifies MAGIS/AION type experiments as non-collider probes of supersymmetric and string-motivated infrared relics, complementary to gravitational wave, astrophysical and collider searches.

Dedekind's problem counts monotone Boolean functions, equivalently downsets of a Boolean lattice. We recast this enumeration as a finite layer-ratio reconstruction problem for the Whitney numbers of the ranked ideal lattice. An exact adjacent-layer double count expresses each layer ratio through local averages of the number of addable elements and the number of removable elements. Reversible fixed-layer Markov chains estimate these averages and hence estimate the Dedekind number $M(n)$. Backtests at $M(8)$ and $M(9)$ calibrate seed-level variability under the fixed protocol and measure the observed Monte Carlo budget scaling. The resulting estimate probes the Whitney-number sequence of the ideal lattice. Although these rows have previously been described empirically as unimodal, the high-precision $n=9$ estimate has a shallow two-shoulder feature around the central rank, contrary to that empirical description; $n=11$ and $n=13$ center-window estimates show a larger-contrast analogous pattern. The protocol estimate for $M(10)$ is \[ \widehat M(10)=(8.9360\pm0.0010)\times 10^{78}, \] where the displayed uncertainty is the budget-based forecast scale from the cross-$n$ scaling law under the production budget.

The Monte Carlo method, applied to lattice quantum field theory, gives access to Euclidean correlation functions with well-understood error bars. Recovering the observables one cares about, such as the spectral density, requires solving an ill-posed inverse problem, usually tackled with heuristics that lose rigorous control of the error. Instead of trying to find the “best” spectral density $\rho(\omega)$, we ask how small or large linear functionals $\int_{\mathbb{R}^+} G(\omega) \rho(\omega) \mathrm{d} \omega$ of it can be, given the Monte Carlo data and the reflection positivity of the lattice action. This is a convex but infinite-dimensional problem. We show how its dual can be rigorously relaxed into a hierarchy of finite semidefinite programs, solvable with standard solvers and enjoying strong convergence guarantees. The resulting bounds are rigorous even when the relaxation is not tight, and converge quickly to the regime where the error is entirely dominated by Monte Carlo statistics. The method also flags implausible Monte Carlo data, for instance underestimated error bars, through an infeasibility certificate. We demonstrate it on lattice $\phi^4$ theory in two dimensions.

We develop a general framework for investigating the influence of topological defects on the local characteristics of a quantum scalar field in a warped geometry background. The Ricci tensor and curvature scalar are decomposed into contributions from the warp factor, the radial geometry and the angular defect structure. For an arbitrary curvature coupling parameter, the field equation is separated into independent radial, angular and warp-coordinate parts. A complete set of normalized mode functions is obtained for general values of the angular deficit parameters. The general formalism is applied to several specific cases, such as conformally flat warped spacetimes, generalized cosmic strings, global monopoles and anti-de Sitter (AdS)-type warped geometries. The Hadamard two-point function is then evaluated for a global monopole in AdS spacetime using the obtained mode functions.

Using the finite-temperature heat kernel method, we compute the gauge-invariant effective Lagrangian up to dimension-six for massive hot scalar QED. We propose two complementary methods: integrating out heavy modes at finite temperature, and deriving the finite-temperature heat kernel coefficients from the zero-temperature ones. We show that in the static limit, both lead to the same three-dimensional effective operators. We also compute the gauge-invariant Coleman-Weinberg effective potential for a constant background at finite temperature. We further examine how the Polyakov loop modifies the matching coefficients and assess its impact together with the higher-dimensional operators on the thermodynamics of cosmological first-order phase transitions, which in turn can affect an associated gravitational-wave spectrum.

We propose and study all-multiplicity building blocks for tree-level string amplitudes in AdS. These are worldsheet integrals obtained by dressing the corresponding flat-space disc and sphere integrals with multivariable multiple polylogarithms and their single-valued analogues, respectively. We derive monodromy relations for the open-string building blocks and a KLT factorisation for their closed-string counterparts. This extends the non-commutative AdS uplift of lower-point flat-space structures to general $n$-point kinematics.

