High Energy Physics - Theory
This website contains AI-generated audits of all new submissions that appear on the hep-th arXiv. These audits are presented in the style of referee reports which are generated by prompting GPT-5.5 on extra high thinking with the query "Read the manuscript carefully and prepare a detailed journal-style referee report evaluating whether the results appear correct, novel, interesting, and suitable for publication." We take no responsibility for the accuracy of the statements in the resulting referee reports, but we have chosen to make them publicly available here for entertainment purposes.
New submissions [arXiv source]
Showing new listings for Thursday, 11 June 2026
- [1] arXiv:2606.11297 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: Bouncing Geodesics, Singularities, and the Cavity Thermal Product Formula in Asymptotically Flat and de Sitter Black HolesComments: 41+12 pages, 11 figuresSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)audXiv: audit
We investigate the existence and implications of ``bouncing geodesics'' in asymptotically flat Schwarzschild and Schwarzschild--de Sitter black holes. These trajectories, which probe the high-curvature regions near the black hole singularity, correspond to specific ``bouncing singularities'' in the bulk retarded Green's function. We provide a precise description of these singularities by combining the local Hadamard form with the global propagation of singularities theorem. We then derive the critical times at which the bulk retarded correlator becomes singular, considering all possible anchorings of the bouncing geodesics, including null infinity and the cosmological horizon. Finally, for black holes enclosed in a reflecting cavity, we establish a universal connection between the locations of the bouncing singularities and the spectrum of cavity quasinormal modes (QNMs) by deriving a cavity version of the thermal product formula, analogous to the one known for anti-de Sitter black holes. This relation allows one to extract information about the black hole interior from the asymptotic QNM spectrum measured at a reflecting hypersurface, even when the cosmological constant is zero or positive. We confirm this prediction through explicit examples by computing the cavity QNMs of scalar and electromagnetic fields, as well as gravitational waves, in spacetimes with asymptotically flat and de Sitter black holes.
- [2] arXiv:2606.11317 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: Lectures on Semiclassical Methods for Composite OperatorsAuthors: Francesco SanninoComments: LaTeX 166 pages, several figuresSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th); Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other); High Energy Physics - Lattice (hep-lat); High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)audXiv: audit
These lecture notes are intended as a coherent introduction to conformal field theory in general, and composite operators in particular, through a semiclassical framework for computing scaling dimensions, with emphasis on operators of the form $\phi^n$. In doing so, they aim to fill a gap in the literature and to help decode some of the relevant concepts. The physical idea is that at large $n$ an (heavy) operator creates a highly occupied state. Through the state-operator correspondence, this state lives on the cylinder $\mathbb{R}\times S^{d-1}$, and its scaling dimension is the corresponding energy of the theory on the cylinder. The notes are organized as a self-contained route from conformal symmetry to semiclassical dynamics. Part I reviews the conformal group, primary operators, radial quantization, the state-operator correspondence, and operator mixing. Part II builds the semiclassical framework, first in the free scalar theory, where the dimension of $\phi^n$ is recovered in three independent ways, and then through the double-scaling limit, the action variable, and Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization. Part III develops the general machinery of periodic saddles, Floquet theory, fluctuation determinants, the Gel'fand-Yaglom method, and the Gutzwiller trace formula. Part IV applies the framework to the $O(N)$ $\phi^4$ theory in $d=4-\epsilon$ at the Wilson-Fisher fixed point, deriving the classical elliptic solution, the Lamé fluctuation spectrum, the zero modes, and the one-loop contribution to the large-$n$ scaling dimensions. Beyond the explicit computation, the notes emphasize the role of composite operators as probes of collective sectors of quantum field theory, with extensions to gauge theories, conformal windows, and asymptotically safe field theories.
- [3] arXiv:2606.11423 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: Weak-field waveforms for generic relativistic orbitsAuthors: Stefano De AngelisComments: 8 pages + references; comments are welcomeSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)audXiv: audit
We recast Einstein's equations as ordinary integro-differential equations for the worldlines, integrating out the gravitational field by means of the Schwinger-Keldysh path integral. The same framework allows the gravitational waveform to be computed for unspecified orbits. The two computations are independent: solutions of the equations of motion can then be inserted to reconstruct the waveform for generic orbits. The derivation of the equations of motion does not require a map between scattering and bound-orbit observables. Thus, it could be implemented within an Effective One-Body-inspired framework, with the advantage that retardation and radiation effects are automatically included: no separation between potential and radiation modes is required. Conversely, the waveform computation may provide an alternative to the Effective One-Body approach, if supplemented by suitable resummation schemes. We emphasise that computations in this framework bypass the need for integration-by-parts identities, which are the main technical bottleneck in the computation of observables. In this paper, we outline the general framework and present a computational strategy at leading and next-to-leading order in the weak-field expansion.
- [4] arXiv:2606.11472 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: Supersymmetry bicomplex of pure spinor AdS backgroundComments: 32 pagesSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)audXiv: audit
Infinitesimal deformations of $\text{AdS}_5 \times \mathbb{S}^5$ form a representation of the AdS supersymmetry algebra. The structure of this representation has not yet been completely described in the literature. Some information can be obtained just from the fact that the space of deformations is the cohomology of a nilpotent BRST operator. We can consider the bicomplex formed by the BRST operator and the Lie cohomology differential, and its two spectral sequences. Their matching imposes some constraints on the structure of representations, which we start exploring in this paper. In particular, we clarify the structure of ghost number three zero modes.
- [5] arXiv:2606.11612 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: Non-self-dual nontopological soliton in a pure Chern-Simons gauge modelAuthors: A. Yu. LoginovComments: 18 pages, 7 figuresSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)audXiv: audit
A nontopological soliton of the Q-ball type in a Chern-Simons-Higgs gauge model is studied using both analytical and numerical methods. The general non-self-dual case is considered. It is shown that the soliton solution is an extremum of the energy functional at a fixed Noether charge. A differential relation between the energy, Noether charge, and the boundary value of the gauge potential of the soliton is derived. A linear relation between the components of the soliton energy is obtained. The parametric domain of existence of the soliton solution is determined. It is established that the soliton properties depend significantly on the form of the self-interaction potential of the scalar field. In particular, the energy and charge of the soliton can take arbitrarily large values only if the self-interaction potential has two degenerate zero minima.
- [6] arXiv:2606.11984 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: Modular quantization and black holesAuthors: Suchetan DasComments: 79 Pages, two appendicesSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)audXiv: audit
Witten recently proposed a background-independent algebraic framework for quantum gravity, wherein an observer endowed with a Hamiltonian defines a diffeomorphism invariant worldline algebra manifested by the modified Hamiltonian constraint. In the semiclassical limit, this construction admits a lift to a von Neumann algebra acting on a Hilbert space defined by geodesic in a fixed background. Motivated by this, we revisit quantization of certain class of deformed CFT Hamiltonian on a cylinder to capture non-perturbative aspects of black holes. We construct a type-I Von-Neuman algebra by imposing conformal boundary conditions on cut-offs near fixed points of Hamiltonian flow, acting on a GNS Hilbert space built from highest-weight representation of `emergent modular Virasoro algebra'. Upon identifying the Hamiltonian with the modular Hamiltonian of a sharp subregion associated to a fixed reference KMS (vacuum) state, the algebra changes to type-III$_{1}$ factor. We also discuss the structure of emergent Hilbert spaces using `open-closed string' duality after incorporating an emergent non-trivial center made out of scalars at fixed points. We further employ this modular quantization of a single holographic CFT to demonstrate how the boundary limit of exact Hartle-Hawking correlator of smooth BTZ background emerge in the strict semiclassical limit in an alternative dual description, while at finite $G_{N}$, the corresponding description is intrinsically non-smooth, featuring both a stretched horizon and a boundary cutoff. The exact correlator has also been precisely reproduced from the vacuum correlators in modular quantization. We further discuss the effect of incorporating gravity by including the center via AdS/CFT on boundary correlators, for which the description of a smooth horizon is replaced by a (stretched) horizon containing explicit microstructures embedded within it.
- [7] arXiv:2606.11996 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: Gauge Symmetry Degeneration in Lorentzian Deformed Light-Cone Null ReductionAuthors: Limin ZengComments: 5 pages, a further study on "deformed light-cone null reduction method" in preprint 2602.06280 and a comparison between different methodsSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)audXiv: audit
In this work, we apply deformed light-cone null reduction method to a complex Maxwell theory in a manifestly gauge-invariant formulation. We show that the local U(1) gauge structure degenerates in the $c\to 0$ limit: the Gauss law constraint reduces from a restriction on initial data to a conservation law, releasing the longitudinal gauge mode as an independent degree of freedom (d.o.f). This raises the physical field count from $2(d-1)$ to $2d$. We prove a no-go theorem: under the single-mode Kaluza-Klein(KK)-like ansatz, no scaling of the field components can simultaneously preserve nontrivial dynamics and a first-class Gauss law, due to an inherent mismatch between velocity-type and constraint-type contributions in the parent action. Rather than representing the Carrollian electrodynamics derived via group contraction, the free complex scalar theory that emerges is merely an artifact of the truncation procedure at $c\to0$.