The Einstein-de Haas (EdH) effect describes the emergence of collective rotation driven by spin alignment under an external magnetic field. We investigate this effect in a dynamically expanding quark-gluon plasma (QGP) using a quasiparticle model (QPM). We compute the EdH-induced angular velocity $\omega_{\mathrm{EdH}}$ as a function of temperature, proper time, and fireball radius. Our results show that $\omega_{\mathrm{EdH}}$ grows with proper time and is consequently suppressed at higher temperatures. Near the QGP crossover temperature, $\omega_{\mathrm{EdH}}$ attains a substantial, non-negligible magnitude. We identify a nontrivial crossing between the strong and weak magnetic field regimes that reflects the competition between spin alignment and the energy required to sustain orbital motion. This nontrivial crossing temperature separates a spin-dominated regime from an inertia-dominated regime of magnetic field-induced rotation. These findings establish the EdH effect as a manifestation of angular momentum conservation in magnetized QCD matter.

We construct the double-current deformations of two-dimensional quantum field theories whose partition functions have background gauge-field anomalies. Extending the path integral construction of [1], we couple the seed theory to dynamical gauge fields and compact Stueckelberg fields and insert parallel transport in the anomaly line bundle. The deformed partition function then has the same anomaly as the undeformed one. For flat background gauge fields, the Stueckelberg non-zero modes localize the dynamical gauge fields to flat connections, reducing the deformation to a finite-dimensional holonomy integral. We derive the integral kernel on the torus and its higher-genus generalization. For the compact boson, or equivalently the Abelian $U(1)$ WZW model, the kernel gives a Gaussian transform of the torus partition function: at zero background the spectrum is obtained by $k\to K_\lambda$, while contact terms and spectral-flow data remain controlled by the original anomaly. As anomaly-free massive examples, we apply the kernel to massive complex bosons and massive Dirac fermions, for which the finite-volume spectra are obtained from the undeformed twisted spectra by charge-dependent shifts of the twists. We also formulate the anomaly-compatible non-Abelian and homogeneous Yang-Baxter generalization.

We characterize the integrand numerators that give rise to locally finite or evanescent Feynman integrals for the massless pentabox. We provide compact expressions for the generators of the corresponding ideal in terms of an adapted momentum basis and also in terms of Gram determinants. We also compute the integrals corresponding to the lowest-rank numerators in terms of polylogarithms using the HyperInt package, and in terms of pentagon functions.

We investigate the scalar clouds around a rotating Kalb-Ramond (KR) BTZ black hole under Robin boundary conditions. The clouds are obtained as stationary bound states at the superradiant threshold $\omega=m\Omega_H$, where the KR parameter, the rotation and the Robin boundary jointly determine their existence. It is shown that the KR parameter qualitatively changes the existence lines of clouds. For a nonpositive KR parameter, the lines remain monotonic, whereas for a positive KR parameter they can become nonmonotonic, so that a fixed boundary condition may admit clouds in disconnected regions of parameter space. Quasinormal modes (QNMs) and horizon fluxes are further used as consistency checks, confirming that the cloud solutions correspond to non-damping modes at the superradiant threshold where the energy flux changes sign. The KR parameter also shifts the critical Robin parameter at which the clouds exist. These results establish stationary scalar clouds as sensitive probes of the interplay between the Robin boundary conditions and KR gravity.

We revisit quantum field theory in curved spacetime (QFTCS) as a semi-classical framework for quantum matter on classical geometries, emphasizing its limitations, including vacuum ambiguity and background dependence. We briefly review major approaches to quantum gravity (QG), including Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG), string theory, and asymptotic safety, highlighting their conceptual challenges. Motivated by these issues, we outline a teleparallel framework based on coframe and spin-connection variables, where gravity is encoded in torsion rather than curvature. This framework naturally incorporates local Lorentz symmetry and fermionic couplings while displaying a gauge-like structure. We argue that the coframe/spin-connection pair provides an alternative and geometrically refined description of gravitational variables, which may serve as a useful starting point for future investigations of QG. The purpose of this work is not to provide a complete quantization of teleparallel gravity but to identify the geometric and conceptual ingredients that such a formulation would require.

We consider the $SO(d)$ and $O(d)$ invariant sectors of the bosonic $d$-matrix harmonic oscillator with $U(N)$ gauge symmetry. The micro-canonical degeneracy $\mathcal{Z}( N , d , k )$ for fixed energy $k$ is expressed as a pairing between an $N$-dependent vector and a $d$-dependent vector in the space of partitions of the integer $k$. This pairing formula is derived by counting invariant words in multi-matrix variables $X^i_{j,a}$, using properties of Clebsch-Gordan multiplicities (Kronecker coefficients) for the symmetric group $S_k$, Schur-Weyl duality and harmonic analysis on the homogeneous space $U(d)/SO(d)$. Analytic formulae for large $N$ and $k$ with $ k \le N $ are obtained using group integrals over $U(N)$ and $SO(d)$ (or $ O(d)$). The micro-canonical heat capacity in this regime is negative and turns positive, at a critical value $k_{\rm crit}$, due to finite $N$ modifications to the counting, thus forming what we denote as a characteristic caloric fold in the $ E $ versus $T$ curve. Data from the pairing formula is well fitted by $k_{\rm crit} \sim { N^2 \over 4 }$ for small values of $d$. A derivation of this large $N$ formula is given using a matrix model approximation and semi-classical analysis of the eigenvalue density. The large $N,d$ limit of the degeneracies reveals a key role for ribbon graph combinatorics. The caloric fold is also notably a property of black hole thermodynamics in anti-de-Sitter spaces. We propose the spherically symmetric \(SO(d)\) and \(O(d)\) invariant sectors of \(d\)-matrix quantum mechanics as tractable matrix systems for capturing key features of dual descriptions of black-hole thermodynamics.