- [8] arXiv:2606.12172 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: $\boldsymbol{T\overline{T}}$ correlators from tensionless stringsComments: 46 pagesSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)audXiv: audit
Motivated by earlier approaches, we develop a worldsheet framework for computing correlation functions in the single trace $T \overline{T}$-deformed tensionless AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ duality. By describing the deformed bulk theory as a Berkovits-Vafa $\mathcal{N}=4$ topological string, we obtain a consistent definition of physical states and correlation functions, yielding a tractable setup for testing aspects of holography beyond AdS/CFT. We construct deformed physical vertex operators and compute their tree-level two-point functions exactly. We discuss the relation of our results to previous proposals for $T \overline{T}$-deformed two-point functions obtained from alternative worldsheet approaches, JT gravity, and perturbative field theory computations.
- [9] arXiv:2606.12237 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: Nonlocal Rarita-Schwinger theoryComments: 20 pagesSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)audXiv: audit
In this paper, one constructs a nonlocal extension of the Rarita-Schwinger theory for spin-$3/2$ fermions. Two classes of analytic form factors are considered: scalar form factors $f(\Box)$ and Dirac-operator form factors $f(\slashed{\partial})$. The massless theory is treated together with a covariant nonlocal gauge fixing, which allows the propagator to be written directly in terms of the spin-$3/2$ projector. In the massive theory, we show that the free Rarita-Schwinger constraints remain intact for analytic form factors, so that the unphysical spin-$1/2$ sector does not become dynamical. For $f(\Box)$ the tensor-spinor structure of the propagator is the same as in the local theory, while the pole equation is deformed by the scalar form factor. For $f(\slashed{\partial})$ the physical modes obey a nonlocal Dirac-type equation, leading to modified dispersion relations that can be written explicitly for exponential form factors. We discuss the conditions under which the construction is ghost-free at the free level and identify the natural limitations that must be addressed before interactions are introduced.
- [10] arXiv:2606.12338 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: Entanglement generation between field modes mediated by a fluctuating conducting wallComments: 10 pages, 6 figuresSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th); Quantum Physics (quant-ph)audXiv: audit
We consider a movable conducting plate of finite mass, between two fixed ones, whose mechanical degrees of freedom are treated quantum-mechanically and bound to its equilibrium position by a harmonic potential. The movable wall is thus subjected to quantum fluctuations of its position. This creates a system of two sub-cavities separated by the movable fluctuating plate, and two massless one-dimensional scalar fields, one in each sub-cavity. This system is described by an appropriate generalization of the Law Hamiltonian. The presence of the movable wall yields an effective plate-fields interaction, as well as an effective interaction between the field modes. We obtain, at the second order in perturbation theory, the ground state of the interacting system and the reduced density operator of the fields in each sub-cavity by tracing out the wall's degrees of freedom. We calculate the entanglement between two field modes, one in each cavity, by evaluating analytically the negativity; we then evaluate numerically also the total multimode negativity. Our results show that in both cases the fields in the two sub-cavities are entangled, in contrast to the case in which the wall is fixed in space. We discuss the amount of the field entanglement present as a function of relevant physical parameters of the system such as the mass and oscillation frequency of the movable wall, its distance from the fixed walls and the frequencies of the field modes considered.
- [11] arXiv:2606.12367 [arXiv pdf, audit]
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Title: Nonadditivity in Quantum Field Theory: Replica Energies, Scaling Filters, and the Renormalization GroupSubjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th); Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)audXiv: audit
Extensive systems have a simple thermodynamic signature: the logarithm of the partition function scales homogeneously with the size of the system. We show that the failure of this scaling, measured by the replica energy ${\cal E}$, provides a useful bridge between statistical mechanics and quantum field theory. The associated differential operator $(1-\frac1d L\partial_L)$ removes the leading bulk contribution to $W=\log Z$ and isolates the part that is sensitive to boundaries, topology, defects, long-range forces, or other sources of nonadditivity. In quantum field theory this thermodynamic idea has two closely related uses. For ordinary finite-volume or spherical partition functions, suitable higher-order versions of the same filter remove local counterterms and extract universal fixed-point data such as the central charge, the sphere free energy $F$, and the Euler anomaly coefficient $a$. For replica geometries with entangling defects, the same filtering principle gives the renormalized defect free energy. In $2+1$ dimensions, its $n\to1$ limit is precisely the entropic $F$-function. We use this perspective to distinguish ordinary finite-size corrections, topology-dependent constants in gapped phases, subextensive fracton degeneracies, and genuinely nonextensive systems with long-range interactions such as self-gravitating thermal matter. Replica energy therefore offers a common thermodynamic language for additivity, defect free energies, and renormalization-group irreversibility.