We revisit the effective coupling of the scalaron to gauge fields in $f(R)$ gravity minimally coupled to the Standard Model, focusing on the scalaron decay into two photons. Treating the scalaron as an intrinsic component of the Jordan-frame metric, we analyse quantum effects arising from its coupling to the energy–momentum tensor. In this framework, the trace anomaly contributes to the scalaron–gauge boson interaction. Using Fujikawa's approach, we obtain the trace-anomaly contribution, associated with the transformation of matter fields between the Jordan and Einstein frames, first in QED and then in the full Standard Model. The resulting effective scalaron–photon interaction agrees with direct perturbative calculations that include the trace anomaly and differs from the result obtained when only the classical expression for the trace of the energy–momentum tensor is taken into account in the scalaron interaction. In the limit where the scalaron mass is much smaller than the masses of particles circulating in the loop, the diagrammatic contribution from the classical expression of the trace of the energy–momentum tensor cancels the anomaly-induced term, leading to a vanishing effective coupling and a strong suppression of the scalaron decay rate into photons. These results clarify the origin of discrepancies in the literature concerning the effective scalaron coupling to massless gauge fields. They stem from inequivalent prescriptions for incorporating quantum loop effects in $f (R)$ gravity, leading to different scalaron–gauge field interactions with direct implications for scalaron dark-matter phenomenology.

Understanding quantum dynamics in curved spacetime is a central challenge at the intersection of quantum mechanics and gravity. Anti-de-Sitter (AdS) spacetime plays a pivotal role in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, which relates gravitational dynamics in the AdS bulk to a conformal field theory (CFT) living on its boundary. Despite its foundational importance, direct experimental access to dynamical quantum phenomena in Lorentzian AdS spacetime has so far remained out of reach. Here, we report the first experimental emulation of fermionic wave packet dynamics in Lorentzian AdS spacetime using a photonic platform. By mapping the Dirac equation in curved spacetime onto the propagation of light in engineered wave\-guide arrays, we directly observe gravitational confinement of relativistic wave packets and resolve their center-of-mass motion in real time. We identify a characteristic superposition of slow geodesic oscillations governed solely by spacetime curvature and fast Zitterbewegung arising from relativistic particle–antiparticle interference. While the geodesic frequency is independent of fermion mass, the Zitterbewegung frequency exhibits a distinct joint dependence on mass and curvature, revealing a curvature-induced modification of relativistic quantum dynamics. Our results provide the first quantitative experimental access to fermionic bulk dynamics in emulated AdS$_2$ spacetime with Lorentzian signature. This establishes a scalable analog platform that may potentially be used for exploring dynamical aspects of holography.

We analytically study the Widom line and supercritical crossover of noncommutative charged AdS black holes. Treating the noncommutative parameter $\alpha$ perturbatively, we compute thermodynamic quantities and the scaled variance $\Omega$ in both canonical and extended ensembles. The Widom line is identified as the extremum of $\Omega$. Using a Landau expansion near the critical point, we derive the two symmetric crossover branches $L^{\pm}$, which obey $\delta T\sim \left|\Delta Q\right|^{\beta+\gamma}$, $\delta S\sim \left|\Delta Q \right|^\beta$ in the canonical ensemble and $\delta P\sim \left|\Delta T\right|^{\beta+\gamma}$, $\delta \rho\sim \left|\Delta T\right|^{\beta}$ in the extended ensemble. These scaling relations conform to the mean-field universality class ($\beta=1/2$, $\gamma=1$), and the noncommutative parameter only shifts subleading amplitudes without altering the universality class. Numerical verification and complete supercritical phase diagrams are also presented using supercritical crossover lines. Our results show that noncommutative corrections preserve the mean-field universality of black hole supercriticality.